The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program provided by the U.S. Department of State. Undergraduate students who want to participate in a study abroad program can apply for this scholarship to help fund their trip.

Study abroad advisor Kathryn Morrissey said this scholarship program promotes the non-traditional study abroad students who want to travel to nontraditional destinations.  The goal of this program is to increase the number of students traveling abroad to study in nontraditional countries and destinations.

According to Morrissey, the scholarship program is competitive. Approximately 6,500 students apply for the scholarship every year, and only one-third of the students receive the scholarship.

“We had 16 who completed their applications and nine students who got it,” said Morrissey.  “We had over 50 percent that got accepted.”

Tania Katbi, 21, a business administration major, was one of the Cal State Fullerton scholarship recipients. Katbi is currently studying in the southern region of France. She chose France because they have a great business program, the challenge of the language barrier and the characteristics of the French culture.

“I wanted to immerse myself in a completely different culture than anything I had experienced,” said Katbi.

Students must meet certain requirements before applying for the scholarship. According to Morrissey, the two main requirements are that applicants need to be U.S. citizens and must receive the Federal Pell Grant. Other requirements include the chosen program being in one country for at least four weeks and not on the travel-warning list.

Applicants first need to choose a study abroad program. They do not have to be accepted to the program, but they do need to be in the process of applying.  After the student determines their desired program, they need to have their application certified by financial aid and an adviser in the study abroad program.

Abraham Park, 20, a radio-TV-film and communications double major, is another recipient of the scholarship program. Park will be studying abroad at Dong Ah Institute of Media Arts (DIMA) located in Anseong, South Korea.

“This program is going to help me in the future because it will have allowed me to gain both cultural knowledge and academic knowledge,” said Park.

Park said he chose this location because as a Korean-American it would be nice to experience life in Korea. He added that DIMA’s studio and film program is known to be a top-notch and prestigious program. Park will be taking production courses and have hands-on production work through this scholarship program.

The study abroad programs are a fantastic opportunity for students, according to Morrissey. She explains how the world is going global and students need to gain skills that can be acquired though interacting and living in another environment.

“I would love to see every student have some sort of international experience,” Morrissey said.

Katbi said the best experience in her program so far was when she became a travel correspondent for the Reach the World Organization. A travel correspondent interacts weekly via internet blogs, articles, Skype and question and answer sessions with a teacher and their class.

“This position allows me to connect my experiences in France with students and people back home,” Katbi said.

According to Morrissey, there are approximately 10,000 study abroad programs to choose from. Some are offered through the campus, such as summer programs, and others are offered outside the campus. Two new summer programs include studying abroad in Ireland and Hungary.

“We have lots of programs coming up, and hopefully we can get students to go abroad,” Morrissey said. “I think it is a great opportunity and it’s just a fantastic experience.”