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Marshall |
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Introduction
The Marshall Scholarship Program was established by
the British government in 1953 as its official gesture
of thanks to the U.S. for its assistance in recovering
from World War II. The scholarships honor General George
C. Marshall, President Truman’s
“architect for peace,” who orchestrated
the European Recovery Plan, known ever since as Marshall
Aid. In addition, the program seeks to bring intellectually
distinguished young Americans to study in the United
Kingdom; to enable them to gain an understanding and
appreciation of British life and values; to encourage
them to be ambassadors to the United Kingdom for their
own way of life; and to establish long-lasting ties
between the people of the United States and Great Britain.
Marshall Scholarships are awarded annually to approximately
40 U.S. citizens for two years of undergraduate (second
undergraduate degree) or graduate study (with the possibility
of a third year) in any discipline at any university
in the United Kingdom. Historically, the largest numbers
of scholars have attended Oxford, Cambridge, London
or Edinburgh Universities.
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Quick Facts
| Field of Study |
Any |
| Type |
Graduate
or second undergraduate; degree program required |
| Place of Study |
Any
college or university in the U.K. |
| Award amount |
Educational
costs; expense stipend; travel expenses; spouse
stipend |
| MIT Deadline |
September
4 |
| National Deadline |
October
4 |
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Eligibility
To be eligible you must:
- Be a U.S. citizen (at the time of application)
- Hold a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited
four-year college or university in the U.S. (by the
time of Scholarship)
- Have a minimum GPA of 4.7/5.0 (or A-)
- Have graduated from undergraduate institution
no earlier than two years before the May 1 preceding
the application date (this restriction may be waived
in the case of those wishing to read business studies
or an allied subject)
- Not be studying for or holding a British degree
or equivalent
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Selection Criteria
General Marshall defined a Marshall Scholar as the
possessor of a keen intellect and a broad outlook.
The selectors will look for:
- Intellectual distinction
- The potential to become a leader, opinion-former
and decision-maker
- Strong motivation and seriousness of purpose
- Interest in society
- The personal qualities of a good ambassador to
promote British-American understanding
- High academic ability combined with the capacity
to play an active part in the life of the British
university community, and the potential to make a
significant contribution to the candidate’s
own society
Marshall Scholarships are extremely competitive and
are awarded on a regional basis. A candidate may apply
from the region in which he or she has residency, or
from the region where he or she has received at least
two years of college training. If they differ, it may
be worthwhile for a candidate to consider which region
would be the most competitive.
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Application (see official site for
details and forms)
Before beginning application,
please review MIT's Distinguished Fellowships Office Policies
Please print out the following checklist and
submit with application
If you are an enrolled MIT student, you MUST
apply through the Distinguished Fellowships Office, 12-189,
and provide four copies of your application by September
5. Final applications must be submitted online.
You may make revisions after submitting your copies
to MIT on September 5, but you must provide copies
of your changes so that we can prepare your institutional
endorsement. MIT will be notified when your application
is submitted and will then submit your institutional
endorsement. Complete applications consist of the
following materials:
Provided by you (one copy online, four copies to MIT):
- Marshall Scholarship Summary Sheet
- Completed & signed Marshall Application Form
- Personal Statement
- Proposed Academic Program
- Original transcript(s) from institutions attended
since high school (must be mailed directly to Regional
Marshall Committee)
Provided by your referees:
- Letters of recommendation, submitted online, from
4 referees (three academic, one personal. See official site for details)
Provided by MIT:
- Institutional Endorsement
Because the application requirements, timing and selection
criteria are so similar, prospective Marshall candidates who
can identify an appropriate study program at Oxford
University should also apply for the Rhodes Scholarship,
even if their first choice of university for the Marshall
competition is not Oxford. You will nearly double your
chances of winning one of these prestigious UK scholarships
by doing so. Marshall applicants with a strong preference
for Cambridge University should also consider applying
for the Gates Scholarship, which aims at similar selectivity,
but is tenable only at Cambridge.
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Timeline
| Spring |
- Meet with a fellowships advisor. Appointments
can be made by sending mail to scholarships@mit.edu or
by visiting the Distinguished Fellowhips Office in 12-189.
- Send mail to scholarships@mit.edu to
be added to the mailing list to receive information
about upcoming workshops, fellowship deadlines, etc.
- Attend a Fellowships Workshop.
- Submit a Marshall
Pre-application Form. On receipt of this
form, the Distinguished Fellowships Office will
open a file for you.
- Identify two or three likely university degree
programs. Faculty in your department or in
the field in which you propose study can likely
provide you with academic contacts at universities
in the UK, whom you should contact before the
summer begins. You will eventually need to
select a first and a second choice university
(there are restrictions on some combinations
of the two choices).
- Line up faculty and other individuals who
will write you recommendations (four are needed).
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| May |
- Research and develop a plan of study and
draft a study proposal. It is possible to do
back-to-back one year degree programs, even
at different institutions, though a single
institution throughout the scholarship tenure
is preferred. It is also possible to study
for a doctoral degree, which would require
applying later for a third-year extension.
- Make contact with appropriate academic office
or potential supervisors in prospective British
universities. (UK spring academic terms end
mid-June, but after that date it may prove
difficult to contact many academic staff until
beginning of the fall term in early October.)
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| Summer |
- Register online and begin working on your application.
- Begin drafting your personal essay, academic
proposal, and activities list.
- Seek the advice of faculty, staff and fellow
students to increase the strength of your application.
Staff in the Distinguished Fellowships Office, 12-189,
are available to critique your essays.
- Research your choice of British universities
(you may indicate two preferences on your application)
and intended programs and refine your proposed
first- and second-choice programs
- Provide your referees with all the information
they need, such as a copy of your filled-out
application form, drafts of your personal statement
and proposed academic program, and a copy of
your résumé, in order to supply a letter
of recommendation by September 4. Your
recommenders will receive an email when you
have submitted your application online and
included their names as referees.
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| September
4 |
- Completed applications (including copies
of reference letters) due.
- Sign up for campus interview.
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| late-September |
- Applicants will be interviewed by two or
more members of the MIT Committee on Foreign
Scholarships whose input will contribute to
the institutional endorsement letter.
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| October
4 |
- MIT's Distinguished Fellowships Office submits
your final application online, including endorsement
and references.
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| November |
- Each Consular region chooses to interview
about 20 applicants (travel costs paid by the
Marshall Committee).
- Each regional Marshall Committee selects
3-6 Scholars and a ranked list of reserves
to the British Embassy.
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| late-November |
- British Ambassador’s Advisory Committee
assembles from the regional reserve lists a
national reserve list of alternates to fill
any places not eventually taken up by selected
Scholars.
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Winners
Finale Doshi 2007
Ali Alhassani 2008
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