Press Contact: Clément Vigneaud / (+1)202-944-6438 / clement.vigneaud@diplomatie.gouv.fr
NEW YORK, May 25, 2016—The Embassy of France, country partner to the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad Program, will support new scholarships to provide financial assistance for U.S. students who wish to study in France.
Targeted for underrepresented students who do not traditionally go abroad or lack sufficient resources, the French Embassy – Generation Study Abroad Scholarship has been launched as a component of the Transatlantic Friendship and Mobility Initiative, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of State and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the historic ties between the United States and France by doubling the total number of French students studying in the U.S. and American students studying in France by 2025.
For the last two years, the Embassy of France has worked closely with the Institute of International Education (IIE) and other American partners to advance this mission and the new scholarships are a result of the French Embassy’s decision to enrich its existing Benjamin Franklin Travel Grant through a strengthened partnership with IIE.
American universities engaged in IIE’s Generation Study Abroad Initiative will be eligible to apply for $5,000 matching grants from the French Embassy. Five selected institutions will then receive the funds and nominate four of their students to receive a $2,500 French Embassy – Generation Study Abroad Scholarship. 20 students will therefore benefit from these scholarships which can be used for the cost of tuition, books, travel related to study, or internships abroad.
With less than 10 percent of American college students studying abroad—and an average of 18,000 in France per year—IIE’s Generation Study Abroad Scholarship Program aims to facilitate the participation of more U.S. students in an academic, internship, or service-learning experience abroad. Information on eligibility and how to apply for incentive grants from the French Embassy can be found at IIE’s Generation Study Abroad site.
Bénédicte de Montlaur, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy and Permanent Representative of French Universities in the United States, noted, “The Institute of International Education has done remarkable, ambitious work over the years to promote France as a destination country for study abroad. This new collaboration with IIE will help us take our Benjamin Franklin Program to the next level by increasing not only the number of U.S. students going to France, but also the amount of funds available per student. Increasing and diversifying mobility are two key priorities for French-American exchange in Higher Education, and we are very grateful for the support, wisdom and knowledge that IIE has brought the French Embassy in this domain.”
“France has been a valued partner with IIE in helping American students to study abroad for nearly 100 years. From the early days of junior year abroad to today’s innovative and flexible study, internship and research abroad opportunities, our relationship has continued to enable more students to gain international experience. These new scholarships are another important step in advancing the transatlantic friendship,” said Institute of International Education President and Chief Executive Officer Allan E. Goodman.
The French Embassy will also continue its partnership with the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that is also administered by IIE and which the Embassy has supported since 2013. In 2016, 10 travel grants will be made available to Gilman Scholarship recipients going to France.
About the Institute of International Education
The Institute of International Education is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations, and corporations. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 19 offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,400 member institutions.
About the the Cultural Services of the French Embassy
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy promotes the best of French arts, literature, cinema, digital innovation, language, and higher education across the US. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the country, the Cultural Services brings artists, authors, intellectuals and innovators to cities nationwide. It also builds partnerships between French and American artists, institutions and universities on both sides of the Atlantic. In New York, through its bookshop Albertine, it fosters French-American exchange around literature and the arts. Visit www.frenchculture.org.
About Generation Study Abroad
Generation Study Abroad® is a five-year initiative of the Institute of International Education (IIE) to mobilize resources and commitments with the goal of doubling the number of U.S. students studying abroad by the end of the decade. More than 700 partners have joined the Generation Study Abroad initiative to date, including 400 U.S. colleges and universities from 48 states, 173 international universities and organizations from 49 countries, 25 education associations, more than 100 organizations including study abroad, K-12, and social network agencies, 16 U.S. and foreign government entities and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The initiative highlights IIE’s commitment to study abroad and to encourage purposeful, innovative action to get more Americans to undertake a meaningful international experience through academic study abroad programs, as well as internships, service learning, and non-credit educational experiences.
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