Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate Students may apply.
The Rotary Foundation offers a variety of educational awards in order to promote friendly relations between peoples of different nations. Rotary offers both graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships that may be used to finance Foreign Study Program experiences. The Graduate Fellowships are awarded for one year of university study in any field in any country in which there is a Rotary Club. (This restriction is not very severe, because there are Rotary Clubs in over 100 countries).
To be eligible, applicants must:
- be citizens of a country in which there is a Rotary Club
- be between the ages of 18 and 30 to apply for the graduate awards, and between the ages of 18 and 24 to apply for the undergraduate awards
- be proficient in the language of the country where they propose to study.
Applicants for the undergraduate scholarships must have completed at least two years of college work by the time of the commencement of the fellowship year. Applicants for the graduate fellowship must have received a Bachelor's degree by the time of the commencement of the fellowship year. Close relatives of current Rotarians may not apply.
Application information may be obtained from the BC Campus Coordinator for the Rotary, or from the Rotary Foundation's web site. Application for these fellowships, however, must be made directly through a Rotary Club. Applicants may apply through the Rotary Club in the Rotary District where the applicant holds legal residence, or through the Rotary Clubs in Boston or Newton. Applicants may prefer to apply through their local Rotary rather than the Boston office. The Boston Office receives a large number of applications from students who are not well known by Boston Rotarians, whereas smaller clubs with fewer applicants can evaluate individuals on a more personal basis. Moreover, in the district-level review of applications, the support of a local Rotary Club can be an important factor.
The application deadline is set separately by each Rotary Club. It is imperative, therefore, that the applicant find out as soon as possible the timetable to be used by the local club.
The applicant must list five thoroughly-researched proposed study institutions, of which no more than two can be located in the same country. A transcript, a photograph, a certificate of language proficiency, a brief autobiography, a detailed statement of the purpose of study and choice of proposed study institutions, a résumé, and two academic letters of recommendation must be submitted with the application form. If the language of the first preference for study country is French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish, the applicant must also submit a translation of all application materials into the appropriate language.
Each Rotary Club may nominate two candidates for consideration by the Rotary District Selection Committee. The number of awards to which each district is entitled is determined by the amount of money contributed by that district during the preceding year. Selection by both the club and the district is based upon the application documents, plus an interview. Applicants are notified of selection soon after the district interview.
In preparing applications, candidates should remember that the Rotary Club is an international service organization whose membership is largely business people, and their goal is to further international understanding and cooperation. Rotarians are therefore looking for mature individuals who have taken charge of their own lives and are comfortable in front of other people. They value applicants who have a demonstrated commitment to organizational participation and leadership, and they see Rotary Fellowships as providing broad experience for careers in business and the professions, as opposed to academia. Rotarians are also particularly interest in strengthening ties with non-English speaking countries, so an interest in these areas is an added plus in the scholarship competition.
Interested students should consult with the Boston College Campus Coordinator for the Rotary, and get in contact with their hometown Rotary Club promptly. Addresses and phone numbers for local Rotary Clubs can be found at the Rotary Locator web site. The address of the Boston Rotary Club is Park Plaza Hotel, Suite 428, Boston, MA 02114; (617) 426-7133.