EF Study Abroad Scholarships
Eligibility
To apply for an EF Study Abroad Scholarship, applicants must be 18 years of age and enrolled in either a part-time or full-time graduate or undergraduate program. Applicants must be a paying traveler enrolled on an EF Study Abroad program and up to date with payments at the time of scholarship application. Applicants must also be in good standing with the institution with whom they are enrolled, without suspension, probation, or termination as student from their graduate or undergraduate program. Employees, directors, officers and principals of EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, contractors, agents and members of their immediate families or households are not eligible to participate. EF will accept only one application per person for each of the three scholarship categories: merit, financial need, and diversity & equity.
Promotion Period
The scholarship period is open from 12:00 am Eastern Standard Time on June 1, 2021 until 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time on the deadlines listed below (deadlines are dependent on the applicant’s program departure month).
| Program Departure Month | Application Deadline |
| October 2021 through January 2022 | July 31st, 2021 |
| February 2022 through April 2022 | October 31st, 2021 |
| May 2022 through September 2022 | January 31st, 2022 |
| October 2022 through January 2023 | July 31st, 2022 |
| February 2023 through April 2023 | October 31st, 2022 |
| May 2023 through September 2023 | January 31st, 2023 |
How to Enter
Merit Scholarships: Submit a letter of recommendation from an educator (a past professor, administrator, or teacher) and an original reflection essay that is 500 words or less. The letter of recommendation and reflection essay must be submitted together at www.efstudyabroad.com/scholarship.
The first name, last name, and email address of the professor or administrator who has written the letter of recommendation must be provided for verification purposes.
The original reflection essay should be crafted in response to the following prompt: This year, our world has witnessed a lot of change, uncertainty, and challenge. Our belief is that travel has the ability to open the world and that the world is better when people try to understand one another. In 500 words or less, describe how you view the importance of travel amidst COVID-19 and the current state of our world.
Financial Need Scholarships: Submit a letter of recommendation from an educator (a past professor, administrator, or teacher), a statement from applicant’s college or university Financial Aid department, and average Household income and family size.. The letter of recommendation, financial aid statement and household information must be submitted together at www.efstudyabroad.com/scholarship.
The first name, last name, and email address of the professor or administrator who has written the letter of recommendation must be provided for verification purposes.
The financial aid statement should be crafted by a member of the applicant’s college or university Financial Aid department, and outline that the applicant has a FAFSA form on file with the institution, is deserving of financial aid based on information the applicant provided to their institution, and whether or not the applicant currently receives any financial aid from the institution towards tuition or other college expenses. The applicant does not need to provide the FAFSA form submitted to their college or university.
Diversity and Equity Scholarships: Submit a letter of recommendation from an educator (a past professor, administrator, or teacher) and an original reflection essay that is 500 words or less. The letter of recommendation and reflection essay must be submitted together at www.efstudyabroad.com/scholarship.
The first name, last name, and email address of the professor or administrator who has written the letter of recommendation must be provided for verification purposes.
The original reflection essay should be crafted in response to the following prompt: Diversity can be defined, but not limited to, the inclusion of individuals who exhibit differences in ethnicity, culture, orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, age, experience, and thought. In 500 words or less describe what diversity means to you and how your identity has impacted your desire to study abroad.
Selection of Recipients
Winners will be selected based on demonstrated capability to meet requirements of each scholarship category based on scoring criteria outlined by both members of the EF Study Abroad team and external partners.
If selected as a winner, the applicant’s Group Leader will be contacted to confirm that the traveler is in good standing with the College/University. Winners will then be notified by EF Study Abroad via phone or email with further instruction regarding the claiming of the scholarship. All winners agree to be bound by these rules and may be asked to execute other documents related to the receipt of the scholarship. The odds of winning will depend on the number and quality of eligible entries received.
Each scholarship will be awarded in an amount between $500 and $2,000. The scholarship will be automatically applied to the winner’s EF Study Abroad program account and cannot be used for the purchase of travel protection. The scholarship is forfeited if the traveler cancels from their program, or is cancelled due to lack of program payments. Should the traveler’s program be postponed to a later date, and the winner re-enrolls on the program, the scholarship award will be carried over. Should the traveler’s program be postponed to a later date, and the winner does no re-enroll on the program, or if the program is cancelled, the scholarship is forfeited.
EF retains the right for any reason or no reason in its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this scholarship competition and not to award any or all of the scholarships.
General Conditions
All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply to the competition. This competition is void where prohibited by law.
Scholarship recipients will be notified by email or telephone and may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release of Publicity and Liability within 14 days of notification. In the event of noncompliance, if the recipient cannot be reached at the email address or telephone number submitted with entry, or if the scholarship notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable, the scholarship will be forfeited and an alternate recipient will be selected.
No cash alternative or substitution of any scholarship award will be offered. No scholarship transfer is permitted. Limit one scholarship per person. Participants agree to be bound by these official rules and the decisions of EF are final and binding in all respects. All taxes, fees, and surcharges on the prize are the sole responsibility of the participants.
All submissions become the property of EF. No photos, videos, or other media will be returned. By uploading content such as photograph image files or video, entrants agree to give EF or its designee irrevocable nonexclusive royalty-free rights to use the photo/video for any purpose including publication, display, modification, and creation of derivative works. By making a submission to the EF Study Abroad Scholarship Competition, participants acknowledge and agree that such submission will be brought within the public domain and EF will not be held liable for any copying, re-posting or unlawful use of the submission that may result.
By participating and accepting the scholarship, the recipient agrees to the use of his/her name for advertising or publicity purposes and to the use of statements made by or attributed to him/her relating to EF or this competition, and releases any and all rights to said use without further compensation. In the event of a dispute, all entries will be deemed to be made by the holder of the email account associated with the entry.
Winners and all travelers must execute the EF Study Abroad Release & Agreement and Booking Conditions.
Release of Liability
All entrants release, indemnify and hold harmless EF Global Classroom Foundation, EF Education First International AG (f/k/a EF Cultural Travel, Ltd.), EF Institute for Cultural Exchange, Inc., their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, employees and all others associated with the development and execution of the competition (the “Released Parties”) from any and all liability with respect to or in any way arising from this competition and/or acceptance or use of the scholarship, including liability for personal injury, death, damages, loss or any actual or alleged infringement or misappropriation of any third party proprietary rights. EF is not responsible for entries that are corrupted or otherwise not received correctly or for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of email, or on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or combination thereof, including injury or damage to participants or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in the scholarship. EF assumes no responsibility for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the scholarship or by any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of submissions in the scholarship. EF assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries, including lost, late or misdirected entries. EF is not responsible for user cheating or fraud by any entrants. Any activities intended to disrupt or interfere with the competition, or defraud EF in any way may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Participants engaging in any of the foregoing activities will be disqualified and any scholarships awarded will be forfeited. If, for any reason, the competition is not capable of running as planned, including without limitation infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of EF which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this competition, EF reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition.
Any questions regarding this scholarship should be directed to EF Study Abroad at 877-485-4184 or [email protected]