OSA Scholarships

Financial aid, including most GW awards, federal grants, merit scholarships, and loans, can be utilized during study abroad. Each semester GW students receive scholarships from the Office for Study Abroad (OSA), GW's affiliated program providers, and outside sources to supplement their aid packages. In a typical semester, GW study abroad students in total received over $200,000 in scholarships outside of their regular financial aid packages. 

The GW Office for Study Abroad offers several scholarships to help students make their study abroad experience a reality, the eligibility for which varies by scholarship program. Review our full list of offerings below: 

• GW Exchange Program Scholarship: As the program provider for this program type, GW offers this merit- and financial need-based award for semester study on a GW Exchange program. This is a competitive scholarship and not all applicants will be selected.

• GW Study Program Scholarship: As the program provider for this program type, GW offers this merit- and financial need-based award for semester study on a GW Study Program. This is a competitive scholarship and not all applicants will be selected.

• GW Hidden Gems Scholarship: This award is designed to help financially support students who stepped off the beaten path and are pursuing a program we've identified as a "Hidden Gem" within our approved programs options. Full list of qualifying programs is on the scholarship brochure under Eligibility. 

• GW FWS Supplemental Scholarship: This award provides aid to Federal Work-Study (FWS) recipients, who must forfeit their FWS job when they study abroad. This is a competitive scholarship and not all applicants will be selected.

• GW Social Media Correspondent Scholarship:  As a Social Media Correspondent, your social media posts will be a resource for other GW students to learn about your host country’s culture, language, and much more! Any study abroad applicant is eligible. This is a competitive scholarship and not all applicants will be selected.

• GW Gilman Supplemental Scholarship: This scholarship is for current Pell Grant recipients planning to attend a GW Study Program or Exchange who have submitted an application for the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship. Students will only be awarded this scholarship if they are not awarded the Gilman Scholarship.

• GW Carmela Hernandez Scholarship: A competitive, need-based scholarship for one selected recipient studying abroad on the GW Madrid program. 

• GW International Student Scholarship: A competitive, merit-based scholarship that provides aid to international students (on an F1 or J1 visa) studying abroad. 

• GW Study in Israel Scholarship: Merit- and financial need-based award for semester study on a GW-approved program in Israel. This is a competitive scholarship and not all applicants will be selected.

There are additional scholarships available for students who have applied to the Fall Abroad Experience (F.A.E) and who study on select programs.

Eligibility

All GW undergraduate students who are applying to study abroad are eligible to apply for OSA scholarships. You do not need to be accepted yet into a study abroad program in order to apply. Specific eligibility requirements are listed on the application page for each scholarship in GW Passport. Students may apply for all scholarships they are eligible for, but will only receive one (except for the Gilman Supplemental Scholarship - students may receive this and one other).

Important Dates and Deadlines

Students apply for scholarships the semester before they go abroad - the same time you apply to study abroad.

For students planning to study abroad during the fall semester, apply during the spring semester. Scholarship applications are open on GW Passport from March 15th until April 15th. 

For students planning to study abroad during the spring semester, scholarship applications are open on GW Passport from October 15th until November 15th.

Scholarships are awarded on a semesterly basis. Students who are studying abroad for the academic year must apply for a GW scholarship for each semester they are abroad.  If you are awarded a scholarship in the fall semester it does not automatically transfer to the spring, you will need to reapply for the scholarship in the spring semester.