The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program enables students to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity. 

A congressionally funded program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the scholarship is named after the late congressman Benjamin A. Gilman from New York. With his support, the program was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. Shortly thereafter in 2002, Congressman Gilman retired after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee. Gilman explained, “Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”