Marshall Scholarship

How to apply

Overview

Description

The Marshall Scholarship was established in the 1950s by the UK Foreign Office to strengthen ties with their American wartime allies. After receiving a significant amount of foreign aid through the Economic Recovery Program, British leaders decided to establish a scholarship program for American students. The Marshall Scholarship offers funding for high-achieving US undergraduate degree-holders to pursue a UK graduate degree program in any non-professional field of study. Marshall Scholars are committed to contributing to an enduring relationship between the British and American peoples through their governments and institutions. The scholarship covers university fees, living expenses, travel from the US, book fees, and research grants. Applicants may either apply for the one-year or two-year scholarship; the two-year scholarship may be extended to fund a third year of study.

Award

A Marshall Scholarship covers the relevant university fees at your UK institution, cost of living expenses, annual book grant, thesis grant, research and daily travel grants, fares to and from the United States and, where applicable, a contribution towards the support of a dependent spouse.

Eligibility

• US citizens who will have graduated from an undergraduate degree program with a minimum GPA of 3.7 at the time of their scholarship (i.e. September 2024)
• Candidates can apply as seniors or in the two application cycles following their graduation from Wesleyan. (For example, to qualify for the 2023-2024 application cycle, candidates must have graduated college or university after April 2020.)
• Persons already studying for or holding a British degree or degree-equivalent qualification are not eligible to apply for a Marshall Scholarship.
• Ineligible programs include professional degree programs and MBA degrees. A full list of ineligible programs may be found at this link.

Selection Criteria

The Marshall Scholarship selection committee is looking for students with diverse interests and identities who will excel as scholars and contribute to improved understanding between the US and the UK. The selection criteria are divided into three equally weighted categories:

• Academic merit
• Leadership potential
• Ambassadorial potential

More information on these evaluation criteria may be found on the Marshall Scholarship Programme website.

How to Apply

1. Explore the Marshall Scholarship program webpage and other resources, like videos the program makes available to applicants.
2. Do some preliminary research about which graduate program(s) in the UK are of interest to you. Some approaches to figuring that out include:
   • Make sure you understand the different degree types in the UK. Most Masters degrees are one year, not two as is more common in the US. There are both “taught Masters” and “research Masters” degrees as well as doctoral degrees. Read about postgraduate degree names and abbreviations in the UK.
   • Read up on different UK universities. The full list of partner universities for the Marshall is available online. Remember that the Marshall seeks applications for schools outside of London, especially.
   • Use the StudyUK webpage to search for programs at the partner universities – this website allows you to find which universities offer courses in what topics and has lots of other resources on UK universities and university life
   • Talk with your academic advisor and/or any professors who are familiar with graduate programs in your discipline, especially if they know about the UK system
   • Double check that the programs you select do not exceed the costs allowed by the Marshall Scholarship Programme
   • Remember that you must select two Masters degrees unless there is a concrete reason that you cannot stay in the UK beyond one year. And you must identify a Plan B option for each Plan A degree you propose.
3. Write to fellowships@wesleyan.edu or book an initial appointment to talk about your interest in applying for the Marshall Scholarship. Expressions of interest are due by June of the year in which you will apply for the Marshall Scholarship. 
4. Choose which of the eight Marshall regions you will apply in; this is related to where you reside, but sometimes there are multiple possibilities. Choose which graduate programs you will list as your first and second choice; for the typical Marshall application (for two Masters degrees), this is four distinct programs at four different universities.
5. Draft your application materials and review them with the Office of Fellowships well in advance of the campus deadline. Complete essays are due in July.
6. Request your letters of recommendation in advance of the campus deadline. They are due in the online system by the campus deadline.
7. Submit your application through the Marshall Scholarship online application portal by the campus deadline. Include your official transcript(s) (NOT the one you can download from Wesportal.)
8. Complete a campus interview with members of the Wesleyan Fellowships Committee.
9. If you are nominated at the campus level, make any revisions to your application before the national deadline.
10. Submit your application at least 24 hours in advance of the national deadline or by the date communicated to you by the Associate Director for Fellowships. (Technical problems have occurred in recent years, so we require applications to be submitted at least 24 hours ahead of the deadline for this competition, sometimes earlier to accommodate the endorsement letter process.)
11. If you are selected for a regional interview, reach out to fellowships@wesleyan.edu right away for interview prep support.
12. When you get the details about your interview, look up the people who will be on the panel, this will help you know your audience.
13. Complete your regional interview (you will travel to the interview location in person and be interviewed by a panel). Interviews are typically in November.
14. Decisions are announced shortly after interviews are completed (late November in most years).
15. Whether or not you are selected for the Marshall, do not lose track of applying to the graduate programs you plan to apply to. UK deadlines and graduate admissions processes are different from their US counterparts. In most cases, you can wait until after the Marshall results to decide whether to go forward with your UK graduate school applications.
16. If you are not selected for the Marshall Scholarship on your first try, you are far from alone. Oftentimes, it is possible to reapply in a subsequent year, but check the details about graduation year in the eligibility guidelines.