Laurel Fellowship

Mount Holyoke offers need-based Laurel Fellowships to support students whose own resources are not sufficient to cover the cost of study abroad. Laurel Fellowships are the only form of financial aid given by Mount Holyoke for study abroad. Federal aid and outside scholarships may be used for study abroad. Mount Holyoke aims to fund all qualified students; typically we approve more than 90% of applications each year. We particularly encourage students who have little or no previous experience outside the U.S. to apply.

We evaluate each application according to the relevance of the program/location to the student’s stated goals, the student’s academic preparation for study abroad (including language proficiency, if applicable), and the student’s overall academic record. Students should not focus on their desire to travel or explore opportunities for graduate study or future employment. No priority or preference is given solely on the basis of GPA.

To enable Mount Holyoke to fund all qualified students, the following limitations apply:

Laurel Fellowship funding will be limited to one semester. We will fund up to five students for the full year for language majors applying to study abroad in the target language in a single yearlong program/university.
Students will not be eligible for Laurel funding if they have previously studied abroad for a semester for academic credit at Mount Holyoke, even if they did not receive Laurel funding for that semester. This limitation will not apply to students who entered Mount Holyoke in the spring semester and who studied abroad in the fall prior to matriculation.
Students who are approved for Laurel funding for a semester may apply to study abroad for a full year in one location, or for a subsequent semester in the same or a different location, with the understanding that they will not be eligible for Laurel funding for the second semester.
Students approved for most MHC programs and exchanges will be guaranteed Laurel funding, provided that they meet all eligibility criteria for acceptance to the program and for need-based financial aid.
Laurel Fellowships generally will be awarded only for Laurel Preferred Programs. Laurel Preferred Programs are high quality programs that are competitively priced for their location. Limiting Laurel Fellowships to Laurel Preferred Programs helps Mount Holyoke stretch its own resources so that we can fund all qualified students. Students who believe they have a compelling academic need for a program that is not Laurel Preferred may apply for a Laurel, but must submit a Request to Study Abroad to a viable Laurel Preferred program among their options; they will also be expected to make a strong argument in their application for why the non-Laurel Preferred program is a significantly better fit in order to be considered for funding and have faculty support corroborating the academic need. Students wishing to do this must meet with April Stroud, Director of Study Abroad, to inquire about the process.

Please note that Mount Holyoke generally will not fund:

International students who wish to study in their home country
Study abroad during one's final semester. MHC does not permit study abroad during a student's final semester at the College.

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