The main national study abroad scholarships for US students are the Gilman Scholarship (up to $5,000), the Fund for Education Abroad (up to $5,000), Gilman-McCain ($5,000 for military dependents), Phi Kappa Phi ($1,000), Boren Awards ($8,000 to $25,000) and Freeman-ASIA (up to $7,000). Providers add their own — Authentica offers the SEED Scholarship ($1,500, any nationality) and SCALE Scholars (25% to 100% of the program fee). Which ones you can use depends mostly on how long your program is.

Yes. The Gilman Scholarship has no minimum program length, and the US State Department states that short-term programs are eligible. Your program needs to earn academic credit, you need to be a US citizen receiving a Pell Grant, and your destination must be at Travel Advisory Level 1 or 2. The two-to-three-week minimum you may have read about was retired and still circulates on older pages.

Start by checking whether you receive a Pell Grant — if so, apply for Gilman first. Then apply to the Fund for Education Abroad if your program is 14 days or longer, Authentica's SEED Scholarship if you can write 600 words on a sustainability problem, and ask your campus study abroad office, your academic department and your local Rotary district about funds that are rarely advertised. Apply for several; most students stack two or three.

Yes. The Gilman Scholarship and the Fund for Education Abroad both accept faculty-led programs as long as they earn credit. Authentica's SEED Scholarship accepts any program of 14 days or more, including faculty-led. Be careful with other providers' own scholarships — several large providers exclude faculty-led and customized programs from their aid entirely, so check the fine print.

Some. Gilman, Gilman-McCain, Boren, Freeman-ASIA and Fulbright all require US citizenship. The Fund for Education Abroad accepts permanent residents and DACA recipients. Authentica's SEED Scholarship is open to students of all nationalities at any accredited institution — you do not need to be at a US university, but your university or provider must list the SEED Scholarship on its website. Beyond that, check your home country's government scholarship schemes and your host university's own awards.

The Gilman Scholarship sets no minimum at all. The Fund for Education Abroad and Authentica's SEED Scholarship both set 14 days. Below two weeks, your realistic options are local grants and your own institution's awards. At the other end, Boren needs 8 to 12 weeks, Freeman-ASIA 8 weeks, and the Bridging Scholarship a full three-month semester.

Usually yes, and you should. Students routinely combine a national award such as Gilman, a provider award such as SEED or SCALE, and a home-institution grant. Check each award's own rules on combining, and tell your financial aid office what you have won — outside awards can change your aid package.

It depends on the award. Gilman wants you applying to or accepted into a program. Authentica's SEED Scholarship accepts students who are participating in, accepted to, or applying to a program. SCALE Scholars requires acceptance first. Because scholarship deadlines often fall before program decisions, start the funding paperwork early rather than waiting.

The base Gilman award is up to $5,000. Students studying a critical-need language can add up to $3,000, and STEM students up to $1,000, so the maximum stack is $8,000 to $9,000. Nearly 3,000 awards are made each year. You must be a US citizen undergraduate receiving a Federal Pell Grant.

Yes, for most of them. The Gilman Scholarship funds credit-bearing internships abroad on the same terms as study. The Fund for Education Abroad and Authentica's SEED Scholarship also accept internship programs of 14 days or more. Boren and Freeman-ASIA have their own rules and length minimums, so check those individually.

Fewer, but yes. The Gilman Scholarship is undergraduate-only. Authentica's SEED Scholarship accepts undergraduate and graduate students. The Boren Fellowship is the graduate version of the Boren Award for programs of 8 weeks or more. Your own department's travel and research funds are often the best place to start.

Yes. The Gilman Scholarship is open to undergraduates at two-year and four-year institutions, and there is no minimum program length for either. An older rule that set different minimums for community college students was retired. You still need to be receiving a Pell Grant and on a credit-bearing program.

Rarely on a semester, often on a short program. A $5,000 Gilman award is roughly a quarter of a typical $20,000 semester but can cover most or all of a three-week faculty-led program. Compare awards against total program cost — Authentica fees bundle tuition, housing, immersions, transcripts and insurance — rather than against a tuition-only figure.

The least demanding applications are usually provider awards and local grants. Authentica's SEED Scholarship asks for one 600-word response or a two-minute video, with no GPA, no fee and no financial documents. Rotary clubs and community foundations often ask for little more than a short statement. Gilman and FEA are more involved but have the largest awards.

Not all of them. The Gilman Scholarship has no GPA requirement. The Fund for Education Abroad has no fixed GPA floor. Authentica's SEED Scholarship has no minimum GPA. Phi Kappa Phi is the exception on this page, with a hard 3.75 floor. Merit awards such as Authentica's SCALE Scholars weigh demonstrated sustainability work rather than GPA alone.