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Talk to your professors and department chair. They know of many reliable sources
of funding and work opportunities, or know where to point you to find them.
Go to professional organizations in your field. If you are interested in English
education, for example, research (and perhaps join) the NEA or National Council
of English Teachers. Many such organizations provide valuable job listings, internships,
and funding for people with your interests.
Go to the appropriate government agency for your field. Want to do biomedical
research? Check out the Department of Health and Human Services, or the National
Science Foundation. Writing a book of poetry? An NEH grant might be in your future.
And don't forget that there are many levels of government; contact federal, state,
and local governments for opportunities and funding.
What organizations do YOU belong to? Were you a Boy Scout? Member of Phi Beta
Kappa? Does your high school or town provide any alumni scholarships? What about
previous employers? Think about where you've been in your life, and reconnect with
people who may be able to help you today.
Be prepared to do exhaustive web searches. Spending substantial
chunks of time researching opportunities will likely yield substantial information.
This web page is only a starting point; branch out on your own searches.
Who are you? Are you a member of an ethnic minority group? Are your parents members
of a trade or professional organization? Are you from an unusual part of the world,
or did you have an unusual life in some way? Think about how these aspects of your
identity may present scholarship opportunities.
Make professional contacts: businesses, research organizations, schools, and
non-profits in your field. The web and your phone can be great sources of information.
Many professionals will know about private sources of funding and employments, and
your conversations may prove helpful connections in the future.
Keep your options open. An accounting major does not necessarily require that
you intern for a major accounting firm, and communications majors need not work
only for broadcasting agencies. Thousands of corporations and non-profits hire students
to do such work. Consider managing finances at the American Association of University
Professors or doing public relations work for NOW. You can combine your career goals
with your personal interests for a truly meaningful experience.
If you're interested in studying abroad, contact the schools
to which you are applying and see if they provide specific scholarships and opportunities
for international students. Also be sure to check with professional and governmental
organizations interested in your country. For example, if you are hoping to study
in Uganda or any other non-traditional destination, the federal
NSEP program may be interested
in your plans. A visit to our office can help you pinpoint appropriate programs.
Students may also apply for
Villanova's Connelly-Delouvrier Scholarship, which provides
funding for one semester of international study. To begin investigating the
study abroad opportunities that Villanova has to offer visit the
Office for
International Studies. Why study abroad? Take the
advice from a Villanova student who has been there.
After you've identified these opportunities, continue to
work with your professors and advisors to create the best application or resume
possible. They will likely be willing to help you edit essays, write recommendations,
and explain standard professional etiquette and conduct. You can also come to our
office (SAC 138) for such guidance.
Search our
database of Scholarships and Grants
or check out our list of links to other helpful databases.
Why study abroad?
Study abroad opens amazing possibilities to students. Those who experience
life in another country return with life-changing stories, events, and people
to share with Villanova. Consider the words of Kathy Quillinan, a Villanova
student who studied and lived in Ireland and England:
The opportunity to study abroad is one that every student should seize at
some point in their college career. Living and studying within another culture
for an extended period of time, be it six weeks in the summer or an entire academic
year, affords a student a range of academic and personal experiences that the
home campus simply cannot offer.
Studying abroad changed me life in that spending one semester in Oxford,
England, and one in Galway, Ireland, opened my eyes to the world beyond America
and introduced me to perspectives that challenged everything familiar to me.
Suddenly, I had opinions, interests, and goals, ranging from a predilection
for modern art museums to a curiosity about free trade practices in the global
economy to a fixation with backpacking solo around Europe. Most importantly,
my year abroad revealed to me my passion for Irish politics and indicated where
my future lies. I returned to Villanova with a reshaped sense of self and a
more defined focus for my future.
Through interacting with students of a foreign nation, Americans will open
their minds to perspectives, attitudes, and lifestyles completely different
from that with which they have been raised. The experience will teach students
of all cultures how similar we all really are, whether one hails from a suburb
in New Jersey, a ghetto in West Belfast, a farm in New Zealand, or a village
in Argentina. Once you get past the accents and dialects, we are all just trying
to make sense of our increasingly global world.
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