UC Merced International Continuing Student Scholarship

The UC Merced International Continuing Student Scholarship is designed to assist international students with their education costs. Continuing international undergraduates on F-1 visas who will be enrolled full-time in Fall 2023 are eligible to apply. The International Student Scholarship is awarded competitively based on scholarly achievement, as demonstrated by academic records, and responses to two brief essay questions:

• Discuss a meaningful experience you had at UC Merced during the past year. The experience you discuss could be something especially positive, a notable challenge, etc. Explain why it is meaningful for you and what you learned from it.
• Pretend you are explaining to students in your home country what it is like to be an international student in the US. Discuss your experience, provide advice and share anything that you wish you would have known before you came to the US.

Because the Scholarship is a competitive award, not all applicants will necessarily receive awards. For those who do receive awards, amounts awarded may vary depending on the relative strengths of the applications received. For the 2023-24 academic year, it is anticipated that Scholarship award amounts will be between $2,000 and $5,000. Awards will be disbursed in two payments of 50% of the total amount awarded; the first payment will be issued in Fall Semester, the second in Spring Semester. Eligible students may apply for the Scholarship in subsequent years (continuation of the Scholarship in subsequent years is dependent on its continued funding).

Students who receive the Scholarship are expected to share their international perspective through participation in events or activities such as International Education Week, the Conversation Partner Program, and student organizations.