Purpose: To support participation in summer or semester-long advanced language study programs or for students conducting structured long-term research abroad. 

Eligibility and Criteria: Exceptionally well-qualified undergraduate students with well-formed programs for overseas study and/or research. This award is open to undergraduate students in any major on the USC Columbia campus. Preference may be given to students who are majoring in Global Studies, Cyber Policy and Ethics or who are pursuing a minor in one of the area studies programs, ie: African Studies; Asian Studies; European Studies; Islamic World Studies; Latin American, Caribbean, and US Latinx Studies; or Russian and Eurasian Studies. Preference may also be given to students who actively attend and participate in Walker Institute activities. 

Application Requirements: Application form; a detailed research/study proposal of no more than 3 pages or 900 words; list of 2-3 references; a proposed budget outline; USC transcript (unofficial copies are acceptable); résumé. See application form for further details. 

Scholarship Information:  Scholarship amounts up to $2,000 to be used within the coming semester. The scholarships can support activities such as advanced language study, research using local language source materials, and other international research pursuits. 

Awardee Obligations: All awardees will be asked to submit photos and a brief report on their activities following their return to campus. Acceptance of the award grants permission to the Walker Institute, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the University of South Carolina to use the student’s likeness and descriptions of the award activity in public information and promotional materials, unless otherwise negotiated with the director of the Walker Institute. An awardee’s successful application will be made available to applicants in subsequent years. 

Payment Information: Scholarships will only be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account. Awardees will not receive a check directly from the Institute, nor will a USC Travel Authorization be established. Scholarships will be routed from the Institute to the office of Financial Aid & Scholarships and then processed with the Bursar's Office. As long asstudents have a zero balance with the bursar, the full amount of the award will be mailed to you’re the student’s home address or direct deposit if you are enrolled in direct deposit via my.sc.edu. Students must be enrolled to access the awarded funds. If you are not enrolled, funds will not be available until you enroll.

Terms and Conditions: This scholarship cannot be used for: short-term research scholarships and/or travel, winter or May-mester courses, or conference participation. Although students may apply for multiple awards from the Walker Institute, students may receive no more than one award per academic year. Please be aware that in accordance with ACAF 2.09, you will need to register your international travel in the Student International Travel Registry maintained by the Study Abroad Office before your expected departure date. In addition, you will be required to obtain international emergency travel insurance from the University’s authorized vendor. For projects that require IRB approval, funds will not be released until approval has been granted. Samples of previously funded applications are available for review at The Walker Institute office in Gambrell Hall, suite 251.  

Purpose: To provide awards to students conducting research on international and cross-cultural issues, or students studying topics pertinent to global or area studies.

Eligibility and Criteria: Students with well-formed proposals for research or education abroad. This award is open to undergraduate students in any major on the USC Columbia campus. Preference may be given to students who are majoring in Global Studies, Cyber Policy and Ethics or who are pursuing a minor in one of the area studies programs, ie: African Studies; Asian Studies; European Studies; Islamic World Studies; Latin American, Caribbean and US Latinx Studies; or Russian and Eurasian Studies. Preference may also be given to students who actively attend and participate in Walker Institute activities. 

Application Requirements: Application form; a detailed research/study proposal of no more than 3 pages or 900 words; list of 2-3 references; a proposed budget outline; USC transcript (unofficial copies are acceptable); résumé. See application form for further details. 

Scholarship Information: Scholarship amounts up to $1,000 to be used within the coming academic year. The scholarships can support activities such as advanced language study, research using local language source materials, and other international research pursuits. 

Awardee Obligations: All awardees will be asked to submit photos and a brief report on their activities following their return to campus. Acceptance of the award grants permission to the Walker Institute, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the University of South Carolina to use the student’s likeness and descriptions of the award activity in public information and promotional materials, unless otherwise negotiated with the director of the Walker Institute. An awardee’s successful application will be made available to applicants in subsequent years. 

Payment Information: Scholarships will only be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account. Awardees will not receive a check directly from the Institute, nor will a USC Travel Authorization be established. Scholarships will be routed from the Institute to the office of Financial Aid & Scholarships and then processed with the Bursar's Office. As long as students have a zero balance with the bursar, the full amount of the award will be mailed to you’re the student’s home address or direct deposit if you are enrolled in direct deposit via my.sc.edu. Students must be enrolled to access the awarded funds. If you are not enrolled, funds will not be available until you enroll. 

Terms and Conditions: Although students may apply for multiple awards from the Walker Institute, students may receive no more than one award per academic year. Please be aware that in accordance with ACAF 2.09, you will need to register your international travel in the Student International Travel Registry maintained by the Study Abroad Office before your expected departure date. In addition, you will be required to obtain international emergency travel insurance from the University’s authorized vendor. For projects that require IRB approval, funds will not be released until approval has been granted. Samples of previously funded applications are available for review at The Walker Institute office in Gambrell Hall, suite 251.

This fellowship provides up to $5,000 per year to University of South Carolina graduate students seeking to study abroad, with a preference to study abroad programs in Taiwan or China. Students in Taiwan or China also may apply to use this fellowship to study at USC. 

This fellowship was established through a generous gift from Alex and Jessica Cheng.

Purpose: To provide supplemental support to graduate students with well-constructed international study or research proposals related to a thesis or dissertation. Applicants may apply to support advanced foreign language study or conduct international research using local language resources. Preference will be given to proposals that show how this project will lead to applications for external funding.

Eligibility: All currently enrolled graduate students proposing appropriate international research.

Travel Grant Information: This travel grant amounts up to $2,500 during the academic year. This travel grant will only be in the form of a travel authorization at USC. Graduate students must request to file a travel authorization through The Walker Institute prior to their travel date. In most cases our Institute will book and pay for the flight and/or mileage in advance and registration/conference fees if applicable. All other expenditures that are incurred by the graduate student will be reimbursed to the student in check form once all of the original receipts have been submitted to The Walker Institute within 5 days of the graduate student’s return. If original receipts are not submitted funds will not be reimbursed.

Using the grant: The travel grant can support such activities as advanced language study, research using local language source materials, and other international research pursuits. Short-term research scholarships and travel, May-mester courses, and conference participation cannot be supported by this travel grant. Although students may apply for multiple travel grants, each student will only receive one travel grant. Please be aware that in accordance with ACAF 2.09, you will need to register your international travel in the Student International Travel Registry maintained by the Study Abroad Office before your expected departure date. In addition, you will be required to obtain international emergency travel insurance from the University’s authorized vendor. For projects that require IRB approval, funds will not be advanced and/or reimbursed until approval has been granted. Samples of previously funded applications are available for review at The Walker Institute’s office in Gambrell Hall, suite 251. All awardees will be asked to submit photos and a brief report on their activities following their return to campus.

Purpose and Award Information: The Walker Institute is pleased to offer the Donald J. Puchala Graduate Fellowship in the amount of $1,000. This fellowship is made possible by the generous support of Professor Puchala’s students and friends. Dr. Donald J. Puchala is the James F. and Maude B. Byrnes Professor of International Studies Emeritus at the University of South Carolina. Over the course of his forty year career as a scholar and teacher, Dr. Puchala was a member of the faculties of the State University of New York, Columbia University and the University of South Carolina. He also served as Associate Dean of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and Director of the University of South Carolina’s Walker Institute of International and Area Studies. Dr. Puchala is a specialist in the field of International Relations Theory, the politics of the United Nations and the functioning of the European Union.

Eligibility: All currently enrolled graduate students proposing appropriate international research. Priority will be given to projects that focus on international relations theory or international institutions, a major focus of Professor Puchala’s research. 

Program Guidelines: The award amount for the Puchala Graduate Fellowship is $1,000, to be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account.

Scholarship Information: Scholarship amounts up to $1,000. Scholarships will only be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account. Awardees will not receive a check directly from the Institute, nor will a USC Travel Authorization be established. Scholarships will be routed from the Institute to the office of Financial Aid & Scholarships and then processed with the Bursar's Office. As long as you have a zero balance, the full amount of the award will be mailed to your home address or direct deposit if you are enrolled in direct deposit via my.sc.edu. Students must be enrolled to access the awarded funds. If you are not enrolled, funds will not be available until you enroll.

Purpose and Award Information: The Center for Asian Studies and Walker Institute are pleased to offer the Li-Ching Graduate Fellowship in the amount of $3,000. This fellowship is made possible by the Li-Ching Fellowship Fund, which was established in 1994 through a generous donation from the Li-Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation (立青文教基金會).

Eligibility: All currently enrolled graduate students proposing appropriate international research. A substantial portion of the project must relate to Asian Studies. In accordance with the terms of the bequest, preference will be given to projects in the Greater China region.

Program Guidelines: The award amount for the Li-Ching Graduate Fellowship is $3,000, to be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account.

Purpose and Award Information: To provide supplemental support to exceptionally well-qualified graduate students with well-constructed international study or research proposals related to a thesis or dissertation related to Asia. Applicants may apply to support advanced foreign language study or conduct international research using local language resources. Preference will be given to proposals that show how this project will lead to applications for external funding.

Eligibility: All currently enrolled graduate students proposing appropriate international research. A substantial portion of the project must relate to Asian Studies. In accordance with the terms of the bequest, preference will be given to projects in Korean Studies.

Program Guidelines: The award amount for the Seung Yeun Kim Fellowship is $3,000, to be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account.

Scholarship Information: Scholarship amounts up to $3,000 during the  academic year. Scholarships will only be deposited in the student's USC Bursar account. Awardees will not receive a check directly from the Institute, nor will a USC Travel Authorization be established. Scholarships will be routed from the Institute to the office of Financial Aid & Scholarships and then processed with the Bursar's Office. As long as you have a zero balance, the full amount of the award will be mailed to your home address or direct deposit if you are enrolled in direct deposit via my.sc.edu. Students must be enrolled to access the awarded funds. If you are not enrolled, funds will not be available until you enroll.

Yes, you can apply for more than one of the following scholarships: The International Experience Scholarship, The Ceny Walker Graduate Scholarship Award, The Puchala Graduate Fellowship in International Affairs, The Li-Ching Graduate Scholarship, and The Seung Yeun Kim Dissertation Scholarship during the academic year. Please note that if you apply for a scholarship and the Student Scholarship Committee determines that your application fits better in another scholarship category, the Committee will put your application with the category that fits your application the best. If you apply to more than one scholarship during one academic year, you will only receive one award.

Yes, if you won a scholarship the previous academic year, you can apply for the same (or another scholarship) in the next academic year. Student scholarships are given once an academic year.

For the Ceny Walker Undergraduate Scholarship, up to 4 awards will be given. For the Ceny Walker Graduate Scholarship, approximately 8 awards will be given, for the  Li-Ching Graduate Scholarship and the Seung Yeun Kim Dissertation Scholarship: these awards depend on funding. Please keep an eye out on our website if the awards mentioned are being funded for the current academic year.

No, the scholarship process is very competitive. Every application is compared to the others applying for each specific award. For example, if you are applying for the Ceny Walker Undergraduate Scholarship, your application will be compared to the other peers who have also applied for that scholarship.

All applications are reviewed by a 3-person Student Awards Committee and then the Director of Walker Institute will also review.

It takes the Award Committee approximately 1 month or longer to review all applications and make decisions. You will receive your answer in an official letter by the Walker Institute in the mail. You can also check our website that will show the winners under the News column on the main page once the award letters are mailed.

Every student scholarship application has a checklist that every student should follow. Incomplete applications will not be accepted/evaluated. Students should review the link on the scholarship application page that has all of the necessary proposal components, the Committee has outlined what questions your proposal needs to answer and has also provided information on how to write your proposal.

No, you can print out your unofficial transcript from my.sc.edu. Walker Institute would like to have only USC transcripts; other school transcripts are not required but will be accepted.

Yes, submit both, your graduate work here at USC and that of your undergraduate career.

Examples of former scholarship winners proposals and budgets can be viewed at the Walker Institute office Monday-Friday, 9am until 4pm. The copies cannot leave the office nor can photographs be taken of these copies, but you are more than welcome to review them and take notes in the office.

For undergraduate student’s awards will be deposited in the students account that is located in the Bursar’s Office at USC. The undergraduate students must be enrolled in order to access these scholarship funds. For an example, if you are enrolled during the fall, spring, and summer the funds will be accessible to you each term that you are enrolled. If you are not enrolled during a term, such as summer, you will not be able to access the funds during that summer term. Student awarded funds will be allocated by the end of the spring semester into the students Bursar’s account. If you have a balance with the Bursar and your awarded funds are deposited into your student account, the amount that was due to the University will decrease with the amount of the award (for the award will absorb the fees associated with your account). To find out how you can clear your balance so that your scholarship award will not be used up due to your balance, contact the Bursar’s Office for further assistance. Once the scholarship funds are in your Bursar’s account, you will receive a refund check in the amount of the available funds remaining in your account. Please note: if you have an outstanding balance in your USC Bursar account, the awarded funds will absorb any fees that your account has incurred.

For graduate students travel grant will only be in the form of a travel authorization through the University. Graduate students must request to file a travel authorization through The Walker Institute prior to their travel date. In most cases our Institute will book and pay for the flight and/or mileage in advance and registration/conference fees if applicable. All other expenditures that are incurred by the graduate student during the travel will be reimbursed to the student in a check form once all of the original receipts have been submitted to The Walker Institute within 5 days of the graduate student's return. If original receipts are not submitted funds will not be reimbursed.