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MITCHELL SCHOLARSHIPS
| Eligibility: |
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U.S. citizens
between the ages of 18 and 30 as of the year of application who
will have completed a Bachelor's degree before they begin their
proposed study. |
| Duration: |
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One year, non-renewable. |
| Award: |
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Tuition, room,
a living allowance of $11,000 and a travel stipend for study in
any field at any institution of higher learning in Northern Ireland
or the Republic of Ireland |
Holy
Cross
procedure: |
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Preliminary
application filed in Graduate Studies Office; interview in September
by Committee on Graduate Studies and Fellowships. Final application
submitted in October. |
| Essay(s): |
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1000-word essay |
| Then what: |
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Finalists interviewed
in late November; awardees confirmed after they have been accepted
by the proposed university |
The
Mitchell Scholarship, named in honor of U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell,
who was so important in brokering the Good Friday Peace Accord in Ireland,
is newly established in 1998. The first scholars began their studies
in the fall of the year 2000. The selection process is structured
much like the Rhodes or Marshall Scholarships. The selection committee
seeks students with "a demonstrated record of intellectual distinction,
leadership, and extra-curricular activity, as well as personal characteristics
of honesty, integrity, fairness, and unselfish service to others which indicate
a potential for future leadership and contribution to society." A
total of 12 awards were made last year.
Like the Marshall Scholarship, the student selects a program of study
and preferred institutions at which he or she would like to be placed.
Placement, however, is ultimately the responsibility of the U.S.-Ireland
Alliance, which supervises the selection process overall. They state:
"Scholars will be eligible to attend ... the seven universities in the
Republic of Ireland and the two universities in Northern Ireland, for
one academic year of post-graduate study. ... As institutional balance
will be a factor, an applicant's likelihood of being selected is increased
if the applicant expresses a willingness to attend any one of several
of the eligible institutions." The Mitchell Scholarship web site, http://www.us-irelandalliance.org/,
lists the available institutions and provides links to their web pages.
The web site also includes down-loadable application materials.
NOTE: Students in any discipline can pursue a Mitchell Scholarship, not only those in Irish Studies. Several Irish universities, for example, have specialties in advanced technologies and sciences.
Here
are some of the components of a complete application:
- a photocopy of
the birth certificate;
- a thousand-word
essay in which applicants "set out in their own words their interests
and aspirations, and their detailed reasons for wishing to study the
specific areas of proposed academic work;"
- a brief description
of the applicant's activities during their college years;
- letters of recommendation
from six individuals, at least four of them professors who have
taught you in college; (others may be from persons who can comment on
character and interests as revealed in non-academic activities).
For
the preliminary application to Holy Cross, the Committee on Graduate Studies
and Fellowships requires only two letters as well as the essay (see Preliminary
Application Procedures), but the deadline is soon enough after the preliminary
interviews that you should be collecting the other required components in
a timely manner.
Keep in mind the goal of the Mitchell Scholarships: to interest the next
generation of American leaders in the island of Ireland. As
you prepare your application, you might find additional suggestions in
the document "Proposal Writing:
the Art of Persuasion."
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