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Study Abroad Scholarships

Global Business Center Study Abroad Scholarships are available for Foster School of Business undergraduate majors and MBA students (full-time or evening). Awards vary depending on program length, application responses, and financial need, typically ranging from $1000-$3000.
There are two annual application cycles:

  • Spring cycle (April 1 – April 30, 2026)
  • Fall Cycle (September 23 – October 28, 2026)

Criteria

You must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for the scholarship:

  1. Participation in an exchange, internship, or study abroad program approved by the University of Washington. We encourage undergraduate students to apply for a scholarship after you have been accepted to a program.
  2. Program will take place during the 2026-2027 academic year.
  3. Michael G. Foster School of Business student status during participation in the program. This means being a Foster undergraduate major or MBA student. Business minors are not eligible for GBC Study Abroad Scholarships.
  4. Determination of financial need based on FAFSA or WASFA form (for all need-based awards).
  5. In good standing with the Michael G. Foster School of Business and University of Washington.

Application

Many of our scholarships are financial need-based. We will use your most recent FAFSA or WASFA on file to determine financial need. Historically, all students with financial need received a scholarship. We strongly recommend you fill out the FAFSA or WASFA before applying to this scholarship and for many other need-based scholarship opportunities.

In addition to our need-based scholarships, we also aim to award students with thoughtful, specific goals for their study abroad program and who show evidence of reflection and commitment to personal and professional development.
You may respond to two optional questions on the GBC Scholarship Application to provide reviewers more information. Effective essay responses are personal, thoughtful, and specific to you and your study abroad program.

  1. Statement of Financial Need: If you do not have a FAFSA/WASFA on file or you feel it does not paint an accurate picture of your financial need, please provide additional context about your financial need, or explain how receiving this scholarship would impact your ability to study abroad. Your response will remain confidential and anonymous to reviewers.
  2. Goals Statement: To be considered for merit-based scholarships, please share how this study abroad experience would contribute to your academic, career, and/or personal goals. Please share why you chose this specific program or location. Maximum 250 words.

We recommend you save your application responses in a separate document so you don’t lose them in the event of a technical glitch.

Disbursal

Most GBC Scholarships are disbursed to your MyUW tuition account at the start of the quarter you are going abroad, in accordance with UW’s fee and disbursal schedule. Your tuition, fees, and most other charges will be deducted from your scholarship and financial aid before any excess funds are released via direct deposit or mailed to your local address on file. You can check to see if you have direct deposit set up with the financial aid office.
Please note that you are responsible for paying all program fees by their stated due dates.For partner programs and MBA study tours that are not billed to the MyUW tuition account directly, these due dates may not always align with the UW’s fee and disbursal schedule.

If you have inquiries about the program fees or due dates, please reach out to the program managers directly.

Some GBC Scholarships, including for the Absolute Internship program, will be applied directly to your program fee balance and you will not see this reflected in your MyUW tuition. Your scholarship notification letter will note if this is the case.

Tips

We recommend the following to support your efforts to fund your study abroad program.

1. Submit a Financial Aid Revision Request for Study Abroad to increase your ceiling for receiving aid for the quarter you’re going abroad. Read more here.
2. Explore other scholarships by visiting the UW Office of Study Abroad website and the UW Office of Merit Scholarships

What does it fund?

Global Business Center Study Abroad scholarships are for Foster undergraduate students and MBA students and can be used to support many UW program types including: academic quarter or semester, spring break, early fall start, international internships, MBA study tours and MBA immersions. Programs do not have to be through the UW Foster School of Business.

Our scholarship funds come from generous Foster School alumni and friends that support study abroad. Some of these funds are designated for certain programs (Absolute Internships, Exchanges in Asia, etc.) or for students who demonstrate financial need. We strongly recommend you fill out the FAFSA before applying to this scholarship and for many other need-based scholarship opportunities.

Other Scholarship Opportunities

For Undergraduates

For MBA/Graduate Students

Questions

Email [email protected]