Haiti Education Scholarships

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Haiti is one of those locations that would, under ideal conditions, present a truly awesome learning experience. However, due to regular although unpredictable political and social uprisings that keep the country in limbo, most traditional study abroad programs have been suspended or simply never established.

The few opportunities you may find to spend time in research or formal studies in Haiti will no doubt give you new perspective on one of the poorer, more politically virulent Caribbean countries. In fact peaceful rule is only as recent as the last year or so. Now maybe the future will be brighter for international study in Haiti.

Scholarship Programs

Of course the David L. Boren Scholarships are always an option, even when the going gets tough overseas. Through this program the federal government intends to cull the next leadership level of national security, highly trained in critical need languages and cultures, and the next generation of Americans with a clear perspective on the global vicissitudes of business and civilization at large. Boren Scholars study abroad in Haiti or another country outside Western Europe for a year. Up to $25,000 goes to select undergraduate or graduate students with the “right stuff.” This is a scholarship for service program, a one-for-one. You get a year of scholarship funding, and then you work for the feds for a year, ideally in a position that utilizes your newfound knowledge to its utmost.

If you are enrolled in a degree program at one of the almost two dozen U.S. colleges and universities that belong to the Consortium of Universities under the auspices of the Organization of American States, you may explore your study options in Haiti through one of the “member” universities there, as well as the OAS Fellowships possible. The Fellowships are designed to augment a graduate study program in certain fields including sustainable development, international business development and an array of educational, social and political development programs. Eligible applicants may be approved for up to two years of study or research in the OAS country of choice. Funding varies.

Are you interested in studying marine biology or oceanography? There may be no more diverse and welcoming environment than that surrounding the Caribbean. Sea Semester through Sea Education Association (SEA) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts is a unique “study abroad” program that puts students on a boat in the ocean in areas like the Caribbean with all its attendant ecosystems and island countries. Participants are challenged both physically and scholastically in an engaging curriculum that enables them to conduct fieldwork alongside professional oceanographers and biologists. Sea Semester, while not cheap, does provide a significant number of scholarships to those applicants whose participation might be at risk without additional funding.

Medical students: if you are interested in pursuing clinical research and studies in the context of an international study abroad program, you might consider exploring the options available in the Overseas Fellowships in Global Health and Clinical Research. Sponsored by the Fogarty International Center/Ellison Medical Foundation, fellows may choose to work/study in the Haitian program targeted on HIV clinical studies. Fellowships are awarded for a year.