College Scholarships for Cuba

Government Funding Remains Strong

Located just about 90 miles south of Key West, Florida lies Cuba. Cuba is a laid-back, island country renowned for its ability to produce high-quality cigars. Unfortunately, because of political relations between Cuba and the United States they are illegal to bring into the country. Scholarships to Cuba are just about as hard to find. During these politically tumultuous times there are only a few select scholarship providers who are allowed into Cuba. The main goals of these programs are to put students in areas that many other students don’t get the chance to do. This allows them a unique opportunity to understand a culture that many never get to experience. Because of the political affairs of these two nations, there are no colleges or universities with study abroad programs in Cuba.

Government Scholarships

The government is one of the biggest providers of study abroad funding. Here are two of the organizations they provide:

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is dedicated to giving students from underrepresented groups the chance to study abroad. Students who are receiving Federal Pell Grants are the only ones eligible for this award. This allows students who normally wouldn’t be able to afford such a program the ability to travel abroad. One emphasis of this program is to send students to places that get overlooked by most other study abroad programs. Mainly, they want students to choose locations outside of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Over 2,300 Gilman Scholarships are awarded each year. The average amount of funding is $4,000, and the maximum amount is $5,000.
The David L. Boren Awards for International Study is another great program for students looking to study abroad. They provide up to $20,000 per year to participants! This program aims to send students to areas that are deemed critical to U.S. interests. Such interests include facing the challenges of a global society, global disease and hunger, and economic competitiveness. Students come from all sorts of backgrounds and majors, but are should be interested in learning a
language that is normally taught in American schools. Even though Cuba speaks Spanish- which is commonly taught in the states- the nation is of critical interest to the United States, which makes it a perfect location for study abroad programs.

Study Abroad Organizations

The Center for Cross-Cultural Study is dedicated to offering students the opportunity to understand, in depth, Spanish-speaking countries through their rigorous travel programs. Their program in Cuba focuses on the thought-provoking political and economic contradictions and the natural beauty of the island. Students will attend the University of Havana, which is the capitol city of Cuba. CC-CS offers both merit-based scholarships and a diversity scholarship. Students are invited to apply for one or the other.

Unfortunately, because of the relations between the United States and Cuba, CC-CS’s study abroad program to this region has been suspended. They anticipate that they will be able to resume this program in 2013.