Financial Aid

Plymouth State University’s Study Abroad Financial Aid Policy

Plymouth State University (PSU) views study abroad as an important element of your education. In support of the overall educational mission of the institution, PSU permits institutional aid (i.e. PSU grants, PSU scholarships, and departmental scholarships) to be used towards the cost of fall and/or spring study abroad expenses.  While most times, costs to study abroad exceed PSU semester costs, students are able to apply for additional Federal Parent PLUS or student alternative loans to help meet their additional study abroad costs.  Federal and state regulation permits the use of federal and state funds for program related costs in which PSU awards college level credit.   A Consortium Agreement between PSU and the host institution is required.  The Global Education Office coordinates the collection of these agreements.

In using financial aid for study abroad, the following criteria must be met:

1. Students must enroll in a minimum of 12 credits each term.
2. Students must research program costs and submit a Cost Summary sheet (obtained and reviewed with the Global Education Office) with copies of program costs from the sponsoring institution, to the Director of Financial Aid.  The student should schedule a meeting with the director to go over budget material.
3. A bill or an invoice for the program needs to be submitted to the Student Account Services office. If possible, please have all loan checks submitted electronically to PSU.
4. Students should designate someone as their “Power-of-Attorney” (not an employee of PSU) prior to leaving the country.  This should be someone you trust to complete financial arrangements for you while you are out of the country.
5. A final transcript from the overseas institution must be sent to PSU Registrar’s Office at the completion of your study abroad program.
6. Faculty/Staff Tuition Benefit recipients may have their benefits applied toward study abroad costs.

Additional Scholarship Opportunities for Study Abroad

PSU provides study abroad students an opportunity to apply for the Barbara Wiley Scholarship.  Applications are available through the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Office as well as online.

The Crawford Martin Opportunity Grants (CMOG) were established in 2011 with the intent of providing degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students of Plymouth State University with funding to meet ordinary and extraordinary educational opportunities that enable them to persist in attaining their degrees. These funds are expressly for covering expenses related to educational activity and should be accessed only after other campus funding resources have been pursued.

The U.S. government believes it is important for citizens to be better educated about the world and is providing scholarship assistance to help college students engage in overseas study. Below are links to additional scholarship opportunities. Read the instructions carefully since some scholarships do have a service component associated with receipt of the scholarship.

All of these scholarships are competitive with other students around the U.S.  To be the most competitive it is important to:

• Read instructions carefully and check the application deadlines
• Prepare a draft of your essay and have it reviewed by a faculty member, the Writing Center at Lamson Learning Commons or a study abroad advisor in the Global Education Office.

Possible scholarships are:

• NSEP (Boren Scholarship): Deadlines vary
• Asia Freeman, Instiute of InternationalEducation
• Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
• Fulbright Program for U.S. Students 

Other Study Abroad funding information:

Studyabroadfunding.org:  A valuable funding resource for study abroad opportunities

Diversity Abroad.com – Dedicated to increasing participation and better serving the needs of diverse and underrepresented students in international education

SIT Study Abroad - A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad