Window on the world; Marshall scholarships

At this time we present window on the world a tape recorded series produced by the British Information Services and distributed through the facilities of the National Association of educational broadcasters. Today's special programme concerns the Marshall scholarships and how interested students can apply for them. Here now is Miss Natalie Davis. Today we're going to talk about Marshall scholarships some of you have already heard about them but the person to really tell us about it is Elizabeth Sacco who's in the studio now. She is the educational specialist of British Information Services. This is what is in Marshall scholarship. Well a Marshall scholarship is an award for graduate study at British university and a martial scholar. He's always an American. The scholarships were founded five six years ago as a token of gratitude from the British people to the Americans for most of the Marshall aid program.

And of course that means they were actually named for the American General George Catlett Marshall that he says yes. Well you said that of course they were given to Americans and how many are given out each year are these yearly scholarships. Yes well not even all that in many just 12 a year to 12 very selected American students. Yes and the 12 men all women. The idea in general is that we would like to have 12. Well at least let us say that a bright young Americans who are as representative as possible of America mixing in the life of a British university are offering everything that they can to the university which they're going. Of course the important thing about martial scholarships right now is that applications have to be sent in for people who will be going to Britain in the 1959 Nineteen sixty years and that's the deadline for

applications at the end of October. Well I'm glad I'm glad you've brought this up right at the beginning because an emotional scholarship application it seems to me is quite a serious undertaking. A student has to fill in quite a formidable form. And how do we go about this where for example do they find out where at their school or do they go to get an application blank. Well first of all at their own schools I think I should make it clear at the beginning that a candidate for a martial scholarship has to be a graduate of a recognized American university or college and other words they should have already received at least a bachelor's already by the time they take up that award. But a student who is just now and two in his senior year should apply if he wants to start graduate work as soon as he's taken his degree in this country which

would be say after 90 and June of 1959 by that time he would have received just not have his degree by the end of this current academic year. By June 1959 I think maybe a few details would be of interest to people now. One thing I don't think we mentioned at all so far is that in the first place the Marshall scholarships are for a two year period of study at a British university on thing. Yes I think that's a very important point there for two years so that any American student who wins a scholarship any anybody who becomes a martial Skala can stay at a British university and take a degree. Take a British university degree. In fact anybody who accepts a scholarship has to agree to stay and take that degree. ELIZABETH JACKSON And it isn't only a graduate degree that a student can get even though he has to have at least a bachelor's from an American university.

Oh no they all offered onet to graduates of American colleges or universities but the scholar can take any degree in Britain which is most appropriate to his background and training and his future. He can for instance take a B.A. in a field related to his first degree which actually would be much more specialized than the average bachelor's degree in this country probably So yes that would take him two years. He can take a modest as degree of some kind of pending on his field. He could take a Ph.D. any of these degrees would require two years residence at a British university and his his choice would be dictated by his previous training. The other important thing is that there is a an age limit for scholarship candidates. There's never know an age limit. The only thing the basic requirement is that by the time you take up your scholarship you

have to have your first your bachelor's degree. A candidate for a martial scholarship must not be more than 26 in the October of the year in which he plans to take up his award so he must not be 25 when he makes his application. And in other words the applications have to be in this year by October 31 31 and the student cannot be over 25 by the time the deadline comes because he will be too old to take it up next year if he is planning to go next year. There are a few other very important considerations in the first place. What is actually the value of the martial scholarship. Well emotional Scala wins first of all his fat from his hometown in the United States to the British University where he will be studying for two years and at the end of the two years

he's fed back home. In addition his fee is at his chosen university paid for him and in addition to that perhaps most important five hundred pounds sterling. They would come to about fifteen hundred dollars in American money but actually in Britain it goes a lot further doesn't it it's worth considerably more. And they can do a little bit of travelling perhaps with this money I don't know yes. Oh yes I think something else that's important. Now a lot of people who get married what about was their husbands of Marshall scholars. Oh well the mad men who win the scholarship. So in addition to the Fab Four his wife and possibly for his children a mad scholar will receive two hundred pounds additional maintenance allowance each year scholarship.

Where will they study it I know probably most people have heard of Oxford and Cambridge. Well yes in the first place there are twenty two university is in the United Kingdom and independent university college. For example Birmingham Birmingham University is noted for its teaching of science in physics but it also has this rather remarkable Shakespeare Institute. Yes it has a Shakespeare Institute at Stratford on Avon which incidentally does receive many American students many American graduate students in addition presumably to the Marshall scholars and any students who are interested particularly interested in Shakespearean studies can go to the institute and take a degree in English devoting his time to it to Elizabeth drama in Shakespearean studies. So long. I think that before students

do apply for these scholarships they should do all that they can to acquaint themselves with the British university system and the subjects which one can take at British universities. As a rough comparison perhaps we can say that they would be primarily the courses that are offered here in the United States and colleges of letters and signs or. Engineering is just not true rather than liberal arts or applied arts fields. Yes broadly speaking that's true. Of course one suggestion that I think anybody who is interested in studying at the British universities should try to follow and that is to go to his school library and try to get a copy of the Commonwealth University's yearbook. Now the nine hundred fifty eight edition is the last edition that there is all the British universities are included with their proper curricula and the courses in which they specialize. Is there anything else that they can where they can

look up things like. Yes I think they might also find in their university libraries a reference book called higher education in the United Kingdom. This book if it isn't in a university library can be omitted from British Information Services in New York Yankee sands plus five cents posted last five cents postage. In almost every university or college in the United States there is a scholarship advisor. Sometimes I believe he may have another title but there is usually some one faculty member who is equipped to advise and digital candidates about scholarships. If any candidate has any difficulty finding out information about national scholarships on his own campus he can write either to the nearest British consulate and of course major cities such as San Francisco Chicago Los Angeles and others

have British currency risk nicely or to the nearest branch or British Information Services or of course to British Information Services in New York and the address is 45 Rockefeller Plaza New York 20 New York. And in case you didn't have your pencil before. If I like to repeat it it's 45 Rockefeller Plaza New York 20 New York British Information Services. The application blanks are available sometimes from the colleges themselves the American colleges where the student is now enrolled all principally from the consulates and British Information Services. If a candidate is just still toying with the idea the idea let's say of applying for one of these scholarships he can apply he can ask first of all for an information paper

which gives details about application and the award. Well now assuming that we've gotten to the point where an application has been filed in six copies and I imagine it includes recommendations from professors and other people what happens about the actual selection of the martial scholars. Well for selection purposes the United States is divided into four regions and a scholar kind of candidate can apply for a scholarship either in the region in which he lives or in the region in which he has been going to school. The British consulate general in New York Chicago San Francisco and New Orleans is the Regional Center for National Scholarship at the CES and each of those centers there is a committee. And each committee summons a certain number of candidates for interview. The committee is prepared to pay the travelling expenses of candidates summoned

to any of those four city hall for their interview for their interview. But you have to go for your interview to the center to which you have made application and from those regions then a certain number is selected yet how many people apply well. Several hundred every year. And finally from each region there are what three three smaller more than three. Considering that there are 12 scholars selected it should be an honor indeed. After the processing has been done I wonder the lucky candidates now that they've been chosen to take up this scholarship the following year during the spring. At some point in March probably. Well for a quick review here about the curtain and time some facts and figures about Marshall scholarships. If you're interested in going to Britain to study the two years you have to file your application by October 30 through this and you can get all the information about the scholarships if not from your own university from

British Information Services. 45 Rockefeller Plaza New York 20 New York and in order to get more information about what the British universities have to offer. When you go back to your own college or university you can look up the British university in the book called Commonwealth University's yearbook 1958 edition or get a book that's called higher education in the United Kingdom. If your library doesn't have it right again to British Information Services and I hope some of you are listening will be when I was of Marshall scholarships next year. You heard Natalie Davis and Elizabeth Zakheim discussing the Marshall scholarships and how interested students can apply for them. This was a special program in the series window on the world produced by the British Information Services and distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters. This is the

end AB Radio Network.