Remember: You pay Knox tuition (for the term or the semester, depending on your program choice) and Knox merit and need-based aid travels with you on all approved study abroad and off-campus programs, in varying percentages depending on the timing of the program.
Sources of financial support:
- Your Knox financial aid package
- Your Power of Experience funding (for students with junior or senior standing)
- Your chosen program provider's scholarship/financial aid support (CIEE, IES, DIS, FIE, SIT, etc. are all quite generous to Knox students!)
- External, competitive and prestigious scholarship awards, such as the Gilman, IIE Freeman-Asia, and FEA (see below)
Tuition remitted students should meet with Office of Student Financial Services personnel to understand how Knox policy regarding remitted tuition and study abroad works in their case.
You will not pay Knox fees for room and aboard. Instead, you will pay your chosen program's fees for room and board, etc. (review your chosen program - every program is a bit different in what is covered in terms of room and board, international insurance, program-connected excursions, etc.).
Credits earned and percentage of financial aid vary by term or semester, as you will see clearly outlined in materials in the online application form (studyabroad.knox.edu). The organization Affordable College offers a resource page, the Study Abroad Guide, with a comparative cost-of-living chart for locations around the world and a valuable set of links to scholarship opportunities.
To make your choice of program as affordable as possible, consider the following:
- Choose a year-long program, a trimester program*, or a winter/spring (spring semester) program. These are the most affordable options for Knox students. Fall semester programs are usually the most costly option for Knox students (but keep in mind that many program providers offer travel stipends or scholarships that offset the fall semester costs - don't let 'sticker shock' stop you without investigating what the program provider offers and what national scholarship programs are available).
- Choose a program that includes meals in its program fees, or includes many other costs such as program-related field trips, and so on. Some programs charge less in program fees than Knox does for room and board.
- If possible, choose a country in which the currency is weak against the dollar. This means your money will go further once exchanged for local currency (the dollar has considerable buying power in these cases).
- Pell Grant recipients with strong academic records should apply for the IIE Gilman International Scholarship for study abroad. The Gilman Scholarship is intended to assist underrepresented U.S. students who wish to study abroad (first generation, underrepresented ethnic groups, students with disabilities and STEM majors).
- IIE Boren Scholarships are intended for academically strong U.S. students who intend to enter an intensive language study-abroad program focused on a 'critical-need' language' - another fine option, depending on your choice of program (Boren is looking for in-depth and extended language immersion) and career aspirations (federal service is a requirement for all grant recipients).
- Knox students are often eligible for scholarships and financial aid from our program provider partners. Almost all of our affiliated program providers offer financial awards for needy and/or academically strong students and for specific thematic foci of study and/or locations. Check on the program provider websites for scholarship opportunities. CIEE, DIS, FIE, IES, ISA, SEA Semester, SFS, SIT and more provide significant financial awards for eligible students admitted into their programs. Several of these program providers match PELL grants and/or offer scholarships to students who apply for the Gilman, whether or not the Gilman is awarded.
- Be aware of your chosen program provider's deadline for notification of withdrawal from the program after which your tuition and fees will not be refunded. It can be more expensive to cancel a study abroad experience at a late minute than to continue with your plans for the semester abroad. Do not proceed deeply into the application process if you are profoundly uncertain about your financial ability to afford the experience - the deposit you will be required to pay to your chosen program provider will be non-refundable; a decision to withdraw from a program just weeks before it begins has serious financial consequences.
- Review the scholarship opportunities below - and apply if you are eligible!
Blakemore Foundation: Grants for the Study of East and Southeast Asian Languages
Bridging Scholarship for Study Abroad in Japan
U.S.-Japan Council Toshizo Watenabe Endowed Scholarship (for up to a year of study in Japan)
Boren Scholarship
Thomas C. Hall Scholarship (Child Family Health International)
Delta Phi Alpha, the national German Honorary Society (for study in a German-speaking country)
Diversity Abroad Scholarship
Foundation for Global Scholars
IIE Freeman Asia Scholarships for study in East or Southeast Asia
IIE Travel Grants (for US students) and Other Funding Resources
Insight Into Diversity Journal Study Abroad Scholarship
Fund for Education Abroad (FEA)
Garden Club of America Scholarships (areas: medicinal and tropical botany, native bird habitats, conservation and ecological restoration, desert studies, coastal wetlands, and pollinator studies)
IIE Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
Go Overseas Scholarships
GoAbroad.com Scholarships
Rainbow Scholarship (FEA)
Scholar Trips
Travel Scholarships with UVolunteer
Intern and Volunteer Abroad Scholarship Essay Contest
StudyAbroad.com Scholarship Opportunities Overview
*Trimester (Term) Pre-Approved Program Provider Options for Knox Students
Fall
- Flensburg University - Germany
- ISA - University of Reading, England
- ISA - Prague, Czech Republic (Charles University)
- ISA - Meknes, Morocco
- FIE London Quarter (with or without internship extension into December)
- College Year in Athens (CYA)
- SEA Semester programs
Winter
- FIE London
- SEA Semester programs
Spring
- FIE London
- SEA Semester programs
