Gilman Study Abroad Scholarships Open the Door to Global Health
UIC named a top producer of Gilman study-abroad students
Reformatted from a UIC Today Story
The University of Illinois Chicago has been recognized as one of the top 25 large U.S. universities whose students have earned the merit-based Gilman Scholarship to study abroad.
The scholarship from the U.S. State Department is marking its 25th year, launching in 2001. Since 2012, the Gilman Scholarship has gone to 304 UIC students. The honor as a top school for Gilman awardees celebrates the sustained impact of the scholarship at UIC.
“It makes a huge impact on a student to have money to study abroad,” said Colleen Gray, assistant director of the Study Abroad Office. UIC students compete against students from all over the country to win the scholarship, and study abroad staff help them prepare competitive applications to be in the best position possible.
The Gilman Scholarship is only open to Pell Grant-eligible students and can cover as much as $5,000 in fees and education expenses for students studying overseas.
What it means for SPH students
To apply for the Gilman Scholarship, students must write about where and why they want to study abroad, how the experience would further their academic or career goals, how they would engage their host community and other details of their study abroad plans.
More than 50% of UIC students are eligible to receive the Pell Grant, making many future study abroad students ideal candidates for the scholarship.
Jenzel Perez, a third‑year public health major at the University of Illinois Chicago, has become one of the most visible examples of how the Gilman Scholarship can reshape a student’s academic path and sense of possibility. Her experience abroad reflects both her determination and the growing impact of UIC’s study abroad programs.
Perez was already in Ireland with the College of Nursing’s inaugural study abroad program when she learned she had been selected as a Gilman Scholar. The timing made the news even more meaningful.
“Just seeing the email while I was there, I felt so accomplished,” Perez said. “Writing all of the essays made me reflect a lot, and I knew it was a long shot, but it also made me think, ‘What if I hadn’t tried?’”
Perez’s experience has quickly become a source of motivation for other UIC students considering study abroad. She regularly visits classes to talk about the Ireland program and the Gilman application process, and her impact is already visible.
“Students have told me they applied because I talked to their class,” Perez said.
Her outreach reflects the peer‑to‑peer encouragement that often makes global opportunities feel accessible to first‑generation students, Pell‑eligible students, and others who may not initially see themselves studying abroad.