Barnard College has been named one of top 10 small institutions in the country for producing Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipients. The college is among 103 colleges and universities recognized across 31 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, an honor announced as the Gilman Program celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Designed to expand access to global learning opportunities, the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a merit-based program that awards up to $5,000 in scholarship funding to undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need, enabling them to engage in credit-bearing academic study and career-oriented internships abroad. Students must be receiving a federal Pell grant during their study abroad or internship to be applicable for the program.
“The Gilman Program’s access mission aligns so well with a principle at the core of the college’s work — that ability is more widely distributed than opportunity,” said A-J Aronstein, Vice President of Community Engagement and Lifelong Success. “This achievement reflects Barnard’s sustained ability to attract and support academically exceptional students from across socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Nearly 75% of all Gilman scholars hail from small towns or communities, according to the program.
“As a first-generation, low-income student with a refugee background, the Gilman Scholarship opened doors for me that I didn't even know were there--let alone open to me,” Mariam Banahi ’07 said, who is now an Associate Director of Postdoctoral Initiatives at the University of Minnesota.
“All I knew was that I was smart, but poor; diligent, but without the networks and opportunities those around me had--not to mention the freedom to go to class, study, and explore New York without working multiple jobs and wondering if I'd be able to afford finishing my degree,” Banahi added. She used the scholarship to support her second semester in Amman, Jordan.
“All this prepared me to be a viable candidate for graduate school and informed my confidence and development in grant-writing.”
For Tenzing Chosang ’26 the scholarship hit a little closer to home, while also supporting her studies.
“I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain, and used the Gilman Scholarship to fund my activities and explorations across Europe, immersing myself in different cultures and perspectives,” Chosang said. “I was also able to use the scholarship to visit areas in Europe affected by the Tibetan diaspora, learning more about my people, culture, and history.”
Studying abroad opened Abigail Crispin’s ’26 eyes to see life outside of an individualistic American context, she said.
“Gaining new friends and experiences that I will always remember,” she said. “That was all possible through the Gilman Scholarship.”