College Recognized for Study Abroad Opportunities

Tompkins Cortland Community College has been recognized for its success in making international study and internships more accessible and inclusive for American students of all backgrounds. The U.S. Department of State announced its inaugural list of U.S. higher education institutions that sent the most students overseas on the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program during the 2016-17 academic year, and Tompkins Cortland was cited as one of the top two-year colleges. The State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Institute of International Education, compiled the list.

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, with the support of the U.S. Congress, aims to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go by offering awards to U.S. citizen undergraduates who might otherwise not participate due to financial constraints. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world. Since the program’s establishment in 2001, over 1,300 U.S. institutions have sent more than 25,000 Gilman scholars to 145 countries around the globe.

At Tompkins Cortland, the scholarship winners took faculty-led trips to Cambodia, Ireland, and Nicaragua. In the past three years, 11 Tompkins Cortland students have received Gilman Scholarships, totaling $30,000 in aid to support study abroad opportunities.