GUIDELINES

1. Benedict Foundation Educational Awards, named in honor of the late Dr. Frederick C. Graham, are monetary awards to help defray the cost of additional study in traditionally under-endowed areas pertaining to foreign languages and inter-cultural communication.

2. Preference is given to proposals for the following types of supplemental study:
• Intensive short courses in language and culture, such as summer programs at language schools and camps.
• Assistance in defraying the cost of fees associated with attending conferences and symposia.
• Short self-study programs in foreign cities that include both acquiring a facility in conversing with native speakers and taking advantage of cultural opportunities such as museums, concerts, and visits to historic sites.
• We might also consider some help with costs associated with a research project if the project is intended for publication or if a project is to be widely distributed at no cost, such as a tutorial.

3. It is not necessary to be a language major in order to be considered for an educational award. In fact, since our primary focus is language and inter-cultural communication, we welcome proposals from students whose major studies lie in other areas, but who recognize the value, both personally and professionally, of an ability to communicate in another language.  

4. There is no application form per se. Application for consideration must be in the form of a letter proposal outlining your intended course of study. For anyone not familiar with writing a letter proposal, we suggest you begin by consulting the following:
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/letter.html

5. In our consideration of proposals, roughly equal weight is given to each of the following:
(a) the quality of the applicant’s letter proposal and ability to communicate;
(b) the applicant’s background and qualifications;
(c) the validity of the proposed program of study; and
(d) the relevance of the applicant’s plans to put the acquired knowledge and skills to good use.
Please be sure to note that we are very interested in learning how you intend to put to good use the acquired knowledge and skills, and that we will be requiring a short follow-up report one year later.