Luce Scholars Program

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Description: The Luce Scholars Program provides stipends and internships for 18 young Americans to live and work in Asia each year. Dating from 1974, the program's purpose is to increase awareness of Asia among future leaders in American society. Luce Scholars have backgrounds in virtually every field (other than Asian studies) including medicine, the arts, business, law, science, environmental studies, and journalism. Placements can be made in the following countries in East and Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The annual selection of the 18 Luce Scholars is an unusually rigorous process and a nationwide competition. Each candidate must first be nominated by their home university. The University of Michigan is one of 67 participating universities. These institutions submit to the Luce Foundation two nominees annually from among their graduating seniors, graduate and professional school students, or their recent alumni. Additionally, those institutions that were successful in nominating a finalist (not necessarily selected as a Scholar) in the previous year's competition are allowed to present a third nominee. For additional program information, visit the Henry Luce Foundation website.

Eligibility Criteria: The University of Michigan must nominate students for this award (applications submitted by students directly to the Luce Foundation will not be considered). Students who already have significant experience in Asia or Asian studies are NOT eligible for nomination to the Luce Scholars Program. Candidates must be American citizens who have received at least a bachelor’s degree and are no more than 29 years old on September 1 of the year they enter the Luce program. Nominees should have a record of high achievement, outstanding leadership ability, and a clearly defined career interest with evidence of potential for professional accomplishment.

Deadline:  Thursday, October 1, 2009. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Candidates are advised to begin preparing their applications well in advance of the October deadline. Gathering some of the documents requested may take some time. Most particularly, applicants should give careful thought to the preparation of their essay in which they set out in their own words their interests and aspirations, and their detailed reasons for wishing to intern in Asia. This statement is especially helpful to review committees in their attempt to gain an understanding of an applicant's strengths, and will be used to determine the Luce Scholar-elect's suitability for placement in an internship.

Application Submission:  University of Michigan students and alumni interested in applying to the Luce Scholars Program must submit a hard copy of the application documents to the University of Michigan International Institute, 1080 South University, Suite 2660, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106 (The International Institute is located on the 2nd floor of the School of Social Work Building at the corner of East and South University). Application forms are available here:  www.hluce.org/lsapp.html

Review Process: Staff at the International Institute will review applications, and will invite the most promising applicants for an interview. All applicants will be informed of the results of the University of Michigan review by the end of the fall semester.

Contact: Amy Kehoe  (akehoe@umich.edu)

Website:  www.hluce.org/lsprogram.aspx