Cultural Vistas Fellowship

Website: Cultural Vistas Fellowship

Description

For the summer of 2020, Cultural Vistas will select up to 15 fellows to take part in this multinational professional development program that includes eight-week summer internships in Argentina, Germany, and Hong Kong. This fellowship opportunity is funded by Cultural Vistas.

The eighth class of Cultural Vistas Fellows will enrich their academic learning through professional internship and immersion experiences focused on civic engagement and youth involvement during the summer of 2020. One cohort of up to four fellows will travel to each international destination.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Cultural Vistas Fellowship must meet the following requirements:

  • U.S. citizens enrolled full-time as an undergraduate student at a four-year accredited U.S. college or university
  • Sophomore or junior academic status at the time of application; preferred minimum GPA of 3.0
  • Ages 18-30
  • No formal prior work or study abroad experiences
  • Prior knowledge of language of host country
    • This is applicable in Germany and Argentina only

Strong preference will be given to students historically underrepresented in international exchange. This includes, but is not limited to Pell Grant recipients; veterans; first-generation college students; STEM majors; members of minority communities within the United States; and non-traditional students.

Procedure

he following documents are required as part of your Cultural Vistas Fellowship application:

To be uploaded by the applicant in the “Documents” section:

  1. Current résumé/CV
  2. Answers to the short essay questions
    Each of the following questions should be answered with a maximum of 200 words:
    1. Please describe your understanding of the term civic engagement OR youth involvement. Explain how you demonstrate a commitment to your chosen concept in your program of study, volunteer or professional experience. Why do you think your host country is a good place to learn about this concept?
    2. What sort of work could you realistically see yourself doing in your host country, given your foreign language abilities and/or previous work/volunteer/academic experience? What are some hard skills you can offer your host organization?
    3. What do you envision will be valuable about your internship experience in the host country? Please identify two professional and two personal objectives you intend to meet during your experience.
    4. Describe your vision and goals for your “Fellows in Service” project.
    5. Keeping in mind the goals of the Cultural Vistas Fellowship, please explain why you believe you deserve this opportunity over other candidates in one sentence.
  3. Copy of the picture page of your passport/birth certificate
  4. If you are applying for the program in Argentina or Germany, we require a copy of your current résumé or CV in the language of the country of destination. Therefore, either Spanish (example) or German (example), depending on where you would like to go.

To be submitted either in hard copy or electronically:

  • Official undergraduate transcript(s)
    These may either be uploaded to your online application, emailed to cvfellowship@culturalvistas.org, or mailed directly to the Cultural Vistas Fellowship in a sealed envelope. Please do not submit copies or scans of your diploma verifying your degree. Instead, we require a transcript that contains a list of courses you completed and grades you received.
  • Two letters of recommendation
    Recommenders should be recent professors and supervisors who can attest to the student’s professional or educational abilities – at least one from someone who knows you in a professional capacity. Recommendations should either submitted by the recommender via the online system or mailed in a sealed envelope to the Cultural Vistas Fellowship. Please note: regardless of the method of submission, letters of recommendation must be on letterhead and be hand-signed by the recommender. Additionally, please note that all letters of recommendation must be in English and should be addressed to the Cultural Vistas Fellowship Selection Committee. Please submit no more than two letters.

The following documents are optional and can be uploaded online by the applicant in the “Documents” section:

  1. Photo
    If you choose to upload a photo, please be sure that it is a professional-looking image that depicts you alone.

Please mail any hard copy materials to the following address:

Cultural Vistas
Attn: Cultural Vistas Fellowship
233 Broadway, Suite 2120
New York, NY 10279
U.S.A.

History

What's included:

  • All program-related travel expenses, including round-trip airfare to and within one’s internship country; as well as travel to New York City for pre-departure and reentry seminars is covered
  • Internship placement in Argentina, Germany, or India
  • Accommodations throughout program, including pre-departure and reentry seminars
  • Virtual learning seminar
  • Pre-departure support services
  • Cultural orientation upon arrival in host country
  • Visa application support (where applicable)
  • Emergency medical insurance during internship phase
Contact Information

For more information, please contact cvfellowship@culturalvistas.org.