Member Article

Northumbria scholarship gives US student chance to shine

A north east university is partnering with a US organisation to offer a prestigious arts scholarship to an American student.

Northumbria University has joined forces with the Fulbright Commission to provide the Fulbright-Northumbria University award in Art and Design, cementing Northumbria’s reputation as an international centre for design excellence.

Northumbria art and design graduates include Apple’s Chief Design Officer, Sir Jonathan Ive; Tim Brown, Chief Executive of design company IDEO and Peter Horbury, Vice-President for Design with Volvo. The University also has creative partnerships with some of the world’s leading arts, design and culture organisations including Unilever, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Live Theatre.

The scholarship will give the successful student the chance to study on a one-year Master’s course, or the first year of a longer Master’s or PhD degree in areas including performing arts, fashion and industrial design.

Fulbright aims to foster cultural understanding through educational exchange between the UK and USA and gives students the opportunity to take part in what it describes as a ‘transformative cultural and academic’ experience.

Rob Carthy, Director of International Development at Northumbria University, said: “Building strong links between the UK and US is vital and helps us to develop our academic network across the globe.

“It’s important for us to make use of the Fulbright brand to grow our profile in the US and create awareness of the partnership.”

Candidates for the award are selected not only on the basis of academic excellence but are also expected to demonstrate ambassadorial skills and evidence of cultural sensitivity. They should have a desire to learn more about the UK and share aspects of American culture, experience of and an interest in a range of extracurricular and community activities, and leadership potential.

Applications are reviewed by several organisations including the Fulbright Scholarship Board, the Institute of International Education, the Fulbright Commission and Northumbria University.

Rob believes the successful candidate will greatly benefit from the experiences to be gained while studying in the north east.

He added: “The successful student will benefit from immersion in the creativity of Northumbria. They’ll get the opportunity to experience the academic excellence of the University and its fantastic facilities, as well as the city of Newcastle where we are based, which is very vibrant in terms of arts, design and culture. There’s a lot going on academically, and there are fantastic opportunities for students to get involved in the creative networks in the region.”

The next award available will be for the 2016/17 academic year. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 13 October 2015.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Claire Amber Young .