Luce Scholars Program
While some Scholars have been affiliated with Asian universities in teaching or research capacities, none of the participants is formally enrolled as a student in a college or university and no academic credit is offered. The range of assignments is extraordinarily broad and has included an architectural firm in Tokyo, a forestry project in Indonesia, a training facility for public administration in Malaysia, a master gardener in Kyoto, a community medicine project in the Philippines, and a banking authority in Singapore.
Although each Scholar's placement provides a professional venue and perspective, the assignments themselves should be viewed as a mechanism through which to gain a broader understanding and appreciation of the culture in which one is living. Luce Scholars receive from the Luce Foundation transportation, insurance, and a monthly stipend through the period of their participation sufficient to meet all normal expenses in Asia. Additional cost-of-living and housing allowances may be provided to participants in certain locations. Although they may occupy professional positions in Asian institutions or agencies as part of their assignment, Luce Scholars receive no compensation from their local sponsors.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria
Yale is invited to nominate three candidates to the national competition. Eligible are graduating Seniors, graduate and professional school students, recent graduates, and junior faculty. Nominees must be U.S. citizens who by September 1 of the year in which they would enter the program will be no more than twenty-nine years of age and will have earned a bachelor's degree. Nominees will be considered ineligible if they have a professed career interest in or have taken as their area of academic concentration Asian affairs. (The general interest that a course or two in Asian studies would represent is not grounds for disqualification.) In addition, nominees will be considered ineligible if they have had significant exposure to Asia--whether through service in the Peace Corps, a period of foreign study or residence in Asia, extensive travel in that region, or through other means.
Candidates must possess a mature and clearly defined career interest in a specific field and evince strong motivation and potential for professional accomplishment within that field. Candidates should also demonstrate a record of high academic achievement, outstanding leadership ability, more than usual openness to new ideas, and sensitivity to their fellow human beings. Candidates will not be judged on the basis of whether they have developed specific plans for the Asian experience, although they may have a program in mind. The single most important consideration is that a candidate gives evidence of potential for leadership and accomplishment, both within a chosen profession and as a member of the broader American community. Financial need is not a criterion for selection.
Nominees are invited for personal interviews by representatives of the Luce Foundation in December and January; finalists are interviewed again in late February and early March.
Make an Appointment
Interested applicants should schedule an appointment with Linda De Laurentis, Director of the Fellowship Program, 203-432-8685. No appointments can be made by e-mail.
Application Information and Instructions
Detailed information is available on the Luce Foundation web site. Yale students and alumni must contact the Office of Fellowship Programs for access to the online application (ofp.fellowships@yale.edu). Application packets are also available at OFP, 55 Whitney Ave., 3rd floor, Room 309. A complete Yale application includes four (4) copies (original plus three (3) copies) of each of the following items:
1. A completed Luce Scholars Program biographic information form and address information card.
2. A signed, typewritten personal statement of no more than 1,000 words outlining: a) the applicant's long-range career interests, how they have developed, and how he or she plans to pursue them in the future; and b) the applicant's reasons for applying to the Luce Scholars Program.
And one (1) copy of the following:
1. A Student Grants & Fellowships Database registration page. (Learn "How to Register" here.)
2. Four letters of recommendation. Letters should be typewritten and represent academic, professional, and personal references. OFP has prepared a resource to help candidates procure letters of recommendation.
NOTE: Applicants selected as University nominees to the national competition must also submit two recent passport-size photographs (black and white preferred). The nominee's name should be printed on the back of both pictures.
Applications and supporting materials must be received by 12:00 pm, on Wednesday, September 30, 2009. Post to:
Luce Scholars Program Committee
c/o Office of Fellowship Programs
55 Whitney Avenue, 3rd floor, Room 309
Box 208351 Yale Station
New Haven, CT 06520-8351
Transcript Information
Yale College Students:
For the initial campus competition, the Office of Fellowship Programs will obtain unofficial transcripts for all applicants. However, for the ensuing national competition, nominees must request official transcripts from the Yale College Registrar (to be ordered through OFP). One copy of an official transcript (sent directly to OFP) is also required from any other institution attended for post-secondary studies.
Graduate and Professional School Students:
For the initial campus competition, applicants must request official college and graduate transcripts from the appropriate Registrar's office (to be sent directly to the Luce Scholars Program Committee, c/o OFP). Only one official copy of each transcript is required.
Resources
