IES Abroad Increases 2010/2011 Financial Aid Commitment by $150,000

Raises total financial aid up to $2.15 million in support of students studying abroad

CHICAGO, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its efforts to make studying abroad as affordable and accessible as possible for United States college and university students, IES Abroad has announced a nine percent increase, or $150,000 in additional funding, in financial aid for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The increase means that IES Abroad, which sends more than 5,500 students a year to study abroad at its more than 30 locations worldwide, will commit up to $2,150,000 to help students study abroad.  For the last three years, the non-profit organization has annually committed $2 million in student financial aid.

The financial aid will support need-based, merit-based, diversity, and legacy scholarships, as well as public university grants.  The scholarships assist students from U.S. colleges and universities studying overseas at one of IES Abroad's 90-plus programs in 32 cities.  The increase was enthusiastically approved by the IES Abroad Board of Directors at the organization's February Board meeting.

"With the continued economic challenges faced by parents and students, the need for  financial aid to enable students to study abroad continues to grow. This increase in funding means more students will have the opportunity to be more globally engaged and enjoy the life-long career, academic and personal growth benefits that come from learning and studying abroad," said Dr. Mary Dwyer, IES Abroad CEO and President.

The 1,553 individual awards given by IES Abroad during the 2009-2010 academic year made IES Abroad one of the largest awarders of scholarships for overseas study, both in terms of total dollars and numbers of students assisted.

For information on scholarships, visit www.iesabroad.org.

IES Abroad, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2010, is a global, not-for-profit organization offering study abroad programs to more than 5,000 US college students each year who participate in 90 programs at more than 30 international locations.  IES Abroad offers programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, New Zealand and South America. www.iesabroad.org

SOURCE IES Abroad