The Institute of International Education has announced that Coastal Carolina University has received a $5,000 matching grant as a part of the new French Embassy Benjamin Franklin-Generation Study Abroad Scholarship for 2016-2017. The program supports study abroad scholarships targeted to underrepresented students who traditionally do not go abroad due to lack of sufficient resources.

The program, which is supported by the Embassy of France, is being launched this year as a component of the Transatlantic Friendship and Mobility Initiative, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of State and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the historic ties between the U.S. and France by doubling the total number of French students studying in the U.S. and American students studying in France by 2025. As one of the original group of commitment partners of the Generation Study Abroad initiative to enhance study abroad for U.S. students (Generation Study Review), CCU was eligible to submit an application for the program.

Being named one of the five award recipients will enable CCU to provide $2,500 scholarships for four students that will offset expenses for study-related travel to France, tuition and books during the 2016-2017 academic year. Applications are due on November 11, 2016, and are available at this link.

"We are delighted to receive this grant," said Darla Domke-Damonte, associate provost for global initiatives for Coastal Carolina University. "Our application targeted first-generation college students, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, high financial need students or those pursuing international internships in France in an effort to expand the diversity of our study abroad participation. We are seeking to double study abroad in the coming four years, and this program and other initiatives supported by Generation Study Abroad have been very helpful to us in these efforts."

With less than 10 percent of American college students studying abroad-and an average of 18,000 in France per year-the Institute of International Education (IIE) Generation Study Abroad Scholarship Program aims to facilitate the participation of more U.S. students in academic, internship or service-learning experiences abroad.

"The Institute of International Education has done remarkable, ambitious work over the years to promote France as a destination country for study abroad," said Bénédicte de Montlaur, cultural counselor of the French Embassy and permanent representative of French universities in the U.S. "This new collaboration with IIE will help us take our Benjamin Franklin Program to the next level by increasing not only the number of U.S. students going to France, but also the amount of funds available per student. Increasing and diversifying mobility are two key priorities for French-American exchange in higher education, and we are very grateful for the support, wisdom and knowledge that IIE has brought the French Embassy in this domain."

For more information, please contact Domke-Damonte at 843-349-2129 or ddamonte@coastal.edu. Learn more about study abroad programs at CCU at Study Abroad.

About the Institute of International Education

The Institute of International Education is a world leader in the international exchange of people and ideas. IIE designs and implements programs of study and training for students, educators, young professionals and trainees from all sectors with funding from government agencies, foundations and corporations. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 19 offices and affiliates worldwide and more than 1,400 member institutions.

About the Cultural Services of the French Embassy

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy promotes the best of French arts, literature, cinema, digital innovation, language and higher education across the U.S. Based in New York City, Washington, D.C., and eight other cities across the country, the Cultural Services brings artists, authors, intellectuals and innovators to cities nationwide. It also builds partnerships between French and American artists, institutions and universities on both sides of the Atlantic. In New York, through its bookshop Albertine, it fosters French-American exchange around literature and the arts. Visit French Embassy.

About Generation Study Abroad

Generation Study Abroad® is a five-year initiative of the Institute of International Education (IIE) to mobilize resources and commitments with the goal of doubling the number of U.S. students studying abroad by the end of the decade. More than 700 partners have joined the Generation Study Abroad initiative to date, including 400 U.S. colleges and universities from 48 states, 173 international universities and organizations from 49 countries, 25 education associations, more than 100 organizations including study abroad, K-12 and social network agencies, 16 U.S. and foreign government entities and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The initiative highlights IIE's commitment to study abroad and to encourage purposeful, innovative action to get more Americans to undertake a meaningful international experience through academic study abroad programs, as well as internships, service learning and non-credit educational experiences.