SPI Scholarships and Fellowships

Please note: Before requesting an application for either the SPI scholarship or the Winston Fellowship, you must have a fully completed SPI application on file with the SPI office. Complete the SPI application, if you have not yet done so.

Single Session Matching Scholarships

SPI has a small scholarship fund available to help promising applicants increase the benefit of their training by extending the number of courses they can take. Research has shown that when participants attend two or more SPI courses, the long-term use and knowledge retention from their trainings are much greater than if they only attend one session.

Single session matching scholarships require the participant to fully fund their transportation and all expenses for at least one session of SPI. The scholarship will cover the costs for a second session, including training/materials fees and lodging in a shared bedroom. The participant is still responsible for their food (other than the weekday noon meal provided as part of lodging) and incidental expenses for the scholarship session.

This scholarship is added on to what the participant has raised and cannot be used by itself. Participants can receive at most only one scholarship-funded session of SPI per year, regardless of the total number of sessions attended. Priority will be given to those who did not receive a scholarship from SPI last year.

PLEASE NOTE:

• SPI scholarships are for training courses only, not academic credit. There are no exceptions.
• SPI scholarships include lodging in shared bedrooms (two beds in one room). If a participant would like a single room, the participant is responsible for paying the upgrade fee of $12 per night (approximately $120 per course depending upon the number of nights on campus).
• SPI does not give scholarships for transportation or miscellaneous expenses. See the SPI Faculty Scholarship and the Winston Fellowship listed below for fully funded opportunities.
• SPI scholarship offers become null and void if the participant’s fees for all other courses, lodging, transportation, etc. are not paid by the first day of their first course.
• Organizations sponsoring several individuals to attend SPI are eligible to receive scholarship help for a maximum of two participants.
• The following SPI courses originate with other organizational entities. The fees for those courses do not remain with SPI; they are channeled back to their originators. Therefore these courses are not eligible for SPI scholarships and cannot be used in calculating paid-for courses when requesting an SPI scholarship.
  • Developing Peace Leadership in the Wilderness
  • Intensive English for Peacebuilding
  • Biblical Foundations for Justice and Peacemaking

Additional Dedicated Scholarships

Some donations are made to the Summer Peacebuilding Institute with defined parameters to bring individuals from specific areas of the world or those who are engaged in specific types of work to SPI for training. These donations enable us to give a few participants more than our normal matching scholarship.

If any additional dedicated scholarships will be offered in 2014, they will be published here after admissions opens for SPI 2014.

In order to apply for any SPI scholarship, you must:

1. Submit a completed SPI application for admission, including a reference letter and the following supplemental information:
   a. Articulate how you expect training in peacebuilding to prepare you for greater effectiveness in what you hope to do with your life.
   b. Explain how you plan to implement the knowledge from the trainings you would attend at SPI.
   c. Financial documentation (personal or organizational) indicating the ability to pay your SPI fees above what may be covered by a scholarship.
2. Request a scholarship application in your financial supplemental information section. If you believe you fit the criteria for one of the specialized scholarships mentioned above, note that as well.

After your completed application for admission is processed you will be sent an application for the scholarship.

Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis as applications are received and processed, until the scholarship fund has been fully distributed. The earlier your SPI and scholarship applications are received with complete supplemental information, the greater your chance of receiving a scholarship.

Winston Fellowship

The Winston Fellowship will be awarded to one international or indigenous participant for SPI 2014. This Fellowship is intended for an organization that seeks training for someone new to peacebuilding. An application must come from the organization as well as the individual, and must include at least a four-week internship after the individual returns from SPI. The Fellowship covers the person’s entire participation for three sessions of training at SPI, including all visa fees, course and materials fees, lodging, a per diem for food and books, and transportation from your home country to SPI and back. The Fellowship covers courses taken for training only, it will not cover courses taken for academic credit.

In order to qualify for a Winston Fellowship, you must:

1. Submit a completed SPI application for admission.
2. Be either an international applicant or an indigenous American.
3. Have an organizational sponsor. This sponsor will have to complete a separate application that will be mailed directly to the organization’s contact. The organization must provide for you to have at least a four-week internship after you return home. The Winston Fellowship will provide $1000 to your sponsor that is to be given to you during the course of your internship for your living expenses, travel, and other necessary expenses.
4. Be able to articulate how you expect training in peacebuilding to prepare you for greater effectiveness in what you hope to do with your life.
5. You and the organization must be able to articulate your internship plan – what will you do for the sponsoring NGO? Include general description, location, others involved, objectives, goals, activities, and any other information you feel is pertinent.

If you meet the above criteria and would like to apply for the Winston Fellowship, please complete an application for admission and record your interest in the Fellowship on the application form in the supplemental information section under question #3 about funding for SPI. You will have to provide the name of the organization that will sponsor you as well as a contact person and their e-mail address. After your completed application for admission is processed you will receive a personal application for the Fellowship. SPI will email the organization sponsorship form directly to the organization to complete.

Winston Fellows applications are due by January 14, 2014.

The Fellowships will be announced by February 4, 2014.