Marshall Scholarships are widely recognized as among the most prestigious awards a graduating American undergraduate can receive. They were created by the British Parliament when the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act was passed on July 31, 1953. The scholarships serve as a living gift to the United States of America in recognition of the post World War II European recovery effort most commonly known as the Marshall Plan.
The Marshall Scholarships serve to provide highly qualified students with two fully funded years of study, with a possible third year extension, at any university in the United Kingdom. In addition to pure academic pursuits, the program serves to provide the future leaders of America with an insight into the "British ideals and way of life" and strengthen the "unique relationship" that exists between the United States and the United Kingdom. Each year, between 3 and 4 percent of applicants receive the scholarship. Applicants must have a GPA of 3.7 or higher to be nominated.
Following their studies, Marshall Scholars have historically pursed a wide range of careers with many alumni holding elite leadership positions in business, academia, government or non-profit organizations.
Although the Marshall Scholarships share much in common with the Rhodes Scholarships (restricted to just Oxford University), the major difference centers on a Marshall Scholar's freedom to attend any UK university including the ability to attend a different university each year during a scholar's tenure. A significant portion of scholars choose to attend either Oxford, Cambridge, or one of the major London institutions, but during the past 50 years scholars have attended a wide range of universities throughout the UK. Also, since its inception the Marshall Scholarship has been open to both men and women, while the Rhodes scholarship only became open to women beginning in 1977 following the passage of the British Sex Discrimination Act of 1975. The first class of Marshall Scholars, which began academic study in the fall of 1954, consisted of eight men and four women selected from a pool of 700 applicants.
