Smith College Named a Top-Producing Gilman Scholarship Institution
News of Note
$171,000 in funding has been awarded to Smith students since March 2023, expanding access to global studies
Published April 13, 2026
Smith College has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as one of the 25 top producers of Gilman Scholars. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (Gilman Program), which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, provides merit-based scholarships to U.S. undergraduate students with high financial need to study or intern abroad. Recognition as a top producer reflects the college’s commitment to expanding access to global education through the dedicated work of Smith’s Lewis Global Studies Center.
Since March 2023, the Lewis Global Studies Center has successfully increased awareness of the Gilman Program. Over 40% of Smith’s 108 Gilman applicants during this three-year period were selected as scholarship recipients.
Collectively, these students were awarded $171,000 to offset the out-of-pocket expenses associated with education abroad. Smith’s Gilman Scholars have participated in a variety of programs across the globe, including the Global Faculty-Led Experiences in Ireland and Brazil, summer language intensives in Kyrgyzstan and South Korea, and the visiting student programs at the London School of Economics and Oxford University.
“By securing $171,000 in funding since 2023, we are advancing the college’s mission of accessibility, preparing students for global citizenship and cultivating an understanding of the global context of a Smith education.”
“We are honored to be recognized as a leader in producing Gilman Scholars,” says Angelo Pisano, Smith’s associate director for education abroad. “Smithies’ application efforts humble me in each and every cycle, and having been a first-gen college student, I’m proud to serve as a mentor to anyone seeking out additional support.”
“By securing $171,000 in funding since 2023, we are advancing the college’s mission of accessibility,” Pisano adds, “preparing students for global citizenship and cultivating an understanding of the global context of a Smith education.”
Smith’s most recent cohorts of Gilman Scholars from the May and December 2025 award cycles represent a diversity of academic disciplines and study abroad experiences:
- Cadence Dorrian: Scandinavia, summer 2025
- Hau Phan: Seoul, fall 2025
- Bea Money: Hamburg, fall 2025
- Ava Carroll: Oxford, academic year 2025–26
- Dahlia Jones: Hamburg, academic year 2025–26
- Syd Verdugo: London, academic year 2025–26
- Marie Willems: Paris, academic year 2025–26
- Maylynn Rodriguez: China, January 2026
- Gemma Broskie: Hamburg, spring 2026
- Isabella Ivy: Costa Rica, spring 2026
- Katherine Morris: Florence, spring 2026
- Katelyn Pham: Denmark, spring 2026
- Isha Sultan: Jordan, spring 2026
- Emily Tvaroha: New Zealand, spring 2026
About the Gilman Scholarship
The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program (Gilman Program) provides up to $5,000 in merit-based scholarships to outstanding American undergraduate students with high financial need to pursue credit-bearing academic studies and career-oriented internships abroad. These opportunities equip Gilman Scholars with international experience, global networks, and foreign language skills essential to advancing the U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. Throughout its 25-year history, the Gilman Program has made study abroad more inclusive for outstanding U.S. undergraduate students who might not otherwise be able to participate due to financial constraints.