Founded in 1999, IEF is a non-profit foundation promoting international education. IEF offers grants and scholarships on a selective basis to college level students for international programs in Italy offered by the Study Abroad Italy (SAI) organization, with undergraduate and graduate level course work in a variety of fields. IEF also funds special projects related to international education. IEF seeks to empower young people by fostering expanded global awareness and focused study in their specific fields of interest.
Florence scholarship recipient
~ 2010
“I know that I am returning home with a new understanding of the world and an appreciation for other cultures as well as my own. That alone is something that I would say made the trip worthwhile; but it goes so much more beyond even that. I think that I come back to the United States as a completely new person, redirected and reformed through my experience abroad.”
Rome scholarship recipient
~ 2011
“I look back now at the end of it all, and only have positive thoughts. None of which would have been possible without my scholarship. The aid I received eased the financial burden of studying abroad and enabled me to focus less on how I was going to afford to study abroad and more about enjoying the experience. I hope one day that I can help students study abroad, because I know from personal experience that scholarships like the one I received was a financial relief which helped me make memories that will last me a lifetime. I am forever grateful for this scholarship and the opportunity to study abroad; it has been a life changing experience that I will never forget and would recommend to every student.”
Florence scholarship recipient
~ 2011
“Thank you sponsors. I appreciate my scholarship more than you know. I can never really verbalize how much this experience has changed me, made me a better person. I know if I hadn’t gotten my scholarship I never would have been able to experience Italy. Thank you so much for allowing me to have the most amazing, life changing semester in Italy.”
Sicily scholarship recipient
~ 2010
"To be honest, there is no way to put a specific reason or helping hand or happening on that number. I could say that [the scholarship] helped feed me (entirely true), I could say it helped me get to a place I never thought I’d ever go, that it helped me explore my culture, my homeland, that it helped me find myself. All of those are true; I could rewrite everything I’ve already written with the stamp ‘it was this scholarship that helped with that’ behind each one because the truth is that this scholarship didn’t just help me with one or two things. It helped me with everything. This scholarship helped me survive, it gave me courage and it gave me something to strive towards. This scholarship was more than just a helping hand, it was a trampoline with so much bounce it shot me towards that star I’m reaching for and gave me the opportunity to grasp it. This scholarship not only gave me the ability to see and do everything in this essay, it helped give me a view on the world I never thought I’d have, it helped me grow up, it gave me a light, it gave me my life back.
So, somehow, the scholarship...became priceless. Thank you."
Rome scholarship recipient
~ 2011
“I am very fortunate to have had the experience of a life time in Rome these last three and a half months. Most importantly, the SAI scholarship truly provided me with the opportunity to see the world and enrich my experience. My family and I sincerely appreciate our sponsors’ generous contributions. I benefited overwhelmingly from this opportunity, and I know that others will also take advantage of these great opportunities SAI offers and have an experience as memorable and incredible as mine. I hope our sponsors will continue to support student learning with SAI. Thank you again for an experience that will never, ever be matched.”