Australians are blessed with a wide variety of scholarships to study in Asia and Victorians, in particular, are spoilt with both the Victorian Government Hamer Scholarship and the Mangold Study Abroad Scholarship programs. Whereas the Hamer Scholarship is aimed more at young and mid-career professionals, the Walter Mangold Trust Fund offers undergraduate students an equally generous amount of funding to pursue language studies in Asia. Unlike the Hamer Scholarship, the Mangold Study Abroad scholarship can also be held in conjunction with university travel grants and other scholarships.
The other bonus of applying for a Mangold Study Abroad scholarship is that not so many people know about it!
About the Walter Mangold Language Scholarship
The Walter Mangold Trust Fund was established in 2005 to honour the life and work of the late Walter Mangold (1892-1983) who believed that greater understanding and tolerance between the peoples of the world, and consequently a lessening of conflict, could be achieved through the study of other languages and cultures.
Study Abroad Scholarships
Mangold Study Abroad Scholarships are offered to Australian tertiary students (currently resident and enrolled in Victoria) who go abroad to study in one of the four designated languages full time at an approved overseas institution, for a period of between three months (minimum enrolment) and one year.
The designated Study Abroad Scholarship languages have been expanding over the years and now include: Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Who is the scholarship appropriate for?
Mangold Study Abroad Scholarships are most relevant to proficient language students completing second-year language courses who plan to study abroad or in an exchange program for one or two semesters as part of their accredited undergraduate degree. Honours and postgraduate students may also apply if they are enrolling in an accredited language program, but not to undertake independent research.
The Mangold Trust scholarships are intended primarily to support immersive and intensive language study. However, related cultural and inter-disciplinary courses which complement global academic programs may also be combined with study of say Indonesian, Chinese, or Japanese, provided that the applicant meets the pre-requisite standard of proficiency in the language, and the overseas programs are delivered in the designated language.
It is a pre-requisite for the scholarship that applicants must have satisfied the requirements for second-year language proficiency (or above) in an academic stream of their chosen language before they depart from Australia. Students are required to present an academic Letter of Endorsement with their application that attests to their language capabilities.
It’s a much more open-ended scholarship (than other scholarships), in that students create a budget for themselves (as well as providing their own destination, program, length of time, and study plan) which is then approved by a committee. I’d recommend that students create a realistic budget then do their best to show how study abroad would benefit their language skills. This scholarship seems relatively less well-known in Victoria, but it’s an absolutely fantastic opportunity.
Aiden Dullard, Walter Mangold Recipient
Choice of destination
To meet the objective of linguistic and cultural immersion expressed in the Trust Deed, it is expected that students will choose to go to a destination country where the language they wish to study is the first or ‘official’ language of that country.
Scholarship amount
The amount of each scholarship ranges from $5,000 up to a maximum of $20,000. The amount offered will depend on the duration of the enrolment overseas and reasonable travel and living costs in the destination country. Applicants are required to prepare a budget estimate for their study abroad program proposal, which they acquit in their return.
It’s also important to note that the Mangold Scholarship can be held in conjunction with university travel grants and other scholarships, providing these awards are declared to the Trustee.
Eligibility
Walter Mangold Study Abroad Scholarships are available to applicants who:
- are Australian citizens or permanent residents;
- are currently resident in the state of Victoria;
- are currently enrolled in an undergraduate award course at a tertiary institute in Victoria;
- have completed, or expect to complete, the second-year level academic requirements in a language other than English before they travel abroad;
- are applying through their home university (or have been nominated) for a full-time exchange place or study abroad program in languages at an overseas tertiary institution acceptable to the Trust.
- are accepted for enrolment by the overseas host university into a full-time program of 3 to 12 month’s duration