The Kellner Scholarship was established in 1991 by the Kellner Foundation. It is offered to students of ELTE (Bölcsészettudományi Kar, Társadalomtudományi Kar, Természettudományi Kar, Pedagógiai és Pszichológiai Kar, Tanító- és Óvóképző Kar) and of SZTE (Bölcsészettudományi Kar, Juhász Gyula Pedagógusképző Kar). The scholarship covers the full tuition and living expenses for the period of one academic year at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut or at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. It also includes return airfare, a laptop computer and a stipend for travel in the United States after the end of the academic year.

Getting a Kellner scholarship is quite a competitive business, but it is definitely worth trying. With majors in English and Spanish, I was selected in 2005 to spend one academic year at Bard College, a liberal arts school located in a spectacular spot of New York State, right by the Hudson River. The school is cut off from the world with everything one would need to broaden their mind, which is why it is called ‘A place to think’. Here, Kellner scholars are integrated in a program for international students, where they are expected to take one course per semester on politics or human rights, otherwise you choose what you want to study from a quite impressive course catalogue (from Science and Econ to Lit and Studio Arts). Just to illustrate it, here are mine: Latin American Art, Civil Society in World Politics, Poetics of Modernism, New Directions: Contemporary Fiction, Community Choir, Creative Writing in Spanish, Contemporary Art in Latin America, Spread of Democracy, Politics of Latin America. Although the scholarship is not strictly academic (but more like a ‘broaden-your-mind’ type), it also gives you a chance to collect the best material for your thesis. Apart from academics, you can travel a lot. Since Bard is only 2 hours from NYC by train, at weekends I explored it as much as I could. And from the Kellner stipend, I also spent some time in Puerto Rico and Mexico. All in all, you can benefit a lot from this program: new knowledge from great professors, work experience, contacts, networking skills, friends from all over the world, memories from trips and a new look on the world. Just to mention a few. Oh, and I met John Barth. 🙂 If you are thinking of applying, feel free to contact me at gerajudit.

Judit Gera