Luce Scholarship
Fast Facts
- Aims to enhance the understanding of Asia among potential future leaders in American society.
- Program provides stipends, language training, and individualized professional placements in Asia for 15-18 Fellows each year.
- Intended for graduating college seniors, young professionals, and graduate students who have had a limited exposure to Asia (less than accumulated total of 18 weeks).
- Fellows have backgrounds in every field other than Asian Studies, including but not limited to the arts, journalism, law, medicine, science, public health, environmental studies, and international relations.
At Carnegie India, where I am placed, I am studying how the Indian government handles a range of transnational threats, from terrorism to natural disasters. When I prescribe recommendations in my articles, my colleagues constantly remind me that, just because the United States sets up its bureaucracy in a specific manner doesn’t mean that it would work for India similarly. It has definitely been a humbling experience so far, one that I know will have made me a better foreign policy practitioner.
Neil Noronha, Georgetown alum (SFS ’14, MSFS ’16) and 2017 Luce Scholar
Criteria
- Record of high achievement; outstanding leadership ability; clearly defined interests with evidence of potential for professional accomplishments.
- Clear articulation of how exploring their issue area in an Asian context will enhance and deepen their understanding and add value to their trajectory.
Luce arranges individual professional placements for each Scholar on the basis of his or her professional interests, background, and qualifications.
Examples of Placements
- Center for Global Health Policy, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Scholar’s Role: Supporting NGO’s mission of developing Nepal’s democracy through theory and field-based research on the implementation of Nepal’s constitutional obligations.
- Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, China
- Scholar’s Role: Performing concerts around the city, teaching music theory and composition, and working on demo programs for China Radio International.
- Democracy Resource Center Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Scholar’s Role: Supporting NGO’s mission of developing Nepal’s democracy through theory and field-based research on the implementation of Nepal’s constitutional obligations.
- Breakthrough Trust, New Delhi, India
- Scholar’s Role: Working on projects on early marriage in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand while also developing digital media strategy for the human rights organization.
- The Caravan Magazine, New Delhi, India
- Scholar’s Role: Reporting, writing, end editing stories on topics ranging from the Sikh diaspora to medical tourism.
- Village Focus International, Vientiane, Laos
- Scholar’s Role: Supporting the NGO’s work in protecting villagers’ land rights in the face of threats such as deforestation and agricultural development.
- Centre for Livable Cities, Singapore
- Scholar’s Role: pushing forward policy that reduces Singapore’s automobile usage.