The Dr. Ross N. Berkes Scholarship Fund is a testament to the legacy of the former director of the USC School of International Relations. Established with the generous support of Dr. Berkes’ family and friends, this fund aims to assist deserving students majoring in international relations. Scholarship recipients benefit from financial support for two essential purposes: attending conferences, which covers costs like transportation, accommodations, meals, and conference fees, and pursuing internships with organizations connected to the field of international relations. These scholarships are awarded based on merit and are exclusively available to current USC Dornsife students majoring in International Relations.

Eligibility Requirements:

  • GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • The internship or research must be completed before the student graduates from USC Dornsife.
  • Recipients must be registered for the Fall 2024 term.
  • Must be either an INCO, IR, IRGB, or IRGE major.
  • Must have completed IR 210, and at least one other IR 200-level methods course.

Application Procedure:

Deadline: March 18, 2024

To apply, please submit a completed application form to Akeya Harmon-Collins at akeyahar@usc.edu. Ensure that your application includes the student’s major, current GPA, and expected graduation date. Required components of the application include:

  1. Resume or CV: Please ensure it is up to date and relevant to this internship application, not a generic version.
  2. Research or Internship Proposal: Note if you have applied to other funding resources.
    • Internship Proposal: Identify the sponsoring organization, its mission, address, the name and contact information of the intern’s supervisor, the nature of the intern’s work, the number of weeks and hours per week, and explain why this internship would be valuable.
    • Research Proposal: Identify the research question and methods used, detail how you will use the funding to complete your research, include the number of weeks and hours per week, and explain why funding your research would be valuable.
  3. Simple Budget: Show living expenses for the internship period and travel to and from the site.
  4. Submit your STARS Report.
  5. Recommendation Document: Ask a USC faculty member to submit a Recommendation Document.

(For students applying for internship support): In order to disburse the award, the School will require a letter from the organization offering the internship to the student for the specified period. This letter should also agree to provide the School with a simple report on the student’s work at the end of the internship. You may submit an application that contains all elements except this letter, and provide the letter if the grant is approved and you decide to accept it.