The Frances L. Phillips Travel Scholarship was established by the late Frances L. Phillips of New York City, to provide opportunities for travel abroad for students at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Phillips was a member of the North Carolina Phillips family, and she shared with her family a tradition of service and commitment to the University. Her interest in students and her belief that travel abroad would enrich the educational experiences of able young men and women are evidenced by her creation and support of the Frances L. Phillips Travel Scholarship. The program was established in 1971 by a Trust Agreement and generously funded in 1986 by a bequest in her will.
The Trust Agreement which established these unique scholarships specifies that funds will be provided for:
"... full scholarships and/or partial scholarships to enable students to travel outside the United States, Canada and the Caribbean area for a period up to but not in excess of six months."
The Trust Agreement also states that a recipient must be:
- A citizen of the United States who attended high school in the State of North Carolina.
- Enrolled and in good standing in the Junior or Senior Liberal Arts Class in the baccalaureate program of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill immediately before the commencement of such travel.
- In the judgment of the selection committee, without other available financial resources to afford such travel.
In the Trust Agreement, Ms. Phillips directed that the Selection Committee be composed of the Dean of Students and four professors to be designated from year to year by the Chancellor of the University and that the Committee "...give primary weight and consideration to qualities of leadership possessed by eligible students and the amount of scholastic achievement, good manners and sense of humor they possess."
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The University's Committee on Scholarships, Awards and Student Aid has established the following additional stipulations as necessary for the administration of this Scholarship Award consistent with the intentions of Ms. Phillips.
- The Phillips Travel Scholarship provides an opportunity for the financial support of a student's personal enrichment and growth through the process of travel and is not intended to support expenses of an organized, "study abroad" program. The Scholarship may, however, be used for travel supplemental to such a "study abroad" program. The Scholarship is for the support of an individual student, traveling either independently or as part of a group.
- Recipients of the Scholarship will be selected on the basis of formal written proposals specifying the goals and the intended use of the funds with consideration being given to both academic proposals and experiential proposals. Examples of previously funded proposals include working on organic farms, exploring settings of children’s facility and interning with an Irish fiddle-maker. Finalists will be interviewed by the Selection Committee.
- Recipients of the Scholarship will be selected on the basis of formal written proposals specifying the goals and the intended use of the funds with consideration being given to both academic proposals and experiential proposals. Examples of previously funded proposals include working on organic farms, exploring settings of children’s facility and interning with an Irish fiddle-maker. Finalists will be interviewed by the Selection Committee.
- Recipients will be required to execute a form releasing the University and any of its employees and agents from any liability for any injuries or property damage suffered by the recipient in connection with the travel.
A written report will be required from a recipient of the Scholarship within one month of the completion of travel. The report should describe the travel and reflect on the accomplishment of the goals stated in the proposal. The report will be reproduced and maintained for access by other members of the University community, including persons contemplating future application for this Scholarship.
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In addition to requirements of the Trust Agreement, the following criteria for the Scholarship must be met:
- At the time of application for the Scholarship, a student must be enrolled in a full time course of undergraduate study at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and be available for interview by the Selection Committee in late November/early December. At the time of application for the Scholarship, a student must have completed at least 51 hours of college credit, with at least 27 hours completed "in residence" at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- A recipient of the Scholarship must be enrolled either in a full-time program of undergraduate study in the College of Arts and Sciences of UNC-CH, or be in pursuit of a double major, one of which is through an academic department of the College of Arts and Sciences during the fall or spring semester immediately before beginning travel.
- A recipient of the Scholarship must begin travel no later than twelve months from the month of selection for this Award and a graduating senior student must begin travel within six months of the award of the undergraduate degree.
- Travel must be outside the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. .
- While the phrase "in good standing" generally means that the individual is eligible to continue at the next term as a fully enrolled student, "scholastic achievement" is one of the criteria in the Trust Agreement to which the Committee is directed to give primary weight.
- Priority of consideration will be given those applicants with less travel experience.
- The requirement that recipients have attended high school in North Carolina may be met by registered attendance at either public or private high schools in this State and does not require that the recipient be a graduate of a North Carolina High School.
In considering the requirement of the Trust Agreement that a recipient be "...without other available financial resources to afford such travel," the Selection Committee will consider specific, verifiable data about the financial circumstances of the student and family, documented by the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the year in which application is made for the Phillips Award. Additionally, the Selection Committee will consider a narrative statement from the applicant indicating why he or she believes that his or her financial circumstances justify such a travel grant and identifying the resources that he or she will be able contribute toward the costs of the proposed trip.
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Completed applications for the Phillips Travel Scholarship are due in the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid not later than 5:00 P.M. of 15 October (or the next succeeding business day if October 15 falls on a weekend) for travel which is anticipated to begin in the next succeeding Spring, Summer or Fall. Interviews of finalists will take place in November and early December. Notice of selection will be made in December.
Applicants for this scholarship are expected, as a part of the application, to propose a thoroughly researched and reasonable itemized budget of expenses for the planned travel. The amount of the award will reflect the student’s need for assistance with travel costs, as described in the student’s budget and by measurement of the family’s ability to assist with travel expenses.
The value of the Scholarships will range from $5,000 to a maximum of $9,000 to include all costs of travel, subsistence, entrance fees, miscellaneous costs and the premiums for required medical and hospitalization insurance. Normally, the Scholarship does not support the purchase of durable items such as bicycles, camping equipment, cameras, etc.
It is the expectation of the Selection Committee that the planned travel will be for no less than two months and can be for no more than six months.
The Phillips Travel Scholarship is intended to benefit as many persons as possible; therefore, previous recipients of the Scholarship are ineligible for later application.
After the funds for a Phillips Travel Scholarship are released, full responsibility for security of the funds and for the completion of the travel as proposed rests with the student to whom the Scholarship has been awarded. No replacement funds will be provided in the event of loss.
Any use of funds awarded for other than the purposes described in the student's application for the Scholarship, or any substantive failure to complete the travel proposed in the student's application for the Scholarship, will require a full or partial repayment to the University of the money advanced to the student, the amount of the repayment to be determined by the Selection Committee.
The Scholarship may be subject to taxation as scholarship income. The recipient is responsible for determining the extent of his or her tax liability, for reporting the grant on the appropriate tax forms and for paying any resulting taxes.
Selection of the recipients of this Scholarship is final and in the sole purview of the Selection Committee and shall be made without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap or veteran status.
The acceptance of a Phillips Travel Scholarship Award will have no adverse effect on the receipt of, or later application for, other scholarships or financial aid awarded through the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. However, for students who receive need-based financial aid, the fact that the recipient may be traveling during a period of non-enrollment may require the student to work or borrow during an enrolled period to contribute the amount the student is typically expected to provide toward his or her education costs.
All arrangements for travel, subsistence, insurance, housing and other expenditures incidental to travel are the sole responsibility of the student.
Neither The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill nor any of its agents will be responsible for loss of property, injury, or loss of life while a student is traveling under the financial support of the Frances L. Phillips Scholarship.
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- The Frances L. Phillips Travel Scholarship Application, including a detailed Statement of Travel, submitted to the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid by October 15. Must provide 6 copies of the application. If the reference letters are given to you in a sealed envelope, do not make copies of those.
- Two letters of recommendation from UNC-CH faculty or staff, must be submitted to the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid by October 15.
- The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current year, submitted to the federal processing agency in sufficient time for the data/results of evaluation to be available to the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid by 15 October. Website: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
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