New York (11 December 2024) - The British Government announced today the 51 winners of 2024 Marshall Scholarships, the largest class in the seven decades-running scholarship program. The recipients, considered among America's most accomplished undergraduate university students and recent graduates, were chosen following an intense selection process and will begin graduate studies at top universities across the United Kingdom next year.
The Marshall Scholarship program was created by an Act of British Parliament in 1953 as a living memorial to former US Secretary of State General George C. Marshall and the US for assistance under the Marshall Plan. The scholarship allows for up to three years of graduate study in any academic topic at any university in the UK.
Emma Wade Smith, HM Trade Commissioner for North America and British Consul General in New York said:
I am so proud that this year's set of Marshall Scholars represent the diversity and richness of our region. From science and mathematics to linguistics, artificial intelligence, energy and sustainability, migration studies, these young leaders have already impressed with their robust academic training; and they have demonstrated real promise in terms of their career trajectories. Their achievements to date embody the motto of New York State: Excelsior! (Ever upward). I wish them a life-enhancing experience in the UK and look forward to seeing their continued success in the UK's prestigious higher education institutions.
Twelve scholars were selected in the original 1954 class - eight men and four women - becoming one of the first coeducational national scholarships in UK history and 21 years before the British Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 banned the exclusion of women from education. Since that time, over 2,200 American men and women have received graduate degrees through the Marshall Scholarship before going on to play leading roles in American society.
Among this year's class are aspiring diplomats, doctors, fighter pilots and scientists. Half of the 2024 class will pursue STEM-related degrees, including several who will study issues relating to the ethics and advancement of Artificial Intelligence. The focus on attracting America's top young scientific minds reflects the UK Government's effort to transform Britain into a "Science & Technology Superpower" by 2030. Last month, the UK hosted the first-ever global AI Summit, which saw 28 nations reach a landmark agreement to collaborate on the challenges and opportunities of AI. Earlier this year, the UK and US also agreed to a new economic partnership known as the "Atlantic Declaration", pledging joint collaboration and investment in developing advanced technologies like AI, quantum and 6G.
The Marshall Scholarship has a proud history of helping to drive scientific innovation." said John Raine, Chair of the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, "from Ray Dolby's revolutionary advancements in audio engineering to Dr. Dan Barouch's critical role in spearheading the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, Marshall Scholars are continuing to push the scientific boundaries of what's possible.
The program received 1006 applications this year from candidates representing academic institutions across the United States. 34 universities across 21 US states and the District of Columbia are represented, nearly a third of which are state or public universities and military service academies. Mississippi State University, Washington & Lee University (VA) and the University of Hawaii at Hilo will send Marshall Scholars to the UK for the first time ever. Awards were extended to scholars representing the University of Denver and the University of Mississippi for the first time in two decades.
The program is principally funded by the British Government, but also benefits from generous support through partnership arrangements with world-leading British academic institutions, allowing winners to pursue graduate degrees in almost any academic subject at any university in the UK. The 2024 class will take up their studies at 18 different institutions across the UK starting next September, ranging from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to Loughborough University in Leicestershire.
The scholarship program also continues to receive generous support from the Association of Marshall Scholars (AMS), the official alumni organisation of the Marshall Scholarship. The British Schools & Universities Foundation (BUSF) also provides generous support and funds for a scholarship.
This year's class had 11 recipients with ties to the New York region, including:
- Jamila Beesley (Brown University) of Bethlehem, New York.
- Alexis Bradstreet (United States Military Academy) of Richardson, Texas.
- Hari Choudhari (Georgetown University) of Montvale, New Jersey.
- Charlotte d'Halluin (United States Naval Academy) of Jersey City, New Jersey.
- Ashley Fuchs (University of Pennsylvania) of Stony Brook, New York.
- Maeve Janecka (Georgia Institute of Technology) of Purdys, New York.
- Ayelet Kalfus (Yale University) of New York, New York.
- Gina Ngo (Villanova University) of Havertown, Pennsylvania.
- Mary Olson (Columbia University) of Excelsior, Minnesota.
- Martayn Van de Wall (United States Military Academy) of Mooresville, North Carolina.
- Iona Volynets (Syracuse University) of Washington, D. C.
About the Marshall Scholarship
Named for Secretary of State George C. Marshall, the Marshall Scholarship Program began in 1953 as a gesture of gratitude to the people of the United States for the assistance that the UK received after World War II under the Marshall Plan. Since that time, it has remained uniquely positioned among national scholarships for its prestige and scope: offering talented young Americans the chance to study any academic subject at UK universities of their choice for up to 3 years. This has given rise to an unprecedented breadth of expertise in almost every academic field, producing numerous university presidents, six Pulitzer Prize winners, one Nobel Laureate, fourteen MacArthur Fellows, two-academy-Award nominees, two US Supreme Court Justices and a NASA Astronaut.
With over 2,200 scholarships awarded to date, Marshall Scholars are leading the conversation and direction of some of the most critical issues of our time. Notable winners of the scholarship include:
- Supreme Court Associate Justices Stephen Breyer (ret.) and Neil Gorsuch
- William Burns, Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
- Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Anne Applebaum, Tom Friedman, Jeffrey Gettleman and Dan Yergin
- Dr. Dan Barouch, Leading COVID-19 vaccine researcher and William Bosworth Castle, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
- Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, White House National Security Council; Nominee for Deputy Secretary of State at US State Department
- Reid Hoffman, Philanthropist and founder of social networking platform LinkedIn
- Lisa Cook, Economist and currently the first African-American woman and first person of color to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
- Congressmen Derek Kilmer (WA-6th CD) and Gabe Amo (RI-1st CD)
- Kris Kobach, Attorney General of the State of Kansas
- Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State for the State of Michigan
- Anne McClain, NASA Astronaut who served aboard the International Space Station in 2018
- Roger Tsien, 2008 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry
- Ray Dolby, Founder of Dolby Laboratories and 1997 winner of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation
- Rebecca F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War book trilogy
