Three New Aid Programs at SBU

St. Bonaventure University has instituted three new graduate aid programs to make continuing education more affordable in these challenging economic times.

Two of the scholarships – the AmeriCorps Education Award Matching Grant, and the Franciscan Mission Grant for those employed by Catholic organizations – target those in largely service-oriented professions who are most affected by the unstable economy.

A third award, the President’s Jubilee Scholarship, will help students enrolled in the master’s program at St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan Institute, an internationally recognized center of teaching, research and publication on the Franciscan movement.

All are in keeping with the university’s commitment to fostering the development of skilled and compassionate individuals who embrace such Franciscan values as individual dignity and service to others.

“Essentially, we’re putting our money where our heart is,” said Bruce Campbell, director of graduate admissions at St. Bonaventure. “These scholarships will let us help those who are working in positions that reflect Franciscan ideals - exactly the kind of people we want in our graduate program and showing SBU on their resumes. They are active and engaged, interested in others, community builders and future leaders. The President’s Jubilee Scholarship will help those who want to learn more about our unique Franciscan heritage.”

St. Bonaventure is the first college in Western New York to match the AmeriCorps Segal Education Award.

AmeriCorps offers its volunteers an education award of up to $4,725 for one year of full-time service and $9,450 for two years. St. Bonaventure will match in full a $4,725 award for any graduate program 30-36 credit hours in length. For two-year AmeriCorps volunteers, St. Bonaventure will match up to 75 percent of the $9,450 for graduate programs 39-51 credit hours in length, and match in full the $9,450 award for students enrolled in the 60-credit community mental health counseling program.

Those holding a partial education award (for part-time service) will instead receive St. Bonaventure’s Dean’s Graduate Scholarship, which offers a slightly higher grant.

The Franciscan Mission Grant, an award equivalent to 30 percent of a student’s tuition costs, is available to any matriculated St. Bonaventure graduate student who is employed in a Catholic organization, including schools, diocesan and parish offices, Catholic Charities, Catholic Health, Catholic colleges that don’t offer graduate degrees, and other non-profit Catholic-based organizations. Awards are made on a space available basis and top executives and some medical professionals are ineligible.

The President’s Jubilee Scholarship, created in celebration of St. Bonaventure’s 150th anniversary, offers a similar grant for students enrolled in the two-year master’s program at SBU’s renowned Franciscan Institute.

St. Bonaventure University offers graduate programs in education, counseling, business, English, Franciscan Studies and Integrated Marketing Communications at its main campus in Olean and its Buffalo Center on the Hilbert College campus in Hamburg. The latter employs a weekend format, allowing for accelerated degree completion.

In addition to the three new graduate scholarship programs, St. Bonaventure offers two other awards for eligible graduate students: Bona Advantage, a 15 percent tuition reduction for St. Bonaventure or Hilbert College graduates returning for a graduate program within five years of earning an undergraduate degree; and the Dean’s Graduate Scholarship, which offers a 20 percent tuition discount. These grant and scholarship programs cannot be combined.

For more information on any of the scholarship programs, contact Bruce Campbell at (736) 375-2429; Kevin Brayer, executive director of the Buffalo Center, at (716) 646-1500 or gradsch@sbu.edu.

Emailed from Tom Missel, Director of Media Relations/Marketing

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