The award, which includes a tuition waiver and a stipend, is intended to enable a female graduate student from outside the United States to have an academic and cultural experience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Applicants must be female, no age limit; mothers are encouraged to apply.
• Preference will be given to those who have had limited opportunity to travel outside of their home country.
• Although applicants may be residing in Urbana-Champaign at the time of application, their normal place of residence should be outside of the United States.
• Applicants should be graduate students currently enrolled or be eligible for admission to graduate level coursework at the University of Illinois, but need not enroll in a degree program.  To accept the award, recipient must be enrolled in classes for credit and physically present on campus. Each student who receives a Graduate College waiver associated with a fellowship must: [a] be registered during the term of the waiver; [b] be in good academic standing at the beginning of the term in which the waiver is awarded; and [c] must register for 12 hours during the academic year.
• The average tenure of the scholarship is expected to be one or two semesters, depending on individual need and availability of funds.
• A completed application form must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 21, 2008. 
• Ten finalists for this award will be notified and asked to provide 2 letters of reference.
• Emphasis will be given to the personal statement.  Applicant must be able to demonstrate how her personal qualities and experiences relate to the award.

To learn more about the spirit and personality of Maria Pia Gratton, you are invited to visit the following website:

http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~skypen/Pia/index.html
http://www.skypen.com/piaaward/