Have you ever wanted to apply for an international postgraduate opportunity but felt daunted by the process?

The University of Utah’s Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships, ONCS, is here not only to help you get started but to support you through creating a competitive application and putting your best foot forward.

“U students have backgrounds, life stories and academic journeys that are unique and compelling,” said Ginger Smoak, director of ONCS. “Our job is to help these students create applications that showcase their capabilities so they can access these exciting opportunities.”

Listen to a U for You podcast interview with Smoak here. 

Since its creation in 2020, ONCS has helped scores of U students secure once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunities—including 25 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, the Fulbright U.S. Student program provides awardees the opportunity to pursue graduate study, conduct research or serve as an English Teaching Assistant in one of over 140 different countries.

ONCS has longstanding, effective and tested processes in place to support students— of all backgrounds, fields and experiences— in articulating their goals, exploring which Fulbright countries and programs align and creating competitive applications.

“Picking from more than 140 different countries really allows you to decide what you want to do and decide how your goals align with that opportunity,” said Alison Shimko, ONCS assistant director. 

This year’s five awardees are currently completing their Fulbright in Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Germany and India.

Jacobo Miranda, a 2025 Fiance graduate, is a Fulbright Business Binational grantee in Mexico City. His Fulbright experience includes working on the finance team at Endeavor Global and taking MBA courses at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

“I’m excited to take home the new level of cultural agility and perspective I’ve gained,” Miranda said. “This experience has deepened my professional skills, but more importantly, it has fundamentally changed how I approach cross-cultural communication and problem-solving, skills that are essential in any global career.”

Miranda’s favorite part of being in Mexico City is the daily immersion in what he says is “one of the world’s best capitals.”

“My favorite ritual has been exploring and trying all the amazing street food,” he said. “It’s a constant, delicious lesson in local culture and community.”

Shimko, a 2017 U alum, is a former Fulbright grantee. Shortly after she graduated from the U, she spent an academic year as an English Teaching Assistant in northern Spain. In addition to the incredible experience of being immersed in a different culture and building new relationships, the application process itself made an important impact on her.

“I learned a lot about myself and a lot about writing, editing and reviewing,” she said. “All of those things put me in a better position to apply for opportunities I wanted in the future, like jobs and grad school.”

What do I want?

Both Shimko and Smoak describe the process of applying for a nationally competitive scholarship as “soul-searching.”

“It’s about asking yourself, ‘what do I want?” Shimko said.

In working through the answer to that question, Shimko says ONCS encourages students to think about how they want to shape their future, what goals they have for themselves and how the opportunity they are seeking furthers those goals.

“ We have rarely had a student who decided that they really wanted to take part in this process who says that it wasn’t worth it,” Smoak said. “They will say ‘yes, that was a lot of work, but I learned so much about myself and I’m so happy I did that’.” 

When to reach out? 

Because the application process requires writing and revising multiple drafts of essays and collecting letters of recommendation and affiliation, ONCS leadership encourages students to reach out to their office as soon as they know they are interested. 

It is never too early to connect with ONCS. First-year students can reach out to learn about available opportunities and how they can position themselves to be competitive candidates when the time comes to apply. This is especially important for programs with foreign language proficiency requirements.

Students interested in pursuing a Fulbright grant the year after graduation should ideally begin working on their application materials during spring semester of their junior year.

However, if you are about to graduate or have already, ONCS does serve recent alumni, and there is typically no age limit for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals, have a bachelor’s degree by the start of the grant period and not hold a Ph.D. by the application deadline.

To learn more about nationally competitive scholarships, visit nationallycompetitivescholarships.utah.edu or email competitivescholarships@utah.edu to make an appointment with an ONCS staff member.

Upcoming scholarship opportunities managed by ONCS:

Spring 2026 Deadlines

Beinecke Scholarship: funding for current juniors who aim to pursue graduate training in the arts, humanities or social sciences

Open now, U deadline: 2/18/26

Gilman Scholarship: funding for students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad

Opens mid-January, deadline: 3/5/26

Udall Scholarship: funding for undergraduate students pursuing a future career in conservation and environmental issues, or in Native American tribal policy or healthcare

Open now, U deadline: 2/25/26

UK Summer Institutes: three-to-four-week immersive academic programs at UK universities for early-career undergraduates who have had little to no study/travel experiences outside of North America

Open now, deadline: 2/2/26

Summer/Fall 2026 Deadlines

Churchill Scholarship: funding for a one-year STEM master’s degree at the University of Cambridge

U deadline: August 2026

Fulbright U.S. Student Program: funding to pursue postgraduate study, conduct research, or serve as an English Teaching Assistant in one of over 140 different countries

U deadline: August 2026

Marshall Scholarship: funding for postgraduate study at any UK university or universities

U deadline: August 2026

Rhodes Scholarship: funding for postgraduate at the University of Oxford

U deadline: August 2026