The US-Ireland Alliance Scholarship

The US-Ireland Alliance Scholars Program History

The US-Ireland Scholarship was created in the late 1990s by the US-Ireland Alliance, with the first cohort of scholars selected in 2000. Originally named after Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and conceived in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement, the Program was designed to strengthen the ties between the United States and Ireland, cultivating a generation of American leaders shaped by cross-cultural engagement and service towards the greater good. Each year a cohort of America's leading scholars was selected for fully funded postgraduate study at universities across Ireland and Northern Ireland based on academic excellence, leadership, and sustained commitment to service.

From its inception the scholarship has carried a distinctive ethos: leadership grounded in public service. The program sought applicants whose ambitions extended towards making a greater impact in the community and world. Whether in public policy, science, social innovation, diplomacy, academic progress, or community leadership, US-Ireland Scholars have carried the legacy of the Program throughout America and all around the world. By immersing Scholars throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Program has developed globally-oriented leaders who return with a deeper understanding of the world beyond our own, learning from Ireland's rich history.

Over the past two decades, US-Ireland Alliance alumni have built an impressive legacy across public life, academia, mission-driven fields–working in government, nonprofit leadership, medicine, research, journalism, and entrepreneurship. Many have pursued careers that mirror the scholarship's original values.