Funding Opportunities

Funding Opportunities for graduate students

There are two special mechanisms currently to apply to Purdue under the agreements with Colombia. The first is through the agreement with COLCIENCIAS. The second is exclusively through COLFUTURO. 

Purdue-Colciencias Scholarships

Benefits:
  • In addition to providing a world-class research education, Colciencias and Purdue will work together to prepare Colombia's future scientific leaders with entrepreneurial skills and an understanding of community service. We also are working to ensure Colombia's post-bachelor's and post-doctoral degree students have an opportunity to work directly in a Purdue lab, gaining valuable experience to bring back to Colombia.
    Purdue is working hard to cultivate links with companies and universities in Colombia to facilitate good opportunities for Colciencias fellows at Purdue when they return to the country.
  • Purdue regularly organizes workshops with Colombian universities. These activities ensure that fellows maintain contact with their institutions in Colombia.
  • Colciencias Purdue fellows participate each semester in a business seminar series that brings representatives from companies, institutions and investors in Colombia for networking
  • Colciencias Purdue fellows take a series of 2 courses in Entrepreneurship, Business Management, and Intellectual Property.
  • Colciencias fellows at Purdue have the opportunity to participate in community service programs, such as EPICS (the famous program of the College of Engineering).
  • Purdue increases the monthly salary paid by Colciencias.
Process:
  • Colciencias opens their “Convocatoria para doctorados en el exterior” every year. Please read carefully the complete information from Colciencias, especially regarding the terms and conditions of the scholarship. Click here to check the fellowship status.
  • There is a Purdue-specific  annex.
  • Colombian students apply to the "Colciencias convocatoria para doctorado en el exterior", should choose Purdue (any department/school) as a destination  OR select the annex as the program of choice.  Either way  we will be in touch with Colciencias to track the students.
  • We strongly recommend that the students contact Purdue Professors in their respective fields to develop their research proposal which is required for application.
  • After submitting their applications to Colciencias students should make themselves familiar with Purdue’s application process, deadlines and requirements (http://www.gradschool.purdue.edu/admissions/). See also  http://www.gradschool.purdue.edu/gradrequirements/index.cfm for the GRE/TOEFL requirements of each department. We suggest that you take the GRE/TOEFL  as soon as possible so that you can take them again in time should you need to improve on your scores.
  • Complete  your application to Purdue (all materials required).
  • If selected for the Colciencias fellowship, the students might also be interviewed by Fulbright Colombia.  Those Colciencias fellows that get Fulbright also are called Fulbright-Colciencias and the rest are simply called Colciencias scholars
  • The Fulbright-Colciencias scholars are given help in taking GRE/TOEFL/ cultural orientation while in Colombia; Fulbright helps them with their applications to Purdue; Once they receive admission from Purdue, LASPAU takes over paperwork  (visa etc. ) and arranges payment of  the tuition and student salary (salary is supplemented by Purdue).
  • The Colciencias scholars (without Fulbright) will be taken care of by Colfuturo.

Purdue-Colfuturo Scholarships

  • Colombian students apply to departments at Purdue following the process and requirements listed in the Graduate School "How to apply" webpage and the Graduate Program Requirements webpage.
  • If they get a letter stating that their application is complete, they approach Colfuturo for the credit scholarship.
  • Once they receive the Colfuturo scholarship the student needs to write to the host department letting them know they received the scholarship.
  • At Purdue then each department rank orders their Colfuturo scholars who have applied and sends the rank-ordered list to the Purdue graduate school.
  • Purdue (Graduate school ) will offer upto 10 tuition scholarships to Colfuturo scholars.
  • Those that receive tuition scholarships from grad school and have Colfuturo funding ($25K per year) will be admitted to Purdue if they satisfy admission requirements.
  • Those Colfuturo applicants who did not get grad school tuition scholarships can still write to Purdue professors who might give them a 1/4 time research assistant position with tuition covered.
  • Any faculty who takes on a Colfuturo student with grad school tuition scholarship and Colfuturo funding does not need to pay the student for the first two years, but the host department has a responsibility to support the student, pending performance, through the end of her or his PhD.
  • 50% of the loan is forgiven if students return to Colombia.