UAB recognizes largest honors group ever for securing national, international fellowships

UAB honors students head to Dubai, Paris and Washington D.C. for national and international studies thanks to scholarships and fellowships.

Written by: Tiffany Westry

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student fellowships wUAB honors students head to Dubai, Paris and Washington D.C. for national and international studies thanks to scholarships and fellowships.
As the summer months draw near, 46 University of Alabama at Birmingham honors students are preparing for international travel, academic enrichment or to conduct research everywhere from Dubai, Germany and Paris to Washington, D.C., after landing national and international fellowships.

Fifty-one students were recognized at the third annual UAB Fellowships luncheon on April 8 for being named finalists or winners of national and international fellowships.

“We know that our students can compete against the best and brightest from other institutions throughout the country. Our goal is to make students aware of opportunities and provide them with faculty and staff guidance during the application process.”

“These students represent UAB extremely well. We’re proud of the many accomplishments they have made in their respective fields,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts, M.D. “As they complete their academic careers here and venture out into the world, they will be very well-prepared for global citizenship.”

All of the fellowships and scholarships obtained are highly competitive. It is through the UAB Office of National and International Fellowship and Scholarships that students receive assistance with identifying and applying to programs of interest.

“UAB continues to invest in student success through supporting fellowship applicants,” said Ashley Floyd, director of the UAB Fellowships office. “We know that our students can compete against the best and brightest from other institutions throughout the country. Our goal is to make students aware of opportunities and provide them with faculty and staff guidance during the application process.”

UAB students have secured such prestigious awards as the Rhodes, Fulbright and Goldwater scholarships. They are among a select group for these awards nationwide. These fellowships help students fund research, study away and pursue graduate education. 

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Senior Ameen Barghi is the third UAB student since 2000 to be selected as a Rhodes scholar, more than from any other university in the state during the same period of time. Barghi is only one of 32 students in the United States who will begin an all-expenses-paid graduate education at Oxford University in Oxford, England, in the fall. Bliss Chang, also a senior, became the 17th UAB student to be awarded the Fulbright Scholarship since 1993. Chang will spend one year in Germany conducting research.

The university has had two or more winners of the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative scholarship every year for the last five years; only 15 are selected annually.

UAB students have also been among the winners for other awards, such as the William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship to study at American University in Dubai, Charles B. Rangel Scholarship to study international affairs in Washington, D.C., and the Humanity in Action Fellowship to explore national histories of discrimination and resistance in Europe.

“We have a tremendously supportive faculty, outstanding research opportunities and a real commitment on the part of the university to civic engagement, service learning, international education and global learning,” said Shannon Blanton, dean of the UAB Honors College. “The success of these honors students falls directly in line with UAB’s mission. We are proud and excited for all of these students.”

A complete list of honors scholarship and fellowships winners is available online.