Students from 18 States and D.C. Awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarships

CAMBRIDGE, England -- The University of Cambridge today announced the newest U.S. recipients of the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. The fourth class of scholars — including 31 American students from 18 states and the District of Columbia — has the opportunity to enroll in graduate programs at the University of Cambridge in October. If they accept the invitation, each of these talented young men and women will choose from among a range of subjects, including arts, science, humanities, social science, technology and medicine.

Since the Gates Cambridge Scholarship program began in 2001, more than 100 scholars, from countries around the world, have completed their studies at Cambridge. Today, these graduates are already putting their knowledge and experience to work in a variety of settings -- from global NGO's to multi-national corporations, from government offices to inner-city classrooms -- pursuing solutions to many of the world's most complex and pressing issues.

"Through this program, the scholars are in an ideal position to bring new vision and apply their learning to the benefit of society at large," said Bill Gates, Sr., co- chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which has endowed Gates Cambridge Scholarships. "In order to address the injustices and inequities around our world, we need highly educated leaders who are skilled in research and analysis to undertake a creative approach to defining and solving these problems."

Currently, there are 268 Gates Scholars studying at Cambridge. They hail from sixty countries -- as diverse as Algeria and Argentina, Estonia and Ethiopia, Nepal and New Zealand, Thailand and Turkey. Approximately one-third of the Gates Cambridge Scholars are from the United States. Students from the United Kingdom are ineligible for the program.

"This high-level of global diversity makes the Gates Scholar Program truly distinctive," said Ed Strauss, director of communications for Cambridge in America, New York NY. "Their multi-cultural, multi-national presence at Cambridge enlivens and enriches the university’s libraries, laboratories, classroom discussions and dining-table debates."

In order to be eligible for the program, all Scholars must have earned at least one degree from another college or university. The 31 students from the U.S. who have been offered the scholarships are either currently studying at or have recently graduated from American colleges and universities. The definitive list of which students have accepted the scholarship and plan to study at Cambridge will be published in October, when the comprehensive, multi-national roster of 2004 Scholars, including those from the southern hemisphere, is released.