The scholars who shape America

The George J Mitchell scholarship, set up five years ago by Trina Vargo to allow US students to come to Ireland to study, has grown to become one of the most prestigious 'foreign fellowships' in the US, writes Gráinne Faller

Many people will have heard of the Rhodes scholarship. Extremely prestigious, it offers outstanding students, from the US and elsewhere, an opportunity to study for two years at postgraduate level in Oxford University. The list of Rhodes alumni is impressive. Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar, as were No Logo author Naomi Wolf and astronomer Edwin Hubble. Other alumni include Olympic medallists, Nobel prizewinners and countless politicians and scholars.

While working as foreign policy adviser to Sen Ted Kennedy, Trina Vargo, now president of the US-Ireland Alliance, was struck by how many people in the Clinton administration had been Rhodes scholars in their student days.Vargo spotted an opportunity for Ireland.

She says: "I thought it would be great if Ireland had something like the Rhodes - something where future leaders in the US would have a real and positive relationship with the country."

The George J Mitchell Scholarship was thus established in 2001. Within two years, it had been listed in the New York Timesas one of the six most prestigious scholarships that young Americans could receive. Word has spread in the US: as many as 250 applicants compete for the 12 places each year. The scholarship enables US students to do a one-year course of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by higher education institutions on both sides of the border in Ireland. Tuition, flights and accommodation are all supplied free of charge and scholars are also provided with a living expenses stipend of $12,000 (€9,140). There is no requirement for applicants to be Irish-American or interested in Irish studies. The selection committee is simply looking for academic excellence, community involvement and an indication that the scholars have real potential to become leaders in the future.

The US-Ireland Alliance raises funds for the Mitchell Scholarships. In 1998, the Irish Government set up a £2 million endowment fund (currently worth around €2.5m) to support the scholarships in the long term, but, thanks to funding from the US State Department, comparatively little has been drawn from that endowment so far. In addition to this money, the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland sponsors two scholarships, and the programme has received significant sponsorship from US and Irish businesses.

The current Mitchell scholars are an impressive group. Graduates of universities such as Harvard and Berkeley, their range of postgraduate studies varies from International Politics and Journalism to Biomedical Science and Creative Writing.

But are we being realistic? Can Ireland really measure up to the American system, bearing in mind that most of our universities are struggling to even feature in the top 200 in the world? Mitchell scholar John Velasco, currently in the University of Limerick's (UL) International Studies Masters programme, says: "The Mitchell programme stood out as my top choice in foreign fellowship programmes in the US because of its reputation, the strong personal relationships that scholars forge, and the unique opportunity to study in Ireland and learn first-hand about Irish history, culture, and economy."

"The fact that it is only one year was an advantage for me," says Sarah Wappett, a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington DC, who is currently in DCU doing a Masters in International Security and Conflict Studies. "Also, the programme of study that I wanted didn't really exist over in England. The academic system is a little different to what I'm used to," she says. "We spend a lot less time in class so the education is very much a self-driven process."

Time and again, scholars comment on the comparative reluctance of Irish students to participate in class. Velasco explains: "In my graduate program at MIT, peer discussion and debate was an essential cornerstone of learning. While it exists at UL, at the masters level it is not as vigorous as it was at MIT."

Funding for education in Ireland is obviously an issue and, despite recent improvements, Irish universities simply cannot compete with the US system in terms of research opportunities or facilities.

"The primary concern I hear from both Irish and international postgraduate students," says Velasco, "is that the university organizational structures are designed to educate large numbers of undergraduate students, not to facilitate and support rigorous research at the graduate level."

There is, however, little outright dissatisfaction. Velasco points out that, despite the physical shortcomings, the staff at his faculty in UL are no less qualified or distinguished than those in MIT, and he cites the diversity of his fellow students who come from different countries and backgrounds as a major advantage.

A key point to remember is that the Mitchell Scholarship is not just sold on its academic opportunities. The programme is attractive and competitive because of the whole experience it offers. The small size of the programme is seen as an advantage, and expanding the number of places on offer is not a priority.

"I'd rather provide a quality experience for fewer people," says Trina Vargo. "Because the programme is small, if the President wants to meet the scholars or a TD wants to have them over for lunch, it's very easy to organize."

The students are afforded opportunities that a larger group may not have. Sarah Wappett explains: "Trina Vargo was very upfront about the fact that if anyone wanted to do an internship, she had contacts that could make that happen." Wappett's research is in organized crime and she is just about to start an internship with the Garda Síochána. "I'll largely be shadowing people," she says. "I think it will give me a great insight into how investigations are conducted here."

"I was struck by how extensive the Mitchell experience was designed to be," says John Velasco. "Not only does the scholarship support one year of postgraduate study, but each scholar is also given a €1,000 travel stipend to be used for travel throughout the island as well as Europe.

"The size of the class of scholars and the extent to which the US-Ireland Alliance works to build strong relationships amongst the scholars are the most appealing aspects of the Mitchell programme; these two components set this programme apart from its peers and will continue to help it grow in popularity and prestige."