"UGO DI PORTANOVA SCHOLARSHIP" 2012

                                           For the Students of the Italian Studies Program
                                            Department of Modern and Classical Languages
                                                          The University of Houston

Some $3,500 scholarships are available for Summer Study in Italy in 2012. The scholarship should cover the cost of the round-trip to Italy, the enrollment in Università per Stranieri di Siena, and room and board expenses.

Who can apply for the 2012 Ugo di Portanova Scholarship?

All students of Italian Studies at the University Houston without any discrimination as to age, sex, race, or nationality, provided that they have already attended at least one course in residence and are currently enrolled in one or more of the other Italian Courses offered by the Italian Studies Program. Students should be majoring or minoring in Italian Studies.

How can a student apply for the 2012 Ugo di Portanova Scholarship?

The required steps are:

• an application form
• an official transcript of grades
• a letter
• and an interview.

Every student who is interested must request an application form from Italian Studies in 603AH, write a letter explaining the reason why he/she wants to study in Italy, and what is his/her interest in the field of Italian Studies. The letter must be written in Italian (typed). Also an official transcript is required. The application form and the letter must be addressed to the:
Ugo di Portanova Scholarship Commission
c/o Italian Studies Program
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
Houston, Texas 77204.

The deadline for the application and letter is Thursday, April 5th at 3:00PM. Bring all applications to 603AH (if there is no one in 603 AHon Monday, the 28th of March, then leave them in the MCL office which is 600 AH to be put in Prof. Monica Ercolani's Box). Be sure they are enclosed in a manila envelope with name, current address, telephone or cell phone (answering machine), studentID #, and current e-mail information.

Nota Bene: 6 copies of the letter and application are required. One copy of the official transcript is required.

What about the interview?

The Ugo di Portanova Commission will interview the applicants on Saturday, April 14, 2012 commencing at 10:15 on campus in 444AH. The Commission will be chaired by the Director of the Italian Studies Program at the University of Houston, Dr. Alessandro Carrera. After reading and discussing the letters of the students, the Commission will then interview the students. The interview will be in Italian and the primary focus will deal with the content of the applicant's letter. The student will be requested to express verbally his/her motivation to go to Italy, and his/her concern for Italian Studies. Advanced students will be asked some information about Italian Culture and Civilization. After interviewing the last student, the Commission will evaluate both the letter and the interview on a scale of one (minimum) to ten (maximum). The recipients of the Ugo di Portanova Scholarship will be notified in writing.

What are the winners supposed to do?

Each recipient of the Ugo di Portanova Scholarship must write a letter of acceptance to the Commission (same address as above) and a letter to Signor Ugo di Portanova not more than one week after receipt of the official announcement. The student will commit himself/herself to continue his/her studies in the Italian Studies Program (or will explain why he/she cannot do so). The recipient will sign a contract and a letter of acceptance for the Italian Studies Program.

Since credit earned through Italian Universities for Foreigners is not transferable to the University of Houston, the student upon his/her return will consult with the Director of Italian Studies to present his/her certificate of attendance. This certificate is given by the Università per Stranieri di Siena. In case natural disaster or war prevent the student from going to Italy and attending the course at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, the candidate will receive only $1,000 dollars. The remainder of the Ugo di Portanova Scholarship will revert to the Italian Studies Program at the University of Houston.

NB. The student must submit one official transcript, the original letter, and the application to Italian Studies. The student must then have 6 additional copies of the letter and the 6 additional copies of the application for the members of the Commission. Please enclose all of the above in a manila envelope and be sure your name, current mailing address, current telephone number and current e-mail is on the envelope. 

N. B. Additional information about the Università per Stranieri di Siena is available at
www.unistrasi.it e-mail: info@unistrasi.it

DONNE DI DOMANI SCHOLARSHIP 2012
for STUDENTS of ITALIAN STUDIES

The Italian Studies Program of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages is receiving applications from eligible students for the Donne Di Domani Scholarship. This Scholarship, which has been made available by a generous gift from the Donne Di Domani Organization, is to be used for tuition and books during 2011-2012 academic year. The Donne Di Domani Scholarship award this year is $4,500 which
will be distributed as follows: Three $1,500 Scholarships.

ELIGIBILITY:

Students who are currently majoring or minoring in Italian Studies.
According to the by-Laws of the Donne di Domani all applicants must be citizens of the United States or in the process of awaiting citizenship. Student should demonstrate financial need.

REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must have earned, or must be completing, at least 6 hours in Italian (Italian 1301-1302/ 1501-1502 or equivalent). Student must have completed at least 30 hours at the University of Houston and must have an overall minimum GPA of 2.75 .

PROCEDURE:

The applicants will be interviewed by the Donne Di Domani Scholarship Committee on Tuesday April 10 commencing at 1:00PM . All students applying will come to 603AH to await their turn to be interviewed.

MATERIALS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE SCREENING COMMITTEE:

1. A letter (in English) addressing reasons for desiring the DDD Scholarship. Reference should be made to career goals. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of merit and financial need. (Original letter and 5 copies of letter and 5 copies of transcript must be enclosed).
2. An updated official transcript including courses currently taken and anticipated grades in current courses. If student's official transcript is on file in Italian Studies, copies of the official transcript will be accepted.
3. Full name, mailing address, telephone number, student-id and e-mail of applicant.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:

Applications must be received by Italian Studies by Tuesday April 3rd at 5:00PM. Please turn in your applications to Italian Studies 603AH or to the MCL Office 601AH to be put in Prof. Monica Ercolani's box.

NB: If you are applying for more than one Italian Studies Scholarship only one official transcript is required, the others may be copies). Please submit all of this in a manila envelope with your name, address, telephone number (cell phone) and e-mail on the envelope.

The Donne Di Domani is a non-profit, tax-exempt Italian American woman's organization that promotes Italian culture and heritage through its charitable endeavors. All profits are donated to charities in the city of Houston and for scholarships at the University of Houston, Rice University and St. Thomas University.

Nota Bene: DDD Scholarship Committee will interview applicants on Tuesday, April 12 beginning at 1:00PM. All applicants must be available on Tuesday at 1:00PM.