Marshall Scholarship - Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

• Distribution of Scholars: For the 2006-07 academic year, there were 100 Marshall Scholars in residence at British universities including those who were selected for the classes of 2004, 2005 and 2006. During this time, there were 36 Scholars at University of Oxford, 20 at University of Cambridge, 19 at London-based institutions, and the remaining Scholars attended several other universities throughout the UK. Of these 100 Scholars, 63 were studying Arts and Social Sciences while 37 were studying Science, Engineering or Mathematics. Of the 37 new Scholars named in 2008, the undergraduate source universities were private (50%), public (40%) and service academies (10%).

• Allocation of Scholars: During the period 1954 - 2007, multivariate analyses indicate that the most successful states in the Marshall competition were California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The least successful states were Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Mississippi, South Carolina, West Virginia and Hawaii. The ranking is based on a weighted average including (1) number of Scholars from the state, (2) Scholars per state population, (3) number of colleges in the state with Scholars, and (4) number of colleges in the state exceeding median Scholars per school based on nationwide data. The most successful source universities, based simply on the numbers of Scholars produced since 1954, are Harvard University, MIT, Princeton University, Yale University and Stanford University.

• Comparison to Rhodes Scholarships: Although the Marshall Scholarships share much in common with the Rhodes Scholarships (restricted to the University of Oxford), the major difference is a Marshall Scholar's freedom to attend any UK university, including the ability to attend a different university each year during a Scholar's tenure. Also, since its inception, the Marshall Scholarship has been open to both men and women, while the Rhodes Scholarship only became open to women beginning in 1977 following the passage of the British Sex Discrimination Act in 1975.

• Traveling to the UK: In the early years of the Marshall Scholarship, it was common for new Scholars to travel together to the UK via cruise ship, but now Scholars are usually flown to London from Washington, D.C. following a welcome program with top US and UK government and diplomatic officials.

• Marshall Medals: As part of the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the Marshall Scholarships, Marshall Medals were awarded to a group of distinguished Americans in recognition of their contributions to US/UK relations. The recipients were Justice Stephen Breyer (1959 Marshall Scholar), Dr. Ray Dolby (1957 Marshall Scholar), Thomas L. Friedman (1975 Marshall Scholar), President Nannerl Keohane (1961 Marshall Scholar), Christopher Makins, Senator George J. Mitchell, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.