Since 1961, the Estonian Students Fund in the USA (ESF) has provided scholarships and grants to students of Estonian descent. While the scholarships were initially given to recent émigré students, the Fund now is giving scholarships to 2nd and 3rd generation Estonian-Ame-ricans. Like any organization, the Fund has evolved and adapted to changing times. In the mid-1990s, the Fund started supporting students living in Estonia. During the past 4-5 years, the Fund has provided scholarships for Estonian-American students who wish to study in Tartu or Tallinn. Last year, the Fund provided assistance to 79 students: 17 in the USA, 28 in Estonia and 34 studying in other countries.
Over the past 10 years, the Fund has supported the Estonian Academy of Arts on a regular basis, providing a grant to help cover expenses for their summer Finno-ugric research expedition. Each summer a team of students from the Kunstiakadeemia spends several weeks studying and gathering data from regions in Russia where the far-flung “cousins” can be found. Trips have been made to areas inhabited by Udmurts, Mordvins, Maris, Komis and last year, Karelians. The students document and study traditional arts, architecture and other cultural traits, create expositions based on these research expeditions and pass their research on to the Estonian National Museum.
The scholarship cycle for the ESF begins in the late fall when the scholarship applications are posted to the ESF website (www.esfusa.org). Completed applications must be received by February 28th after which the Scholarship Review Committee reviews them and announces scholarship /grant awards in May. The Fund encourages all college students of Estonian descent to apply. While being a part of one of the many Estonian-American communities is a plus, a student’s academic credentials and financial need are the primary factors. Estonian language skills are not a prerequisite for receiving assistance. One of the newest programs is a scholarship geared toward Estonian-American students (or other students of Estonian descent in other countries) who wish to study for a semester, a year or longer at a university in Tallinn or Tartu. The Fund believes this type of cultural and language immersion will only help to strengthen the Estonian communities abroad.
ESF
