Eligibility

The Nottingham Roosevelt Memorial Travelling Scholarship is open to anyone aged between 21 and 35 as of 1st September in the year they apply. Applicants must work and/or live in Nottingham or the county of Nottinghamshire and need to be in employment in the private, public or third sector. Applicants must also agree to comply with any UK/US health requirements, particularly regarding Covid-19 vaccination and procedures. 

Individuals interested in the scholarship are asked to submit an application, explaining why they wish to be selected, what they propose to do and with what purpose, and why they consider themselves suitable to be a NRMTS scholar.

Applications may be completed in writing via the standard application form, or alternatively using an audio-visual format (such as a video or audio file), provided all the topics on the application form are covered.

If you require support in completing your application, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We will try to accommodate any additional needs however we can.

There are 3 stages to the application process.

Applications for the 2023 scholarship will open on 1 January 2024 with a closing date of Friday 1 March 2024. Provisional dates for the interview process are given below.

1. Applicants submit a completed application which is received on time.
2. The scholarship creates a long list of applicants, who will be invited to attend an initial interview on Friday 22 March 2024. The interview should last around 50 minutes and will take place at a Nottingham city location* with four Trustees and/or recent scholars. Among other things, the panel will be looking to establish the applicants’ take on UK/US current affairs and their experience of Nottinghamshire, the value and practicality of their chosen project, as well as their future career ambitions. The interview will be fairly informal and should give applicants a good chance to discuss things with the panel too.
3. Following the first interview, a shortlist of applicants will be invited to a second and final interview on Thursday 25 April 2024 at County Hall in West Bridgford*. There are usually between three and five candidates who reach this stage. Applicants will be expected to give a presentation to the scholarship’s board of trustees, after which they will be questioned further about their proposed project. 

* Should COVID-19 restrictions prevent in-person interviews, or should an applicant prefer to be interviewed virtually, the scholarship will arrange for the interviews to be conducted via Zoom instead.

NRMTS looks to appoint scholars who will represent themselves, Nottinghamshire and their chosen interests in the best possible light. Successful applicants will have a strong affinity for Nottinghamshire, clear knowledge of their chosen field and a variety of other interests which they can readily talk about.

The application and – if shortlisted – the interview are the applicant’s opportunity to demonstrate that they would make a good NRMTS scholar. Whilst it is not possible to fully plan a trip before being appointed, applicants will benefit from showing how they plan to spend their time in America. They should also give thought to the practicalities of such a trip and consider potential impacts on their life and work, their close family and what will happen on their return.

In addition, applicants…

1. Should be able to demonstrate their independence and how this might be useful both in preparing for and in enhancing their scholarship experience;
2. Should be willing to act as an ambassador for the scholarship and for Nottinghamshire and should be able to discuss how they might approach this at interview, drawing upon appropriate experience where possible.
3. Must be able to demonstrate how the scholarship would support their career ambitions and enhance their skills, as well as how it might benefit Nottinghamshire. They should indicate how those benefits might be measured.
4. Should have clear plans for sharing the outcomes and benefits from their scholarship upon returning to England.

To help prepare, applicants could visit the Local Studies section of local public libraries and in particular read “Nottingham an Illustrated History” by John Beckett and ”Portrait of Nottingham” by Emrys Bryson.

They could also visit East Midlands’s Chamber of Commerce’s website at www.emc-dnl.co.uk, the US Embassy website at www.usembassy.org.uk and www.seeamerica.org.

Further information on the role of the scholar while in the US and what to expect on their return is available via the ‘About NRMTS‘ page.

Interested – Register to find out more

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