Currently there are three Rolex Scholarships: North America, Europe, and Australasia. Each Rolex Scholarship provides a hands-on introduction to underwater and other aquatic-related endeavors for a young person considering a career in an underwater-related discipline. One scholar is selected from each of the three regions and each scholar spends approximately one year working side by side with current leaders in underwater fields. Each scholar travels primarily within his or her region, but may have opportunities throughout the underwater world. The range of experiences may include active participation in field studies, underwater research, scientific expeditions, laboratory assignments, equipment testing and design, photographic instruction, and other specialized assignments.
Scholars pursue activities in their chosen disciplines during the one-year period between Our World Underwater Scholarship Society® annual spring meetings. Experiences may last from a few days to over a month. At the conclusion of each experience, the scholar moves on to another, so the scholarship year involves extensive travel. The scholar is literally on the road from spring-to-spring with very little time at a home base. Scholars spend most of the year with the society's friends, hosts, and coordinators around the world. The experiences vary from year to year depending upon the scholar's interests and the availability of expeditions and hosts' opportunities. These experiences make up the real heart of the scholarship. The opportunity to join a host's daily activities exposes the scholar to the realities of the host's special pursuits.
Deadline: Jan. 15, 2024
Scholarship Eligibility Requirements
- Minimum age of 21 and maximum age of 26 at the time of the application deadline (December 1st for all regions)
- Valid citizenship for the relevant Rolex Scholarship (North America, Europe, and Australasia)
- Applicant has not yet earned a graduate degree by April 1st of the scholarship year and has not yet chosen a clearly defined career path
- High academic standing
- Fluency in English
- Certification as a Rescue Diver or equivalent with a minimum of 25 dives logged in the past two years
- Evidence of adequate health insurance for duration of scholarship year
- Submission of a completed diving medical examination form which is found in the application
- If you are chosen as a scholar, you will be required to pass a NOAA or equivalent physical.