History alum, Elizabeth Bruns, and History senior, Jefferson Abbey, have both received scholarships to pursue master’s degrees outside the U.S.

Bruns earned a scholarship from the Danish government that offers a tuition waver and a monthly living stipend for a two-year program in International and Global History. She will attend Aarhus University in Denmark to study Danish immigration policy from 1990 to the present. She is particularly interested in why the country’s relatively open immigration policies have shifted toward one of the most closed-door policies in Europe over the last few years. She is also interested in assimilation policies in Denmark’s secondary school system.

 

Bruns graduated from CSU in 2016 with a double major in History and Political Science. As she states, “Dr. John Straayer, Dr. Pam Knaus, and Judi Bryant were all instrumental to my success at CSU and all three were also supportive of my aspirations to continue my studies abroad.” She will be heading to Denmark from Vietnam, where she has been teaching at the American English Center in Da Nang.

 

 

 

 

Jefferson Abbey is heading to the University of Nottingham for a one-year master’s degree program. He is graduating this year from CSU with majors in History and Political Science, as well as being a two-time All American in Track and Field and Cross Country. Abbey also set CSU records in the 3000 meter and 5000 meter run.

When asked what drew him to Nottingham, he said, “I first heard about Nottingham from the CSU athletic department. Nottingham was looking for athletes who wanted to attend graduate school and keep competing. My initial interest came from the fact that I wanted to branch out after undergrad (I am from Fort Collins) and in conversations with Dr. Hindmarch-Watson she told me her master’s degree from the University of Manchester opened doors for her to get into top Ph.D. programs. Inspired by the cultural opportunity and trusting that a degree from England could help me pursue my career goals, I then specifically looked into the MA program and professors.

I liked the structure of Nottingham’s MA program because it included a specific course on research techniques. The program explicitly states that it is designed to prepare students to undertake a doctoral research project, and most importantly I was happy to see that although the program is only one year it includes a 20,000 word dissertation.

Once I looked at the program I looked through the department’s staff page and researched professors whose work fit my interests. I was very excited to find a professor who fit perfectly with what I wished to study and I found and read much of her work through the CSU library database. Once I was familiar with her work I emailed her and asked if she would be available as an advisor. She was very kind in her response and I believe she took me more seriously because I was able to reference some of her work in my original email.

In terms of price, the degree in Nottingham is less expensive than many comparable programs in the U.S. While there are fewer scholarship opportunities for US students abroad, I was able to receive an athletic scholarship and I may get a 25% tuition scholarship based off my undergraduate GPA.”