THE MARIE LOUISE VERMEIREN JACKSON SCHOLARSHIP 

Next scholarship will be offered in 2024 (deadline: February 15, 2024)

The Marie-Louise Vermeiren Jackson Scholarship enables recipients to obtain proficiency in speaking the French language, unobtainable in normal classroom work, by attending an accredited summer program of study for that purpose or by applying to the TAPIF program.

To be eligible for the Marie-Louise Vermeiren Jackson Scholarship, the applicant must:

• Be a French teacher or young professional with no more than 3 years teaching experience OR,
• Be a university student who will have completed their junior year before attending the summer program with a declared major in French. OR,
• Be a university student taking a significant concentration of French, with a declared major and career objective requiring fluency in French. 
• Apply to a summer program giving academic credit for a university level course of study with courses conducted in French. The program may be located in either the United States or in a Francophone country. Preference will be given to residents of the tri-state area (PA-NJ-DE) or to out-of- town students who are matriculated at a University in the tri- state area. 

OR 

• Apply to the TAPIF program.

The Alliance Française (AF) scholarship committee will weight need, merit, and the applicant’s career plans when awarding the scholarship in the amount of $3,000

Preference will be given to young professionals, but university students are welcome to apply.  Preference will be given to residents of the tri-state area (PA-NJ-DE).

In addition, the recipient will be required to write a 500 word report describing their experience in France.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• The application form found on the link above.
• A cover letter describing their personality: their qualities and strengths academically and personally. We want to know who they are. (.doc, .docx or .pdf)
• A written essay in French, of 500 words maximum, describing reasons for applying, career plans, and intended benefits to be derived from the program of study. (.doc or .pdf)
• A two-minute recording or video of their spoken French with a sample of extemporaneous speech and a reading of a brief prose passage. (.mp3 or .wav)
• A copy of their application to a program of study as described above. Receipt of the award is contingent upon acceptance to such a program. (.pdf)
• For professionals, two letters of recommendation from the applicant’s colleagues or employer. (.doc or .pdf).
• For students, a current official transcript of grades (by U.S. mail from the Registrar’s office) two faculty letters of recommendation – at least one of these must be from the applicant’s teacher of French. (.doc or .pdf sent from the professor's university e-mail address)

The applicant must submit all documents at once and label their documents as follows: 
nameofthedocument_Firstname_lastname_MLVJ2024

The scholarship is named in honor of Marie-Louise Vermeiren Jackson, a Belgian woman who dedicated her career to academia and philanthropy.  In the 1950s,  she came to the United States as a Fullbright scholar and taught French in Cheltenham High School.  Later,  she became an adjunct French professor and trustee at Arcadia University, where she was an advocate for study abroad programs.

The Alliance Française de Philadelphie wishes to thank the family of Marie-Louise Vermeiren Jackson, for their generosity in establishing a scholarship program that will, in Mrs. Vermeiren Jackson's name, encourage, enable and promote the study of the French language and culture among deserving young people.