With one scholarship, students can study any topic at any university in the United Kingdom without paying a dime, a diplomat told a Marshall journalism class Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s a government-funded scholarship that sends students to the U.K. and completely pays for your grad school,” said Josh Stanton, deputy head of public diplomacy for the British Government in the United States.

Stanton visited Marshall classes Wednesday to explain how journalism plays a role in his job and to bring awareness to the British Government-funded Marshall Scholarship program.

The name of the Marshall Scholarship has nothing to do with Marshall University and is a “complete coincidence,” said Mallory Carpenter, Marshall’s program manager of national scholarships.

Stantonsaid the scholarship offers an opportunity for students to dine on new cuisine, take field trips to places such as Scotland and receive a “tailored experience.”

The application for this scholarship does have a time limit, in regards to a student’s graduation.

“You can apply for the scholarship going into your senior year, and then go into the grad program the following year, or you have two years after (undergrad) graduation to apply for the scholarship,” Stanton said.

In order to be eligible as a candidate for the scholarship, a student must be endorsed by their university. Stanton said this requires students working with Carpenter to build and submit an application.

Applications will then be looked over by a Marshall Scholarship alumni “selection committee” from one of the eight embassy consulates in the United States, Stanton said.

Chosen applicants will be flown to the embassy to be interviewed by the selection committee, with all expenses paid by the embassy, Stanton said.

The Marshall Scholarship program is one of the few programs that allows students to study any subject at the expense of the British government, Stanton said.

“This scholarship takes you a lot of directions that you wouldn’t have normally gone to,” Stanton said. “Please do me a favor. Talk to Mallory (Carpenter) about the Marshall Scholarship.”

The scholarship could provide a chance for students to immerse themselves in a new culture and to discover a new perspective by meeting new people and furthering their education.

“This is an opportunity to experience a different culture and get to share U.S. culture and West Virginia culture,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter also said to remember that these “resources” provide students with “networking opportunities that they otherwise don’t have access to.”

Makaylah Wheeler can be contacted at [email protected].