The Robert T. Jones, Jr. Fellowship program has been suspended and will no longer host an exchange program for graduate students with the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Emory’s Michael Keen (19C) was selected as the Robert T. Jones fellow for the 2019-2020 academic year, but Emory will not select more fellows for the foreseeable future.
The fellowship, commonly referred to as the Bobby Jones Fellowship, previously annually awarded a graduate student studying neuroscience, theology, international relations or philosophy a fully paid one-year study abroad program at St. Andrews.
Director for Emory’s National Scholarships and Fellowships Program Megan Friddle attributed the fellowship’s suspension in part to its continued confusion with the Bobby Jones Scholarship.
“In recent years, there has been a lot of confusion about the difference between the scholarship and fellowship,” Friddle said. “And [that has caused] a great deal of overlap in the applicant pool.”
The Bobby Jones Scholarship annually awards four recently graduated Emory undergraduate students with a fully paid one-year study abroad program at St. Andrews. The program, however, does not award a master’s degree.
Senior Associate Dean for the Office of Undergraduate Education Joanne Brzinski said the decision to suspend the fellowship was made jointly by Emory and St. Andrews.
Robert T. Jones, Jr. Program Coordinator Van Tong added that there were additional reasons for the scholarship’s suspension. In an Aug. 19 email to the Wheel, Tong wrote that the fellowship has been suspended for at least two years. This came after both universities decided to review the fellowship following a change in the “legal status of the two independent trusts which support the Robert T. Jones Scholarship and Fellowship.”
Brzinski also said that when the fellowship was first created in 2008, Emory offered a two-year program for visiting students, while St. Andrews offered only one year of study for Emory students.
“[For] financial reasons, St. Andrews was only supporting a one-year fellowship, rather than a two-year fellowship,” Brzinski said. “So there was actually relatively little difference between the Bobby Jones Scholarships and the Fellowship.”
Brzinski said that although the the fellowship has concluded, the relationship between Emory and St. Andrews is still strong.
