The American Foundation for Bulgaria awards scholarships to students with outstanding achievements and strong interests in mathematics, natural sciences, foreign languages, and the arts.
The program provides 10-month scholarships for the respective academic year to students who participate in a competition organized by the Foundation. The competition is announced at the beginning of each school year to the administrations of selected schools with which the Foundation collaborates on this program.
School administrations rank the top five students based on academic performance and achievements and submit their applications to the American Foundation for Bulgaria. A selection committee reviews the applications and determines the scholarship recipients. The committee’s decision is publicly announced, and all participating schools and awarded students are notified.
Only previous AFB scholarship recipients are eligible to individually submit applications for review by the Foundation’s committee for the following year.
Required Documents:
- Application Letter – The letter should specify the field for which the student is applying for a scholarship (humanities, languages, natural sciences—specifically mathematics, informatics, physics, chemistry, etc.—arts, etc.); free text.
- Curriculum Vitae (up to 2 pages) – Listing the student's activities and achievements to date. If the applicant excels in other disciplines, this can also be mentioned.
- Separate Document (Word or Excel, non-scanned) – Containing full name, phone number, email, address, school, discipline of application, and grade level.
- Recent Photo – Format is not specified.
- Two Letters of Recommendation (up to 2 pages each) – These can be from high school teachers or instructors from extracurricular activities, courses, etc.
- Plan for the 2024/2025 Academic Year (up to 2 pages) – Describing courses, competitions, specialized exams, and any forums related to the student's main discipline(s), as well as goals for the year. This is not the student’s regular class schedule. The plan can be formatted as text, a table, etc., at the applicant’s discretion.
- Declaration of Any Received or Expected Scholarships – State/municipal or private (from foundations, private individuals, companies, etc.); free text, no supporting documents required.
- Copy of Grade Pages – From the student’s report book for the 2023/2024 academic year (not notarized).
- Copies of Diplomas and Certificates – Received in the past two academic years.
Eligibility:
Students in grades 9 through 12 during the 2024/2025 academic year are eligible to apply.
Special Requirements for Arts Applicants:
Only students from specialized arts schools can apply in the arts category. In addition to the above-listed documents, students from fine and applied arts schools must submit one drawing or artwork on one of the following themes:
"My Vision of Bulgaria"
"My Vision of America"
Scholarship Details:
The scholarship covers 10 months of the 2024/2025 academic year.
Total amount: 900 BGN, paid in two installments during the first and second terms.
A donation agreement is signed with each selected scholar upon the commission’s decision. If the student is a minor, the agreement must also be signed by a parent/guardian.
Submission Instructions:
All documents (except for fine and applied arts submissions) should be sent electronically to office@afbulgaria.org.
Fine and applied arts applications should be sent to:
American Foundation for Bulgaria
3 Hristo Belchev St.,
House of Civic Organizations,
1000 Sofia, Bulgaria