Photos and quotes about BIMA and Genesis.
Scholarships for North American Russian Speakers
BIMA and Genesis recruit and award scholarships to select Russian-speaking high school students from around the world that enable them to attend our summer program.
What is a BGI scholarship?
The Brandeis-Genesis Institute (BGI) at Brandeis University has received a generous grant from the Genesis Philanthropy Group. This grant provides merit scholarships to a limited number of qualifying applicants to BIMA and Genesis. The mission of the BGI is to prepare Russian-speaking Jews from around the world to become effective community leaders fortified by Jewish knowledge, a systematic understanding of Russian Jewry, and a commitment to the future of the Jewish people. To learn more about BGI, please visit their website.
How much is the scholarship?
We have scholarships for each program to give to qualified students. If you are awarded a BGI scholarship, your family will need to pay the following amount for tuition in addition to paying for your travel to Boston.
| Tuition (full cost without scholarship) | Family Contribution (if awarded scholarship) * |
|
| BIMA | $5400 | $2300 |
| Genesis | $5000 | $2000 |
* Summer 2012 rates
Program tuition includes room and board and all materials necessary to participate in the program. It does not include travel to and from the program and any additional spending money.
Families who are not able to afford the remaining tuition are encouraged to apply for financial aid. Once you begin your application to a program, you will be able to see all of the application materials in your online account, under the "forms dashboard."
Please note: We review BIMA/Genesis applications separately from financial aid applications. Your financial aid application does not impact your acceptance into the program, or being awarded a BGI scholarship. Since there are a limited number of BGI scholarships, we encourage all families with financial need to submit a financial aid application.
The scholarships are intended for students from Russian-speaking families who have the motivation to be of service to the Russian-speaking and larger Jewish community. Students are eligible if they are from families who speak Russian, do not attend Jewish day school, and are accepted to BIMA or Genesis. However, acceptance into the program does not guarantee a scholarship award. Scholarship spaces are limited and we are not able to award scholarships to everyone who applies.
How do I apply?
Applicants must fill out a complete BIMA/Genesis application by March 12, 2012. Please make sure to indicate on the online form that you speak Russian. To be considered for the BGI scholarship, applicants may also be required to have a phone interview (to be scheduled once your application is complete).
Applicants are considered for the scholarship on the basis of the overall strength of their application to BIMA/Genesis as well as the phone interview.
What are the commitments if I receive a scholarship?
In addition to full participation in our BIMA/Genesis summer experience, scholarship recipients will also be expected to participate in pre-summer programming as well as follow-up programming, including monthly webinars and a retreat, for the duration of the school year after the completion of the summer program.
If you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to speak to someone in Russian, please call us at 781-736-8416.