Nina Tretiak-Shields Scholarship for Study Abroad

This scholarship is made possible through the generous endowment gift of former UB professor, Nina Tretiak-Shields.

About the Scholarship

Nina Tretiak-Shields was born in 1914 in Ukraine and attended Kharkov University during the totalitarian regime of Joseph Stalin. Despite threats to her life from Stalin’s forces, she stayed at the university to complete her doctorate. In 1940, Dr. Tretiak-Shields fled Ukraine and landed in a refugee camp in Germany. In 1950, she immigrated to the US with her family. Speaking no English, she was awarded a scholarship to study Russian Language and Literature at Indiana University. In 1959, Dr. Tretiak-Shields came to the University at Buffalo and opened the department of Russian Language and Literature. She retired from UB in 1982.

Based on available funds, the Nina Tretiak-Shields Scholarship for Study Abroad is awarded to UB students who study abroad in a non-English speaking country in order to further their proficiency in a foreign language. The maximum award amount is equal to one semester of resident tuition (or the corresponding resident tuition for a summer program).

Who Can Apply:

  • Students pursuing a study abroad program in a non-English speaking country in order to further their proficiency in a foreign language and increase their knowledge of the culture of the host country.
  • Applicants must be currently enrolled, full-time, matriculated University at Buffalo students in good academic standing at the time of application.
  • Students must be accepted to and confirm their participation in a University at Buffalo or SUNY study abroad program to be considered for this scholarship. This means, students will be registered by UB Education Abroad Programs (in OPR courses) and must have paid the program deposit.

Selection Criteria:

Preference will be given to:

  • First-time study abroad participants
  • Students with documented financial need (as confirmed by UB Financial Aid Office)
  • Students maintaining a GPA of 2.8 or higher
  • Students who have selected a study abroad program relevant to their current academic program
  • Students who will return to UB for at least one semester following their study abroad program

Award Guidelines:

  • Applications will be reviewed by the UB Education Abroad Scholarship Committee.
  • The award decisions of the committee are final and not subject to appeal.
  • Awards will be applied directly to the recipient’s UB student account.
  • Scholarship recipients are asked to help UB Education Abroad in promotional activities upon return.
  • Recipients of any Office of International Education scholarship will not be considered for future awards.

Application Details:

Powered by AcademicWorks, you will see a searchable database that streamlines hundreds of scholarships, matches you with best-fit opportunities and recommends opportunities based on your profile.

  • Log in to www.buffalo.academicworks.com using your UBIT name and password.
  • Fill out the general application and answer the study abroad-specific questions. It is important to search for scholarship opportunities based on the specific term (i.e. Winter 2023, Spring 2024, etc.).
  • Upon completion of the application, the system should indicate that you are eligible for a UB Office of International Education Scholarship. This will help indicate that you have successfully completed your scholarship application. This general name includes all of the specific individual Office of International Education scholarships (i.e. Stephen C. Dunnett Study Abroad Scholarship, UB Diversity Scholarship, and Welch-Ludwig Fund for International Study) available. The system will automatically add your application information to each scholarship for which you are qualified, but you will not see the actual list of scholarships.
  • Scholarship awardees will be notified of their awards approximately two (2) weeks after the scholarship deadline. Only scholarship awardees will be notified through the AcademicWorks system.

Completed applications are due by March 1 for summer, fall, or academic year programs and October 1 for winter or spring programs abroad.

Please note that this scholarship is not available in 2024-25.