Admission & Financial Aid Koenig Scholarships

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Established in 2007 through a generous gift from Arthur Koenig ’66 and Yvonne Koenig, the Koenig Scholarship Fund allows Amherst to recruit and educate high-achieving students from low-income families in Africa and Latin America.

Koenig Scholars are identified during the admission process, with no separate applications needed. Scholars will have their full demonstrated financial need met up to the total cost of attendance, with no student loans required, consistent with the College’s financial aid policies. In addition, the Scholars will receive academic, social, and professional support to help them adjust and thrive at Amherst and beyond.

After Koenig Scholars arrive on campus, the Center for International Student Engagement (CISE) provides advocacy, centralized resources, and space for community building and critical reflection. CISE supports the Scholars in learning about and questioning themselves and their environments, and how they interact in local and global contexts.  Some Koenig students, in turn, serve as Koenig Scholar Liaisons and organize social gatherings each semester, as well as opportunities for international students to share resources.

Like all international students, Koenig Scholars are also supported by the Office of Immigration Services, which offers immigration and visa-related advising as they navigate policies and expectations of the U.S. immigration system.

The Koenig Scholarship program also sponsors recruitment trips to Africa and Latin America for the College’s admission staff and the Koenig Scholars.

Between 2011 and 2021, 49 Koenig Scholars graduated from Amherst, and new students are invited to join the program each year.

After graduating, many Koenig Scholars seek advanced degrees, and others seek employment in higher education, investment services, medicine, strategy, management, manufacturing, aerospace, software development, and media in the US, abroad, and in their home countries.

Meet Some of Our Recent Koenig Scholars

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Getrude Ndungu ’19

Majors: Economics and Mathematics
Occupation: International economic policy M.A. candidate at Sciences Po

“I would not have been able to attend Amherst College without the aid from the Koenig Scholarship. After graduation, I moved to Paris for a master’s program studying International Economic Policy at Sciences Po, with the support of Amherst College Fellowships. I have had the opportunity to work remotely with a political technology start-up based in London and Washington, D.C., that offers digital campaign tools for political parties. Alongside this, I have been working with a data analysis team in the Programme and Policy Development department of the UN World Food Programme based in Rome. Through both my classes at Sciences Po and a number of real-life projects, I have gained a new perspective into the unique economic structures of the Sub-Saharan African region.”

Nigel Mevana ’16

Major: Physics
Occupation: Manufacturing engineer

“After Amherst I went onto graduate school to pursue a Masters in Engineering (Mechanical). I have since taken up several roles in the engineering disciplines, primarily at small startups. I look about with fond memories at my time as a Koenig Scholar at Amherst. Whether it was hanging out during Thanksgiving breaks, giving advice on classes or playing soccer in the quad, I knew I could always count on my fellow Koenig Scholars to show up for me.”

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Hewan Semon Marye ’15

Major: History
Occupation: Ph.D. candidate at Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies

“I went on to graduate school at the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) after which I joined the Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies center in Hamburg, Germany to pursue a Ph.D. in Ethiopian history.”

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André Antunes De Sa ’14

Majors: Physics and Astronomy
Occupation: Aerospace engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder

“I started a master’s program at the University of Colorado Boulder in Aerospace Engineering Sciences and then transitioned to a Ph.D. program. The bulk of my Ph.D. research is on lightning in thunderstorms, energetic lightning in particular, and I helped collect the dataset used in my research during a major field campaign in Argentina in 2018 (RELAMPAGO). I am and will always be eternally grateful for the Koenig Scholars program. Above all, it allowed to me to attend Amherst College, which was a fundamental part of my journey as a person and scholar. More than that, the program made me feel very supported while I was at Amherst, and I looked forward to every one of our events together.” 

Questions?

Questions about admission to the College should be addressed to Xiaofeng Wan, Associate Dean of Admission and Coordinator of International Recruitment, 413-542-2328, admission@amherst.edu. 

Questions about student support should be addressed to the Center for International Student Engagement, 413-542-2612, cise@amherst.edu.

Immigration and visa-related questions should be addressed to the Office of Immigration Services, 413-542-5971, ois@amherst.edu.