The University of Chicago Booth School of Business this week announced the creation of a new fellowship program that will provide four full-tuition scholarships each year to incoming MBA students from Africa, South Asia and countries in other regions with emerging economies.

The Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Bank Fellowship Program will provide two-year, merit-based scholarships, giving preference to students who plan to work in the financial services sector and who commit to helping develop emerging markets upon graduation, the school said.

MBA candidates from Africa and other developing regions of the world are in great need of financial assistance, and the availability of these fellowships may drive their choice of schools, said Rosemaria Martinelli, associate dean of student recruitment and admissions at Chicago Booth, in a statement announcing the new program. She stressed, though, that the fellowships will be awarded based on merit and not financial need. 

By awarding fellowships and not simply scholarships, the new program also will provide the opportunity for mentoring and enhanced professional development, said Stacey Kole, deputy dean for the full-time MBA program.

“Mentors provide students with added insights about career opportunities in the banking industry and also provide fellows with advisors whom they can tap in parallel to the MBA experience,” continued Kole, who also is a clinical professor of economics Chicago Booth. 

Fellowship sponsor Barclays will assign mentors for the fellowship program, and it will also provide summer internship opportunities to participating students, Kole added.

“Investing in an individual’s education is not just about donating money,” said Frits Seegers, chief executive of Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Bank and a Chicago Booth alumnus (MBA ’89), in a statement. “It’s also about investing the time of our staff and passing on our experience and skills to help others,” he continued. Of course, Barclays then benefits from having talented people with superior education to increase its global footprint and capabilities, Seegers added.

This most recent addition of new fellowships for Chicago Booth students builds on the school’s continued commitment to helping its students determine ways to managed the cost of an MBA education. Over the past seven years, the school has increased scholarship assistance by 17.4 percent annually.

To learn more about the new Barclays Global Retail and Commercial Bank Fellowship Program, click here.