International Wine and Food Society of the Americas Scholarship Awards

Global Internship Award
UC Davis, Viticulture and Oenology

The International Wine and Food Society (IWFS) is pleased to sponsor a special global internship for students at the University of California Department of Viticulture and Oenology. The purpose is to give one of our best students a chance to see first hand the practice of grape growing and winemaking from a global perspective. The student will be given a US$10,000 internship award to be used for travel and lodging to three different locations. Continuing students who will have completed VEN 123, 124, 125, 126, 128 and 101 A-C will be eligible to apply for the internship which will be completed during their last year of residence. The student will most likely take a leave for one quarter of that year for an internship at one of the locations.

Ideally the student will participate in two different internships during the year, one in winemaking and one in viticulture, and the third location would involve a tour of a grape and wine production area. One internship could be conducted in California. The year would begin July 1 of the last academic year of residence and the third stage would be at least begun before June 30 of the next year. The student will receive the amount budgeted for each stage at least 30 days before travel is to commence.

The program will be announced each year in January, and undergraduate and graduate students will be encouraged to apply and submit their applications by March 1. The Department scholarship committee will review the applications and select three candidates. These candidates will be interviewed by representative(s) of IWFS in Davis during the month of April with a final decision by May 1. The winning awardee may be asked to attend the IWFS annual meeting during the month of May with travel and accommodation paid by IWFS.

The application will include three parts. The first part is the student's academic record or transcript of their current degree program and prior degree if they are a graduate student. The second part is a statement by the student explaining how this international internship will help support their education in the global market for grapes and wine. This will also include a specific plan of what grape/wine growing regions will be visited for each stage of the internship, what will be the dates for each stage, and an approximate budget for travel and accommodation. The student is not expected to have found a specific vineyard or winery willing to work with them at this point of the process (The Department and IWFS will assist in making connections as needed to find paid internship positions for the award winner). The third part of the application is three confidential letters of recommendation from academics and past work supervisors. (For the 2001-2 program, the Department and IWFS are encouraging one internship to be in Chile in order to foster better connections with the Chilean wine and grape industry).