Scholarships

Cochlear Americas (“Cochlear”) offers various scholarships for recipients of Cochlear™ Nucleus®, Baha® or Osia® systems, including the Graeme Clark and Anders Tjellström scholarships for students who are or will be (after high school graduation) pursuing either (i) a bachelor’s or graduate degree at a qualified college or university (“Graeme Clark Academic Scholarship,” “Andres Tjellström Academic Scholarship,” or, collectively, the “Academic Scholarships”) or (ii) a vocational or technical certification at a qualified vocational or technical school (“Vocational Scholarships”) and who meet the criteria described below (the “Eligibility Criteria”). All scholarship applicants agree to these terms and conditions.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Applicants for Academic Scholarships and Vocational Scholarships must meet the following Eligibility Criteria:
1. Reside within and are citizens of either the U.S. or Canada;
2. Have graduated high school (note: for students completing their senior year of high school, please apply only once you have received your final transcript);
3. For an Academic Scholarship: have a 3.0 GPA (unweighted) or above from their current academic institution to apply for and maintain the scholarship;
4. Have been accepted by the qualified, accredited post-secondary institution of the applicant’s choice, which must be either (a) any four-year college or university, within the United States or Canada that is duly accredited by one of the national or regional institutional accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (“CHEA”) or the U.S. Department of Education (for an Academic Scholarship); or (b) a qualified and accredited vocational program (for a Vocational Scholarship);
5. Are at least 18 years of age, or if under 18, have the written consent of their legal parent or guardian;
6. Are not the child of a director, officer, or employee of Cochlear (“children” include natural, adopted, and step children and legal wards);
7. Are a Cochlear Nucleus recipient (for the Vocational or Graeme Clark Academic Scholarship) or a Cochlear Baha or Osia recipient (for the Vocational or Andres Tjellström Academic Scholarship).
2. Awards to applicants will be made based on an academic year and not on a calendar year. Each applicant is only eligible for one scholarship. If, under the prescribed course in which an Academic Scholarship recipient is enrolled in a qualified post-secondary institution as described above, the student attends a college or university outside the United States or Canada and retains their student status at an educational institution within the United States or Canada, the scholarship may be retained by the student.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

1. Submission. Scholarship applicants must apply by completing the application on the Cochlear website at https://www.cochlear.com/us/en/home/ongoing-care-and-support/connect-with-us/scholarships. Applications must be submitted only through the links provided on Cochlear’s website, in the designated file formats. Supplemental materials may be submitted either through the application portal or via email to cam-scholarship@cochlear.com. No other means of delivery will be accepted.
2. Deadlines. Applications may be submitted on the earlier of March 31st each year or the date the application is live on the Cochlear website, and applications for all scholarships must be received no later than 11:59pm Mountain Time on September 30th each year.

BASIS OF SELECTION

The pool of applicants for each of the Cochlear scholarships will be evaluated, and the finalists will be selected, based on the following process.

1. Initial Review. The applicable scholarship program coordinator for each scholarship will review and screen all complete applications submitted. The initial pool of applicants for the scholarships will be narrowed down to no more than thirty-five applicants (20 Graeme Clark applicants, 10 Anders Tjellström applicants, and 5 Vocational applicants) based on the following scoring criteria:
1. GPA (0-4 points) (Academic Scholarship Only)
2. Academic Achievements (1-5 points) (Academic Scholarship Only)
3. Extracurricular/Volunteer/Community Experience (1-5 points)
4. Personal Statement (1-5 points)
5. References (1-5 points)

This initial determination will be made in the sole discretion of the applicable scholarship program coordinator.

2. Second Review. The pool of no more than thirty-five applicants will then be provided to a team of at least three Cochlear employees. The Cochlear Team will review each application diligently with a scoring form based on the following scoring criteria:
1. GPA (0-4 points) (Academic Scholarship Only)
2. Academic Achievements (1-5 points) (Academic Scholarship Only)
3. Extracurricular/Volunteer/Community Experience (1-5 points)
4. Personal Statement (1-5 points)
5. References (1-5 points)

Those with the highest total number of points combined from each Cochlear judge are selected as the finalists (top 10 for the Graeme Clark Academic Scholarship, top 6 for the Andres Tjellström Academic Scholarship, and top 3 for the Vocational Scholarship). These finalist applications are sent to the Scholarship Selection Committee.

3. Selection Committee. The Selection Committee is chosen based on nominations from Cochlear staff. These judges must either be an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor, an Audiologist, an Auditory Verbal Therapist, a Speech Pathologist, or someone well respected and established in the hearing loss industry. Each judge on the Selection Committee is given a scoring form to evaluate each applicant based on the following scoring criteria:
1. GPA (0-4 points) (Academic Scholarship Only)
2. Academic Achievements (1-5 points) (Academic Scholarship Only)
3. Extracurricular/Volunteer/Community Experience (1-5 points)
4. Personal Statement (1-5 points)
5. References (1-5 points)

The applicants with the top scores will be selected for the applicable Cochlear scholarship. In the event of a tie the external judges will make a second review of the tied applications and make a final decision based on the criteria stated above. Each year, Cochlear will award eight Scholarships in total, comprising at least six Academic Scholarships and at least one Vocational Scholarship. The remaining scholarship shall be awarded either as an Academic or a Vocational Scholarship at Cochlear’s discretion.

SCHOLARSHIP TERMS

1. Amount and Duration. The amount of each Academic Scholarship award shall be $2,000.00 per academic year, for up to four consecutive years. The amount of each Vocational Scholarship award shall be $2,000.00 per academic year, for up to two consecutive years.
2. Interruption. Normally a one-year interruption of the student’s prescribed course is permitted for military service, serious illness, extreme family or financial hardship, or other valid reasons. The Cochlear Scholarship Committee retains the right of discretion in all cases and will consider only written documented requests for scholarship interruption.
3. School Transfer. The student may retain the Scholarship upon transfer to a similar post-secondary institution (“transfer institution”) as long as the transfer institution meets the applicable Eligibility Criteria above.
4. Termination of Scholarship. If the student does not complete the academic year and submit proof of Good Standing (as set forth below), Cochlear will terminate the scholarship.
5. Renewal Process. Renewal of the scholarship awards to students continuing to meet the Eligibility Criteria is permitted for up to three years after the initial year for an Academic Scholarship or up to one year after the initial year for a Vocational Scholarship.
1. Timetable. To receive the Academic Scholarship funds each year, the student must submit their transcript to cam-scholarship@cochlear.com by June 30th. The transcript must show the student is maintaining a 3.0 GPA to receive the funds. To receive funds for the Vocational Scholarship the student must submit a transcript, transcript-equivalent, or other proof of advancement toward the certificate/license/certification they are pursuing by June 30th to cam-scholarship@cochlear.com. Such transcript or transcript-equivalent, consistent with Subsection 5(b) below, shall constitute “proof of Good Standing” for the Academic or Vocational Scholarship.
2. Basis of Renewal. When determining whether to renew a student’s scholarship, the Scholarship Committee shall consider the student’s satisfactory progress as shown by the student’s transcript and other appropriate information, and the student’s continued display of the judging criteria noted above, to the extent such information is available. At a minimum, a student must remain in Good Standing with their institution, meaning, as applicable, the student maintains a cumulative “B” average (which shall be a grade point average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0, or an equivalent average on any other scale) or the equivalent designation in a vocational program. If a student does not remain in Good Standing, the Scholarship Committee will deny renewal of such student’s scholarship, unless the student petitions the Scholarship Committee and presents evidence of severe hardship or extenuating circumstances and explains how such circumstances affected his or her grade point average. The Scholarship Committee may, in its discretion, consider whether such circumstances justify renewal of the student’s scholarship, despite the fact that the student has not remained in Good Standing. In such a case, the Scholarship Committee must examine the student’s transcript or transcript-equivalent for each term to ensure that the student remains in Good Standing for all terms during which the student not suffer a severe hardship.
6. Payment. Payment of the scholarship will be made at the end of the academic year, after the student has submitted their applicable proof of Good Standing as described above. Upon confirmation of Good Standing, Cochlear shall pay the scholarship directly to the student.

TIMETABLE OF EVENTS

The Cochlear scholarship program shall be administered according to the following timetable:

1. Application by Students. All applications must be submitted through the Cochlear designated website, including all required supporting materials, no later than 11:59pm September 30th each year.
2. Selection and Notification of Scholarship Recipients. Scholarship recipients will be selected according to the process described above no later than January 31st of the following year. Scholarship winners, and non-winners will be notified that they have been selected or not via email to the email address indicated in the application, no later than January 31st of the next year.
3. Acceptance of Scholarship by Student. No later than 14 days after notification, each scholarship recipient must accept the scholarship by replying to Cochlear at cam-scholarship@cochlear.com. A student must notify Cochlear via email to cam-scholarship@cochlear.com of any change in the student’s contact information or choice of educational institution.

ADDITIONAL TERMS

1. Media Appearance and Release. All scholarship winners will participate in media activities requested by Cochlear in connection with the scholarships, including without limitation being featured in Cochlear’s social media, and participating in events as requested. All winners will sign a media release in the form provided by Cochlear.
2. General. Applications are submitted through Cochlear’s vendor, SmarterSelect. The content of the application is processed, transmitted, and stored by SmarterSelect and may be subject to SmarterSelect’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Cochlear is not liable for any acts or omissions of this third-party vendor. Please see Cochlear’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more information. No purchase or payment is required to apply for any Cochlear scholarship. Cochlear shall not be liable for any lost, delayed, or damaged applications or materials, any faulty transmission or technology, security or other issues on the Cochlear website, or any acts, omissions, or negligence of anyone participating in the judging or selection of scholarship recipients. Cochlear reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the application process, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the process, as determined by Cochlear in its sole discretion, and Cochlear disclaims any liability for such events.