The George J. Mitchell Scholarship is a scholarship given annually by the US-Ireland Alliance to twelve Americans aged 18-30 to fund one year of graduate study in Ireland. Unlike in the United Kingdom or in the United States, one year is usually enough to complete an Irish master's degree. Although the first class of scholars only began their studies in 2001, the Mitchell Scholarship has already quickly established itself as one of the most selective fellowships in the United States, alongside the much older Rhodes Scholarship and Marshall Scholarship.
A Mitchell Scholarship award includes tuition, housing, airfare, a cash stipend, and other benefits such as a travel bursary to encourage travel both in and outside of Ireland. In recent years, Mitchell Scholars have used their travel bursary to explore countries as diverse as Oman, Cambodia, Senegal and Azerbaijan.
Mitchell Scholars are placed at universities in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Trinity College, Dublin, University College Cork, University of Limerick, National University of Ireland, Galway, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, University College Dublin, Dublin City University, University of Ulster and Queen's University Belfast.