Academics
Global Education
Global Education
Kimball Union cultivates future leaders, problem solvers and active citizens of the global community. Through two signature programs students are able to take advantage of exciting opportunities to work and travel the world as they expand their horizons. Students interested in deepening their experience in the global studies can also apply for the Global Scholar Program.
The Cullman Scholarship: Funded Global Leadership at KUA
The Cullman Scholarship is a premier merit-based endowment at Kimball Union Academy that provides full funding for student-designed global leadership and service-learning projects. Established in 1983 by Hugh Cullman '42, this signature program empowers KUA students to transcend the traditional classroom through immersive, independent research and cultural exchange. As a cornerstone of our global education framework, the scholarship ensures that financial barriers do not limit a student’s ability to engage with the world’s most pressing challenges.
Recent Cullman Scholars pursued:
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Effects of Climate Change at the Churchill Northern Studies Center in Manitoba
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Sustainable Investing with the Industrial Bank of China’s Green Financial Division
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Filmmaking at The Berridge Film Project in Normandy, France
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Mating Habits of Bottlenose and Common Dolphins with the New Zealand Common Dolphin Project
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Neuroscience at the Hedonia Lab at Oxford University
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Volunteering with Real Cochabamba Soccer Academy, Bolivia
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Microfinance Project in Kathmandu, Nepal
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Volunteering with International Volunteers HQ Medical Research with Children with Special Needs, Antigua
Transforming Global Perspectives through Individual Agency
While many boarding schools offer faculty-led trips, the Cullman Scholarship is unique for its emphasis on student agency. KUA students in grades 10 through 12 may apply for grants to execute self-directed projects that align with the Academy’s mission of global citizenship. Whether conducting marine biology research in the Galápagos Islands, studying sustainable urban planning in Singapore, or engaging in social justice initiatives in South Africa, Cullman Scholars return to the Upper Valley as experts and leaders.
These experiences help students build essential skills including understanding and communicating in a second language, expressing an expanded world view by learning about a diversity of beliefs, explaining global events from multiple perspectives, living productively and respectfully in a diverse cultural community, and stewarding the environment.Learn more about the recipients of the 2025-2026 Cullman Scholarship and their projects.
Read About Recent Cullman Experiences
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Cullman Scholars Prepare for Summer Experiences
Read MoreKimball Union Academy selected nine students to receive a Cullman Scholarship for the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year. -
Blurring the Lines Between Art, Science, and Design
Read MoreLili ’26 has always had a wide array of passions. As a child growing up in China, it was art that initially proved most captivating. So much so, that her parents signed her up for drawing lessons to prevent further un-commissioned creations from appearing on her bedroom walls. -
With AI, the Ball’s Always in Marco’s Court
Read MoreWhat if you wanted to play tennis but needed a coach? That was the conundrum facing Marco ’26 as a middle-school student in lockdown during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a question that stuck with him well into high school and one he sought to answer through his Cullman Scholarship experience. -
In Italy, Olivia ’26 Finds Style and Substance
Read MoreOlivia ’26 has always had an eye for fashion. She’s also long had a knack for helping others. This past summer, the Nantucket, Mass., native paired those passions together, embarking on a monthlong Cullman Scholarship experience aimed at making fashionable adaptive clothing options more accessible. -
Cullman Scholar Gets Down to Business
Read MoreDash ’26 has excelled at math for as long as he can remember, so it’s no surprise that the Mamaroneck, N.Y., native would relish in challenging mathematics courses. How to apply his mathematical expertise going forward still needed solving. When presented with the opportunity to design a Cullman Scholarship experience of his choosing, Dash opted to explore those opportunities he saw as a potential career path. -
Scholar All Smiles Exploring Dentistry
Read MoreFew teenagers would describe a trip to the dentist as exciting, let alone life changing. But for Ella ’27, a day student from Norwich, Vermont, an exploratory visit to a family friend’s endodontics practice wound up having a profound impact. The visit was so influential, in fact, that Ella plans to become an endodontist — a specialized dentist focused on preserving ones’ original teeth through procedures like root canals — and even designed a unique Cullman Scholarship experience to learn more about the field and helping others. -
Cullman Scholar Guided by Service
Read MoreWhile Maddie ’26 is unsure of what career she will pursue, giving back will undoubtedly be in her future.So when it came time for the 17-year-old form South Royalton, Vermont, to design a Cullman Scholarship experience, she set her sights on helping others instead of exploring a potential career. -
Cullman Scholar Explores Family Ties to Activism, Aid
As soon as Jasper ’26 saw the photo of his great aunt Edna supplying aid to children impacted by the Spanish Civil War of 1937, he knew he wanted to learn more. What transpired was a Cullman Scholarship experience that brought about a deeper understanding of the impacts of conflict and the calling some people have to help.Read More -
Fascination for Drones takes Scholar to New Heights
Read MoreJeonghwan “James” ’26 is fascinated by drones. So fascinated, in fact, that he cofounded Kimball Union’s first-ever drone club last year. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that when presented with the opportunity to pursue an interest of his choosing for his Cullman Scholarship experience, James’s thinking soared directly to drones. -
A Love of Mathematics Aids in Ranking Tennis’s GOAT
Read MoreJason ’25 loves tennis. It shows in his deep-rooted knowledge of professional players past and present, and it shows in the hard work and determination that’s earned him a prominent spot on Kimball Union Academy’s varsity boys’ tennis team. -
Music Institute, Festival Helps Norwood ’25 Key in on Love of Piano
Read MoreNorwood ’25 doesn’t remember a time when the piano wasn’t a major part of his life. Even before he began playing at the age of five, he used to watch in awe as his two older sisters, Eloise ’21 and Emmaline, took lessons at their Vermont home. -
For Lucas, Resiliency of Sea Turtles Reinforces Nature’s Wonder
Read MoreLucas ’25 developed a fondness for animals at a young age. “When I was like three years old, I would go to this farm near my house with my dad and he'd walk around with me for hours so I could just stare at the animals,” Lucas remembered. “And ever since then, I just, I love animals.” -
Lessons Learned in Amsterdam Inspire Forward Thinking Back Home
Read MoreWhen Lane ’25 was awarded a Cullman Scholarship to further his passion for sustainability and urban planning, he knew he wanted to do more than just study a world-class “smart city.” He wanted to experience one firsthand. -
Cullman Scholarship Reaffirms a Love of Biology
Read MoreA lover of all-things-nature, Sarah '26 utilized a Cullman Scholarship to further her passion of the outdoors as an intern for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. -
Finding the Intersection Between Medicine, Computer Science
Read MoreThere are certain aspects of healthcare that Isobel ’25 would prefer not to deal with. Most notably, those involving trauma. But there are other aspects, like the ability to help individuals live better, more fulfilling lives, that motivated the Lebanon, N.H. native to try and find the intersection between medicine and another one of her passions in computer science. -
Living Cities and Dead Bees: An Exploration of Climate Change
Read MoreGrowing up in San Jose, California, Ada ’25 was more likely to have school canceled due to smoke than to snow, as most students experience here in New Hampshire. It’s no surprise then, with a habit of routinely checking the air quality index before going outside, why Ada has grown passionate about sustainability and its role in combating issues like climate change. -
Wildlife Experiences Highlight Nature’s Impact
As part of his Cullman Scholarship, Angus '25 spent most of his summer break in Wyoming, where he worked to reduce erosion along the Green River Basin and learned from residents about water rights and communities’ dependence on the river.Read More
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Global Alliance for Innovative Learning (GAIL)
As the exclusive North American member of the GAIL (Global Alliance for Innovative Learning (GAIL), consortium, KUA provides students with a unique international framework for collaboration and service. All eight GAIL members are independent, not-for-profit, co-educational schools on six continents committed to developing informed, globally active learning communities that encourage contemporary solutions to international issues through collaboration, inquiry, and service-learning initiatives.
As a GAIL member, students are able to participate in a student exchange at any of our members schools as well as participate in an annual summer conference.
Member schools include:
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Kimball Union Academy, United States
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Kristin School, New Zealand
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Newton College, Peru
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Prestige College, South Africa
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Robert Gordon’s College, Scotland
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Scotch College, Australia
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WISS, China
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Woodstock School, India
