Applications are now being accepted for Zurich North America’s new Zurich Fellows scholarship, created to help diverse talent pursue advanced degrees in insurance-related fields. Zurich plans to award scholarships of up to $10,000 each to support studies at St. John’s University’s Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science.

The scholarship can be applied toward the following degrees:

• Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Enterprise Risk Management
• MBA in Risk Management
• MBA in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
• Master of Science (M.S.) in Actuarial Science
• S. in Enterprise Risk Management
• S. in Risk Management and Risk Analytics

Applications are open to candidates in the U.S. and Canada, including Zurich employees and non-employees. Zurich plans to award up to 10 scholarships annually.

The first of the Zurich Fellows will be admitted to St. John’s University in September 2022. Neither an insurance background nor being on campus at St. John’s University in New York City is required, the company said.

“The opportunities in insurance are as diverse as the talent we want to attract to this great industry,” said Bart Shachnow, organizational innovation consultant for Broker Relationship Management at Zurich North America, in a statement. “A person with a background in fine arts could pursue a position specializing in underwriting masterpieces for museums and private collections. Someone with a background in environmental studies could pursue a position in the energy or agricultural practice of an insurer. The options are varied and broad.”