Five Yale College seniors — including Global Affairs major Bobby Atkinson — are among 51 recipients of prestigious Marshall Scholarships, which funds up to three years of graduate study in any academic topic at any university in the United Kingdom.
The recipients, who are considered among the most accomplished undergraduate students and recent graduates in the United States, were chosen following an intense selection process and will begin graduate studies at top universities across the U.K. next year.
Atkinson is a first-generation college student and veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Shortly after completing United States Army Ranger School, he became the first Air Force member to be selected and directly assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment’s Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC). While at RRC, Atkinson conducted multiple combat deployments in both Afghanistan and Iraq, receiving the Bronze Star medal twice. In addition to his military service, Atkinson interned at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, focusing his efforts on illicit drug supply reduction. He is interested in affecting U.S. drug policy, improving access to medication-assisted treatment, and eliminating the domestic opioid epidemic.
Earlier this year, Atkinson was named a Truman Scholar and a Tillman Scholar and was a member of the 2023 cohort of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale. Next fall, he intends to pursue an M.Phil. degree in evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation at the University of Oxford.