It is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious and competitive academic awards globally, alongside the Oxford Rhodes and Stanford Knight-Hennessy Scholars programs.
Through the programme the Thourons sought to nourish and develop Anglo-American friendship by ensuring that, in the years to come, a growing number of the leading citizens of these two countries would have a thorough understanding of their trans-Atlantic neighbours.
The Award, among the most generous exchange fellowships in the world, pays tuition and a stipend that covers room, board, and such extras as entertainment and travel.
[2] In the autumn of 1960, three British students, a geologist, an economist and a landscape architect, began their courses of study at the University of Pennsylvania as the first Thouron Fellows.
American Fellows have attended some 53 British educational institutions, with Cambridge, Oxford, and the University of London attracting the majority of the Penn students.