Faculty Travel Grants and Student Group Travel Grants
Faculty Travel Grants
The University Office of Global Programs is pleased to maintain a fund to support faculty initiatives to internationalize undergraduate courses. The awards provide support for up to $3,000 for faculty members traveling abroad for a short-term stay (one-to-four weeks). The purpose of these funds is to support faculty in their efforts to:

• Expand their teaching by visiting particular international locations in order to learn more about specific international practices;   
• Collect materials to be used in classes that could only be gathered by visiting the site (e.g. photographs, media, vocal recordings);
• Make contacts or set up connections that will be used in future teaching (e.g., jointly-taught courses with international colleagues, internet-based or telecommunications-based courses); or
• Carry out other activities that require travel abroad to better internationalize the curriculum.

Student Group Travel Grants
The University Office of Global Programs also maintains a fund that provides one-time support to faculty who wish to develop new opportunities that include international travel as one component of an undergraduate course of any discipline. Courses may be semester-long or summer session. They may likewise be an established course that adds a new travel component, or a new course. Awards may be up to $5,000 per program, and faculty members may use the funds to reduce the cost for students who participate in the program. These funds are intended to give students exposure to foreign locations and cultures that complement their coursework.
Application Requirements

• To qualify for this funding, the project should explicitly relate to a course that is intended to be offered within the next two years.
• Applications for participation in conferences, seminars, symposia, organized training, workshops, sabbatical-related activities, etc. will not be considered.
• For multi-College or university-wide projects that require total funding that is considerably higher than the amounts indicated for these travel grants, applicants are encouraged to seek other mechanisms for funding since such projects are beyond the scope of these travel funds.
• Each application must be supported by a letter, sent directly from the college dean, or from the campus academic officer (director of academic affairs or associate dean), explaining how the project contributes to the goals of the strategic plan of the college and acknowledging matching funds, if any.
• Faculty Travel Grant recipients are required to submit a trip report within three months after returning from their travel. As applicable, Faculty Travel Grant recipients should include a syllabus for a new course or for the transformation of an existing course, indicating the areas that were enhanced by the travel. Student Group Travel Grant recipients are expected to submit a short description of the program, focusing on the learning objectives.

Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Degree to which the proposed project will promote global competency or have a positive impact on the overall internationalization of Penn State;
• Degree to which the proposed project will contribute to the goals of the strategic plan of the college;
• The extent of specificity of student learning objectives foreseen by the international component of the course (not evaluation of the objectives themselves);
• Extent to which the proposed project promotes an articulated goal of the UOGP.  For example:
• Geographic focus is outside of Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
• International component involves community engagement or service activities.
• The subject matter is multidisciplinary.
• The project involves a discipline where education abroad participation is limited.

• Receipt of prior travel grants (previous recipients are not excluded, but prior grants may be considered in the evaluation).

Application Procedure

• Applicants are required to complete the application form (view a sample completed application). The application form requires a brief description (no more than two pages) of the proposed project. The description should focus on the elements listed as evaluation criteria and should elaborate on the following:
• Explanation of how the proposed project will promote global competency or have a positive impact on the overall internationalization of Penn State;
• Explanation of how the proposed project will contribute to the goals of the strategic plan of the college;
• Description of the specific student learning objectives foreseen by the international component of the course;
• Description of how the proposed project promotes an articulated goal of UOGP.
• For example:
•  Geographic focus is outside of Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
• International component involves community engagement or service activities.
• The subject matter is multidisciplinary.
• The project involves a discipline where education abroad participation is limited.

• The application form should also include a draft syllabus or a summary describing the new course or the transformation of a course and a brief outline of the proposed budget, detailing major costs and indicating matching funds from other sources, if available. Previously received UOGP travel grants should be listed on the form.
• Applicants who are applying for both a Faculty Travel Grant and a Student Group Travel Grant are only required to fill out one application form. In such cases applicants must specify on the form that the application is for both types of grants.
• To complete the application, a letter/e-mail from the college dean, confirming the support for the proposed travel and highlighting its significance to the strategic plan of the college, and, as far as applicable, stating the amount of matching funds provided by the college, is required. The college should send these confirmations directly to Caroline Sheldon (css22@psu.edu).
• All application materials (including the confirmation letter/e-mail from the college) must be submitted via e-mail as MS Word attachments to Caroline Sheldon (css22@psu.edu) before the deadline.
• If multiple faculty members participate in one project, the lead faculty member should submit one application, indicating that the project is part of a joint effort and listing the other faculty members who participate in the program.
• The application deadlines are:

• November 1, 5:00 p.m., for travel during winter break, spring semester and spring break
• February 1, 5 p.m., for travel during spring break, summer semester
• June 1, 5 p.m. for travel during summer semester, fall semester and winter break.
  If the deadline falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, applications will be accepted if they are submitted on the following Monday until 5 p.m.

• A faculty committee will evaluate all applications and make a proposal to the Vice Provost for Global Programs, who will make a final decision on all applications.
• Questions should be directed to:
  Caroline Sheldon
  Contract Coordinator/International Risk Analyst
  University Office of Global Programs
  410 Boucke Building
  University Park
  Phone: 814-863-3989
  E-mail: css22@psu.edu

Information for Recipients

• Travel funds will be transferred to the finance officer of the respective college or campus one-to-two weeks after successful applicants have received their acceptance letters.  Recipients should contact their finance officers accordingly to determine transfer specifics.
• If the planned project for which funding has been provided must be postponed or cancelled, please contact Caroline Sheldon.
• Travel to countries with U.S. State Department Travel Warnings must be in compliance with Penn State’s travel policies. The award of a travel grant does not replace any requirements pursuant to those travel policies.
• Submitting a trip report is a condition of the award. Reports are a valuable source for UOGP to showcase successful internationalization projects and to assess the impact of these programs. Recipients should email their reports to Caroline Sheldon no later than three months after returning from their travel.