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Deadlines
for international grants approaching quickly Staff Writer Deadlines
for international grants are coming soon. Students
seeking grant money for a study abroad or an internship overseas can
pick up an application at the Institute of International Studies. All
applications are due Oct. 21. In order to be considered for a grant,
students must have a 2.5 grade-point average and must be enrolled as a
full-time student. Faculty leaders for study abroad groups apply for the
group, then the students submit applications to the leader. Recipients
are chosen by the international grants committee. The committee,
composed of the four deans and four faculty members, examines all
eligible applications and looks at the quality of the application,
specifically the essay portion. The practicality of the student s
projected budget also factors into the judging process. Students who
have previous study abroad experiences have lower priority for the
grants. As more people apply for grants, competition becomes more
intense. The
Institute has $290,000 to distribute for grants. Of this, $210,000 is
set aside for students who wish to study abroad, and $20,000 is
available for those looking at an international internship. The
remainder is set up for faculty members who wish to lead study abroad
groups. We
are encouraging students to apply for international internships, said
Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute, but the student has to
set up the internship himself with an agency or business overseas. The
amount available for each grant is based on the total expense. For
student studies abroad, this is 50 percent of the total, verifiable
expense or $1,500, whichever is lower. International
internship grants are available for up to $3,000, and faculty study
abroad grants are available for up to $3,600. The grant money can be
used to cover airfare and housing. Students
can set up a study abroad anywhere, provided the project meets certain
stipulations. [They
must] prove it is an academic program that can be beneficial to a future
career, Stebbins said. [However], we would not send a student to a
dangerous place. Group
study abroad programs are also an option. Dr. Vikki Spencer, professor
of teacher education, leads one such group every year. This year, her
group is going to Italy to study special education and childhood
education. All
those students that qualified for grants received them, she said. Spencer s
class, as well as other groups, meet both before and after traveling.
The programs usually vary on where the group plans to go. [The
program s] feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, Spencer said. |