Dean Rusk Travel Grants

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Offices and Services

The Dean Rusk International Studies Program provides grants for student research, service, study, and exploratory and reflective learning abroad. 

There are two grant cycles per year, one for winter break projects and one for summer projects. 

  • Winter break grant proposals are open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and must meet a minimum time requirement of 2 weeks.
  • Summer grant proposals are open to first-year students, sophomores, and juniors, and must meet a minimum time requirement of 3 weeks. The Dean Rusk International Studies Program strongly prefers summer proposals that are for a month or longer.
  • Grant awards will vary considerably depending on the availability of funds, number of applications received, and other factors.   

You should make sure your proposal fits one of the following categories: Service, Research, Exploratory and Reflective Learning, or Study. Dean Rusk funds are not to be used to pay for external program fees except for study grants. Students seeking to apply for Dean Rusk grants are required to meet with the Dean Rusk Office to categorize their proposal.

How to Apply

Learn more about the application process and find important information including budget guidelines, application tips, recipient requirements and proposal writing advice.

Application Components
Application Process
Grant FAQs

Recently Funded Dean Rusk Grants

a young woman standing in a museum with art hanging from the ceiling
Service
Empowering Rural Women
(Guatemala)

Annabel Semans '26 interned with the Wakami Foundation, empowering rural women artisans to create business platforms for their crafts and make informed investments for their families' futures. She supported the Fundraising Manager by writing all the text for their new website and assisted the Director of Marketing and Communications in researching, planning, and proposing a new brand ambassador program for the Wakami brand.

a young white woman wearing a tshirt and sunlgasses outside
Research
Government Policies & Gold Mining
(Kenya)

Scout Yokley '24 investigated the impacts of government policies on gold mining communities. Her research involved conducting interviews within these communities and developing an economic model that integrates environmental considerations. The goal of her research project was to assess how government policies affect the socio-economic dynamics of these communities reliant on gold mining.

Rin Davis '24 Rin during her study abroad at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan.
Study
Chinese Language & Immersion
(Taiwan)

Rin Davis '24 studied at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan, where she enrolled in a 5-week mini semester learning the Chinese language. She also had the opportunity for an incredible cultural immersion within Taiwanese culture.

a young man stands on steps overlooking mountains in Peru
Research
DNA Extraction & Language Barriers
(Peru)

Ramsey Chaaban '24 conducted phytopathology research at Universidad Nacional Agraria la Molina, where he focused on optimizing Chelex DNA extraction—a cost-effective method for field-collected samples. Ramsey explored language barriers, indigenous knowledge, and lab equipment's impact on scientific publishing at UNALM. He also contributed to the community by teaching introductory Bioinformatics workshops in R and Python in Spanish, and presented on DNA sequencing methods in Genomics.