Funding Support

Graduate and undergraduate students looking for financial support for their study abroad and international experiences have access to a variety of resources.

FUNDING FROM OUTSIDE AUBURN UNIVERSITY

NAFSA provides information and a listing of potential sources of funding for international study from sources outside the university.

A comprehensive list of study abroad resources can be found on the Institute for International Education website.

The U.S. State Department has a number of grant programs to support study abroad and faculty organizing such programs. Proposals are large due in May and June of each year.

Hagan Scholars Foundation – Study Abroad Award for elegible recipients.

Eligible U.S. undergraduates can apply to receive financial support for study abroad programs worldwide through the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Established under the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000, the Gilman Scholarships provide up to $5,000 for American students to pursue overseas study for college credit. Students studying critical need languages are eligible for up to $3,000 in additional funding as part of the new Critical Need Language Supplement program.

The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to broaden and increase the study abroad population by aiding undergraduate students who are under financial constraints. This scholarship provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving federal Pell Grant funding to participate in study abroad programs worldwide. For eligibility details, an application form and further information, please check the Gilman program website.

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE SOURCES

The Stallworth AU International Program provides an array of possibilities for undergraduate students to organize independent experiences or study programs. The Torbert fund has parallel objectives to support undergraduate experience abroad.

The Orr Foundation supports study abroad and student trips for horticulture students.

The York International Scholars Program supports internships and other individualized experiences for graduate students, as well as international activities for teaching, research and extension faculty in less-developed countries.

The College of Agriculture E.T. York International Scholars Program (ISP) seeks to further the international research, teaching and outreach programs of Auburn University. It seeks to foster faculty and graduate students exchanges of knowledge, technologies and experiences in agriculture, primarily in a development assistance context.

The program does not support travel to international conferences.

The ISP provides limited support to Auburn agriculture faculty and graduate students who wish to gain an understanding of working in foreign conditions, particularly where their research, specialized studies, teaching or outreach program could make a difference in the quality of life for local populations.

An important component of the program is to provide an international experience for individual faculty and graduate students with little or no previous travel outside the U.S.  By so doing, Auburn faculty and graduate students are better prepared to appreciate and deal with the global nature of agricultural issues in the world today.

We particularly encourage faculty travel with one or more U.S. graduate students to developing countries. The students may assist in the conduct of workshops, field work or data collection. They also may visit farms, facilities, universities and otherwise engage their subject-matter with the life of the developing country.

Offering an AU graduate course in a Maymester Abroad format (intensive instruction and field visits for three to four weeks) at an institution in a developing country is a type of project that is particularly encouraged. Typically such projects involve cost-sharing by the students, the host institution and the ISP program. The host institution’s students can take the AU course and receive credit from their university.

USE OF FUNDS

Selection of award recipients will be based on available resources and criteria developed by a committee of faculty organized by the College of Agriculture.  Funding normally is provided only for travel and subsistence costs while abroad, though in some cases other expenses associated with the activity may be requested and justified in the proposal.

Proposals are evaluated on scientific and scholarly merit. Applicants are expected to provide realistic estimates of costs and final awards are typically negotiated with the applicant.  Cost-sharing by collaborating foreign or domestic institutions to support proposed activities is desirable, although not required.

Awards will be made according to estimates of need and normally will not exceed $5,000.  Group projects (e.g., Maymester classes, study tours) may exceed this total with a more modest amount per participant. The maximum duration of funding will be four months or a semester.  Additional justification must be made for longer project periods. Please use the “Other Locations” federal per diem rates to budget your hotel and meal costs, but reimbursement will be made on actual hotel costs.

Proposals are typically reviewed in batches based on September 5, November 5 and February 5 submission deadlines.  The committee will promptly review ISP proposals and make awards.

ELIGIBILITY

The research/study/teaching/outreach program must be carried out in collaboration with a counterpart university or research/study/ teaching/outreach center, with priority given to organizations in developing nations.

Priority is given to projects in low or lower-middle income countries. For projects in other locales, justification must be provided in the proposal narrative, e.g., how the project will take place in a less-developed, agricultural area of a middle-income nation.

Faculty in agriculture are eligible to apply for ISP awards.

Graduate students in agriculture who have completed at least a year of course work toward a master’s or doctoral degree are eligible to apply.

ISP proposals from previously funded ISP awardees will be considered, but must be well-justified. Faculty leading groups of students to developing countries are a focal interest of the program. Preference will be given to first-time applicants.

The York ISP program can support the costs for the faculty and graduate students in the first edition of a Maymester course. Subsequent offerings should reflect increasing cost-sharing of faculty travel by the CoA department, but continued support for graduate student participation can be provided by York ISP.

CONTENT OF YORK ISP PROPOSALS

• ISP proposals are submitted to the Office of Global Programs by email (a single PDF file) to ogp@auburn.edu.
• Click to view the suggested format for an ISP Request.
• The Request for Funding includes:
  • project title
  • start and finish dates
  • objectives  – A short and concise statement of goals
  • description –  A 500-word or less project summary that briefly describes planned activities and the benefit to Auburn University
  • foreign institutional support
  • budget
• All ISP proposals must include a letter of invitation/commitment from the foreign host institution or local sponsoring organization.
• All ISP proposals submitted by graduate students must include a letter of recommendation from their academic adviser.
• For research activities, appropriate Human Subjects (IRB) or Animal Use protocols must be submitted at time of proposal and approved prior to use of funds.
• A brief resume (up to two pages) of the requestor must be included with the ISP proposal.
• A brief resume of each project participant should also be included for study tours or courses taught abroad.

SUMMARY PRESENTATION

Successful applicants are expected to provide a seminar sharing their findings, project experiences and accomplishments during the semester following their trip.

ISP seminars are open to all interested faculty and students.

The E.T. and Vam York Endowed Fund for Excellence in International Agriculture supports international professional improvement activities for faculty and graduate students in the College of Agriculture by funding research, outreach, specialized studies, teaching or cooperative work experiences in developing countries.

A call for proposals is made three times a year.  Applications are due September 5, November 5, and February 5.

Applicants are asked to prepare a short description of their proposed activity, along with a budget, using a standard format. Proposals should be submitted to the Office of Global Programs which is located in 101 Comer Hall.

The program does not support travel to international conferences.

Submissions are reviewed for substantive merit and consistency with the intent of the program. Read the program guidelines by clicking the next toggle tab.

The application format is outlined below:

York International Scholars Program (ISP)Request for Funding

(block, copy, and past this page into your word processing document)

1. Project Title:
2. Proposal Submitted by: (name, title, department)
3. Project Start Date:
4. Project End Date:
5. Project Objectives:
6. Project Description (500 words):
7. Itinerary:
8. Budget (use template below):
9. Budget Justification: (describe non-AU Support and/or Collaboration)
10. Attach Letter of Commitment from Host Institution.
11. Attach two-page Curriculum Vitae of applicant or leading faculty member.
12. If project involves Human or Animal Subjects, indicate status of protocol (in preparation, submitted, or approved). Approval necessary for final funding.
13. Maymester classes or study tours-provide list of students, degree, curriculums, year in program (students typically cover most of own food costs; program may cover some group meals, particularly with host institution colleagues):
14. Please email your proposal to ogp@auburn.edu (Office of Global Programs, College of Agriculture) as a single PDF file by September 5, November 5 or February 5 (three review periods).
15. Applicants will be notified within fifteen days after submission.