9:28 a.m., Jan. 5, 2010----Thanks to the University of Delaware's global travel grant program for graduate students, 29 UD students went abroad during the past year to conduct research, present musical performances, participate in public service internships, and pursue other scholarly activities. Proposals now are being accepted for the 2010 program.

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Among the past year's student travelers, April Pelt, a doctoral student in English, went to London to do research and attend the International Rebecca West Society's Conference, where she was awarded the Graduate Conference Prize for her paper, “Fashioning a Feminist Icon, Adapting Rebecca West's Life for the Stage.”

Greg Black, who is studying seismic effects on wood-frame buildings for his master's degree in civil engineering, was able to witness the largest “shake table test” in the world of a seven-story condominium at the Hyogo Earthquake Engineering Research Center in Miki City, Japan.

And Sally Stocksdale, a Ph.D. candidate in history, visited the Yazikov Estate near Ulyanovsk on the Volga River to pursue firsthand research for her comparative analysis of a Russian estate and a Southern plantation at the moment of emancipation.

“Global exposure enriches the knowledge and creativity of our graduate students while also enhancing their scholarship and marketability,” noted Debra Hess Norris, vice provost for graduate and professional education. “We are grateful to the co-sponsorship of the Institute for Global Studies in making these travel opportunities available to our students. We were delighted with the success of our first campus-wide program during the past year and look forward to reviewing proposals for the 2010 program this winter.”

The 2010 global travel grant program is administered by the Office of Graduate and Professional Education in collaboration with the Institute for Global Studies and all seven of UD's colleges. For the proposal guidelines, see this Web page. Proposals are due by Feb. 15.

“It is wonderful to able to co-sponsor this program and make available to graduate students the same life-changing study abroad opportunities that we have for undergraduates here at UD,” said Lesa Griffiths, associate provost for international programs in the Institute for Global Studies.

The competitive grant program will provide funding of up to $5,000 to full-time, advanced graduate students at the doctoral and master's level to support research travel in the United States and abroad during the summer of 2010 through winter session 2011 that will significantly enhance scholarship opportunities and/or provide interesting and important venues for creative work and internship experiences.

The trips funded may vary in length and cost depending on the proposed program of study and type of scholarly/creative activity. Some awards may be granted on a contingency basis, as deadlines for a student's notice of acceptance into summer theatrical and musical festivals, for example, tend to be offered later in the spring, Norris said.

“Our UD graduate students who receive global travel grants must be firmly committed to public engagement and outreach, as they will become our key promoters of the program and the value of international study in the future,” Norris noted. “We look forward to funding the next round of international travel opportunities and the amazing impacts that result from these experiences.”

Article by Tracey Bryant