Nassef Sawiris Research Grant

Summer International Travel Grant (SITG)
A solitary student sits atop a sand dune in the Sahara at sunset.

Program Term:

Summer

Language Requirement:

None

Manager:

 Kylie Poulin Zahora

Application Deadline:

Final:

The Nassef Sawiris Research Grant is a $5,000 award intended to underwrite the costs of conducting six to eight weeks of undergraduate summer research in Egypt.

    To find out more about Summer International Travel Grants, attend an SITG Information Session or watch a video recording:

    To read about research projects that have been funded in the past you can search the SITG Evaluations Database by grant title. Log in to access the evaluations database.

    Note for those applying to a country or region of elevated risk:
    You will need to schedule a travel advisory meeting to discuss the petition process for special approval to be eligible for funding. For additional details and for information on countries and regions of elevated risk, please consult the University’s Travel Advisory Policy. You are also required to submit an additional paragraph in your statement of purpose detailing why study abroad in this country is important to your research or language study.

    Eligible students are undergraduate students registered at the University of Chicago for the spring quarter before the summer they go abroad and will be registered the following autumn quarter. Students taking a leave of absence before or after the grant period should contact sitg@uchicago.edu to discuss whether their case merits an exception to the spring- or autumn-quarter registration requirement.

    Research grants are primarily for third-year students in the College, but exceptional second-year students and fourth-year students who plan to spend part or all of a fifth year in the College are also eligible to apply.

    To apply for a Summer International Travel Grant please complete the online application. The application includes:

    1. Research Grants: Series of short-answer questions focused on purpose and logistics of research plans
    2. Recommendation (the most useful recommendations are from an individual who knows you well enough to talk about whether you are suited to this type of experience and how you will approach it)
    3. Budget (account for expected expenses such as flight, ground transportation, lodging and meals, as well as the cost of the program you plan to participate in)
    4. If your proposed research involves human subjects (for example, if you will be conducting any interviews as part of your research), you must check with the Social & Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB) about whether your project needs IRB review. Information about the IRB submission and review process is available on the IRB website at sbsirb.uchicago.edu. If your project requires IRB review, you must provide the IRB approval notice prior to receiving your grant funds.
    5. COUNTRY WITH TRAVEL ADVISORY LEVEL 3/4: The University of Chicago’s working assumption is against travel to countries or regions with a U.S. Department of State Level 3 or Level 4 Advisory. Undergraduate students may petition for an exemption to this policy. For more information, please consult the University’s Travel Advisory Policy.

    Applications must be submitted online by February 05, 2024. All students will receive notification of the status of their application(s) via email by the beginning of Spring Quarter.

    To discuss the Summer International Travel Grant Program and the application process, please contact sitg@uchicago.edu.

    Photo: “Solitude” by Will Haffner, ’12