Each year the College awards approximately 100 Summer International Travel Grants of $5,000 each to support outstanding undergraduates for intensive language study or research abroad.
These grants are made possible by the College and generous donors.
Types of Grants
Be sure to read the details of the various grants listed below. We encourage prospective applicants to attend one of the SITG Information Meetings.
Foreign Language Acquisition Grants (FLAG)
The FLAG program offers awards to support the costs of intermediate or advanced language study abroad.
International Research Grants
- Third Year International Travel Grant
Provide support for conducting summer research outside the U.S. - African Studies Research Grant
Provide support to students conducting research in Africa - Nassef Sawiris Research Grant
Provides support to a student conducting research in Egypt
Please see our flyer for more helpful information as you prepare your 2023 SITG application, including tips for choosing a FLAG-eligible language program.
- SITG Information Session
Monday, November 28, 2022, 6:00 PM Central Time - Play a video recording of the above session.
- To apply for a Summer International Travel Grant please complete the online application.
- Note that you can only be awarded one Summer International Travel Grant in a given year.
- One recommendation is required as a part of the online application. For a FLAG application this recommendation would ideally come from your language instructor or a faculty member with regional expertise. For research grants, the recommendation should be from a faculty member familiar with your research plans and with expertise in the proposed region or topic of research. You will be prompted to enter your recommender's name and email address in the online application.
- Please note that the research grant application will ask you to submit a résumé, which you will want to have ready ahead of time.
Born out of the College’s commitment to cross-cultural experience, international research, and foreign language learning, the Summer International Travel Grants give you the freedom to design your own summer experience abroad. During the summer, you’ll travel independently to a location of your choice and carry out original research or study the local language.
In the past, students have conducted independent research in all corners of the world, from field archaeology in Peru to molecular dynamics in Sweden. Often this work leads to a BA paper. With language grant support, students have studied over 50 languages, from Arabic to Zulu. These grants are ideal for students who may not be able to study abroad during the academic year.
To find out more about Summer International Travel Grants, attend an SITG Information Session or watch a video recording:
To look for and learn about language programs you can read program evaluations from previous FLAG recipients in our evaluations database. You can also search the database to read about research projects that have been funded in the past. 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.
Applications must be submitted online by Monday, February 5, 2024, before 11:59 p.m. CST. 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.