Graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Iowa College of Public Health are eligible to apply for this award. Post-doctoral scholars are not eligible to apply.

Student Eligibility:

• Must be currently enrolled as a student at the University of Iowa College of Public Health and plan to be enrolled for the duration of international travel.
• Must have completed at least 3 courses (9 s.h.) minimum of coursework in the College of Public Health at the time of application submission. (Includes course subjects beginning with codes CPH, BIOS, CBH, EPID, HMP, OEH.)
• Must be in good academic and disciplinary standing.
• Must be able to acquire a passport and all mandatory visa/travel documentation.

Eligible Experiences:

• Must be an experience to travel and learn outside of the United States and its territories. Virtual abroad experiences are not eligible for this award.
• Must include a hands-on learning component (research, internship, service project, etc). Global experiences that do not include hands-on learning will automatically be considered for a partial award (half or less of the stated maximum amount), as funds are available.
• Learning objectives and topics studied must be Public Health Relevant. Students earning multiple degrees simultaneously must be traveling abroad with the primary focus of studying public health topics.
• For thesis/dissertation research: The research must have passed the proposal approval stage. Students may apply before IRB approval is secured, but no funds will be released until proof of IRB approval has been submitted to the grant review committee.

• Undergraduate students can apply for a maximum award of $1,500 per trip.
• Graduate students can apply for a maximum award of $3,000 per trip.

Students may only receive this award once. Prior recipients of this travel grant are no longer eligible for funding.

All international experiences must include a hands-on learning component (research, internship, service project, etc) to be considered.  Experiences that will be used for a degree requirement (undergraduate experiential learning, MPH Practicum, PhD dissertation, etc) will be prioritized.

Expenses that are eligible to be covered are those related to travel and living expenses. Students will be asked to provide an itemized budget containing all projected costs for the committee to review. Eligible items include, but are not limited to:

• Housing
• Airfare/other transportation
• International Insurance (as required by the University of Iowa)
• Daily Living expenses
• Passport/Visa expenses
• Required Vaccinations
• Program fees

Research costs and administrative fees as required by the University of Iowa Office of Study Abroad are not eligible to be covered.

All applications must include the following:

1. A completed application cover sheet.
2. Responses to the following questions (2 pages maximum).
   • What will your proposed activities be while you are overseas? If you continue your activities once you return to the US, please also include that information.
   • Why did you choose this international site or program and how does it relate to your current public health educational goals?
   • How has your coursework so far prepared you for a global public health experience?
   • Please describe any previous research, work, or volunteer experience you have had that you think will contribute to the success of this project, including previous international experience.
   • How do you think that this experience will contribute to your future academic and career goals?
3. An itemized budget with written description of the justification for each item requested (1 page maximum). A budget template can be found here.
   • Please include a formal statement of how much you are requesting (eg. full award or partial award and what among).
   • Include any relevant information related to financial need that would be helpful to the review committee (no more than 1 paragraph).
4. An anticipated itinerary of your trip, including details regarding location, accommodations, and activities (half-page maximum)
5. A recommendation form from a faculty or academic advisor.
6. A Letter of support from the in-country host or program, which states that the host or program is expecting you to come and agrees to assist you with making arrangements “on the ground” as necessary. If going abroad with an international organization, please include an acceptance letter from your program provider.

All application materials must be submitted by 11:59pm on the day of the deadline for which you wish to reviewed. Students will be notified if they have received funding within two weeks of the deadline.

Submit Application Here

All applications must include the following:

1. A completed application cover sheet.
2. Please provide answers to the following questions (2 pages maximum):
   • Describe the project aims and research methodology, including plan for IRB approval, if necessary.
   • A timeline showing progress of research activity, to be completed in one year or less.
   • Describe any previous research, work, or volunteer experience you have had that you think will contribute to the success of this project.
   • Describe how this research will contribute to your research development and your degree/career goals.
   • Describe plans for future related research and, if possible, identified research funding.
3. An itemized budget with written description of the justification for each item requested (1 page maximum). A budget template can be found here.
   • Please include a formal statement of how much you are requesting (eg. full award or partial award and what among).
   • Include any relevant information related to financial need that would be helpful to the review committee (no more than 1 paragraph).
4. An anticipated itinerary of your trip, including details regarding location, accommodations, and activities (half-page maximum).
5. Include a recommendation form from a faculty advisor.
6. Letter of support from the in-country host or program, which states that the host or program is expecting you to come and agrees to assist you with making arrangements “on the ground” as necessary.

All application materials must be submitted by 11:59pm on the day of the deadline for which you wish to reviewed. Students will be notified if they have received funding within two weeks of the deadline.

Submit Your Application Here

Two application deadlines will be available for the 2025-26 academic year.

• Students going abroad during a Winterim or Spring Term must apply by November 15, 2025.
• Students going abroad during a Summer or Fall Term must apply by March 20, 2026.

Off-cycle applications will no longer be considered.

Applications will be reviewed by a sub-committee made up of faculty and staff in the College of Public Health. All applications will be reviewed and scored using this rubric.

Note: Award amounts listed are a maximum and applicants may receive a partial award. Individual award amounts will be based on available funds and determined at the review committee’s discretion. In determining award amounts, the review committee may consider additional details, such as the following:

• Quality and effort of application materials
• Financial need and/or additional available financial support
• If the student is using this experience to fulfill a degree requirement

The review committee may consider items not listed here as it is deemed necessary to make a full and equitable allocation of funds. Applicants are highly encouraged to include information pertaining to the items above as well as any other relevant details.

All grant recipients must prepare a final reflection of their time abroad using the guidelines below. The final reflection is due no later than 30 days following their return to the U.S. All submissions should be sent to cph-global@uiowa.edu.

Download the appropriate reporting document below and respond to the prompts.

1. For non-research-based experiences
2. For dissertation and other research-based experiences

All publications, articles, or other publicized media that result from or refer to this experience should include the following language: “This global [experience/practicum/research] was funded by the University of Iowa College of Public Health Global Student Travel Grant, supported by Dale and Linda Baker.”