In support of campus initiatives to promote UCR undergraduate education abroad activity and integrate education abroad into curricula, the UCR Education Abroad office invites academic departments and units to submit Academic Integration grant proposals.

The goal of Academic Integration is to make learning abroad an integral and accessible part of every undergraduate’s academic experience and to prepare students for entering an increasingly global workplace upon graduation. It aims to demonstrate the feasibility of participation in and preparation for study abroad for all students, regardless of major. We welcome applications from all academic disciplines. 

Preference will be given to proposals that have a high impact on UCR undergraduate students and focus on creating academic access routes to study abroad programs. 

Examples of these access routes include: 

•    Incorporating education abroad into major degree plans 

•    Reducing unit caps for education abroad courses a department will grant credit for

•    Cataloging previously approved courses offered through Faculty-led Education Abroad Programs (FLEAP) and/or UC Education Abroad Programs (UCEAP)

•    Creating UCEAP course approvals/pre-approvals for major, breadth, and other degree requirements 

•    Creating a list of previously approved courses offered through Opportunities Abroad Programs (OAP) and outlining how the credit transfer process works for these courses

•    Publicizing education abroad through department websites and print materials, informational events, social media, and/or videos 

•    Hiring a departmental Education Abroad Peer Advisor 

•    Incorporating education abroad into department specific student orientations

Requirements for the grants are the following: 

1.    Development or update of Education Abroad information on department/unit websites 

2.    Creation of academic access routes to Education Abroad with delivery of two and four-year degree plans incorporating education abroad into those plans so both student populations (four-year degree students and transfer students) can see a visual representation of pathways to study abroad in their field of study

3.    Pre-approval of courses to fulfill major, breadth, or other degree requirements 

4.    Collaboration of one staff and one faculty member within the academic department to serve as Co-Principal Investigators 

5.    Provision of a final summary report 

In addition to these requirements, we welcome any other ideas for reducing academic barriers to education abroad or integrating education abroad into your department’s academic curriculum. 

Awards of $3,000 will be given to academic department. Funds may be used for any purpose in support of this effort and may include, but are not limited to, the costs of a student assistant to gather and prepare documentation for review, costs of developing online and print materials, and partial salary costs for faculty and/or staff. 

Criteria for review of applications is based on overall quality of proposed project, relevance to Academic Integration, projected impact of grant on undergraduate students, and the inclusion of all required items of the grant proposal. 

Timeline:

July 2022 Call for proposals

July 30, 2022 Deadline to submit project proposals

August 15, 2022 Announcement of selected applicants 

September 2022 Project initiation

July 30, 2023 Project completion report

Submit complete proposals to: lasharon.perez@ucr.edu

Project proposals will be due by July 30, 2022. 

We look forward to seeing your proposals and working with you to make education abroad an accessible and integral part of every undergraduate’s experience. 

Please contact LaSharon McLean Perez, Assistant Director of Education Abroad, with any questions at lasharon.perez@ucr.edu