International Travel Grants for Graduate Students

• This grant is intended for early career graduate students enrolled in terminal M.A. programs or in the very early stages of Ph.D. programs. Students who have passed their Ph.D. comprehensive examinations are not eligible.  

• Applicants may be students from any discipline, department or campus; 

• Must be enrolled in a program leading to a graduate degree at KU;
• Must have completed at least nine credit hours of graduate coursework at KU by the time of application; and
• Students who will have completed their KU degree program by the semester of the grant are not eligible.  
• Recipients of past International Enhancement travel grants are not eligible. 

Eligible enhancement projects include: 

• Activity must take place in Latin America.
• Enrollment in language classes not offered at KU, but directly pertaining to your KU degree program. 
• Participation in a directed internship program that will enhance academic/professional credentials. The internship must not be one that is required to fulfill a KU degree component. 
• Attending degree-relevant classes not available on the KU campus nor for credit towards your degree. 
• Attending a month-long workshop or series of workshops overseas related to an area of study at KU. 

 Ineligible enhancement projects include: 

• Conducting research abroad related to a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. 
• Working as a research assistant for a KU professor doing his/her research overseas. 
• Work done after a KU degree will be received. 
• Enrolling in a language course abroad that is offered at KU. 
• Participation in a KU-sponsored overseas study program or course, or one resulting in credits to be applied toward a KU degree. 
• Fulfilling an internship requirement of a degree program. 
• Presenting a paper at an overseas conference. 

KUIA is currently accepting applications through an online application form.

The application will require you to upload the following PDF documents:

• personal statement
• detailed budget with other sources of funding
• program documentation

Only complete applications will be considered. Proposals and supporting materials must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on March 9, 2026.

You will need to ask two faculty members, at least one from the University of Kansas, to email letters of reference to J. R. Speake at jrspeake@ku.edu. All references must be received by the application deadline. 
The following prompts would be helpful to provide to your references.

1. How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant?
2. What is your opinion of the merit and importance of the student's proposal?
3. Specifically, how do the goals of this proposal contribute to the applicant's degree objective?

Additionally, you will need to ask a faculty member, preferably from the University of Kansas, familiar with your language proficiency to send a letter evaluating your language competency to carry out your proposed study. This evaluation should assess aural comprehension, reading ability, speaking ability, and writing ability. This letter should be in prose and emailed to J. R. Speake at jrspeake@ku.edu as a PDF. 

References and the Language Evaluation are required.

Materials are due by 5 p.m. on March 9, 2026. Applications will be deemed incomplete without supporting materials and will therefore not be considered.

• Applicants may be students from any discipline or department;
• Must be enrolled in a program leading to the Ph.D. at KU; and
• Must have completed two years worth of graduate course work, with at least one year at KU, prior to the beginning date of proposed project, and;
• Applicants should not have completed comprehensive exams prior to the research period. 
• Recipients of past Pre-Dissertation travel grants are not eligible.

The application review committee will evaluate:

• Scholarly achievement, validity and feasibility of the proposal;
• Requisite language preparation;
• Faculty support as indicated by letters of reference;
• Impact the activity will have on the dissertation research plan, and;
• Availability of alternate sources of funding.

Priority will be given to activities that will increase the applicant’s competitiveness for extramural international dissertation research grants.

KUIA is currently accepting applications through an online application form.

The application will require you to upload the following PDF documents:

• personal statement
• detailed budget with other sources of funding
• program documentation

Only complete applications will be considered. Proposals and supporting materials must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on March 9, 2026.

You will need to ask two faculty members, at least one from the University of Kansas, to email letters of reference to J. R. Speake at jrspeake@ku.edu. All references must be received by the application deadline. 
The following prompts would be helpful to provide to your references.

1. How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant?
2. What is your opinion of the merit and importance of the student's proposal?
3. Specifically, how do the goals of this proposal contribute to the applicant's degree objective?

Additionally, you will need to ask a faculty member, preferably from the University of Kansas, familiar with your language proficiency to send a letter evaluating your language competency to carry out your proposed study. This evaluation should assess aural comprehension, reading ability, speaking ability, and writing ability. This letter should be in prose and emailed to J. R. Speake at jrspeake@ku.edu as a PDF. 

References and the Language Evaluation are required.

Materials are due by 5 p.m. on March 9, 2026. Applications will be deemed incomplete without supporting materials and will therefore not be considered.