University Park, Pa. -- Spring in Pennsylvania may mean woolen sweaters and scarves, but some Penn State students are enjoying more summerlike climates as they earn credits this spring while studying abroad through programs offered by Penn State International Programs' Education Abroad Office.
Education Abroad at Penn State currently offers 150 semester, summer, and short-term education-abroad programs in 46 different countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. These programs are available to currently-enrolled Penn State undergraduate students from all colleges and campuses.
While most programs already are full for this summer and fall, some still are accepting applications. For example, the deadline to apply for the summer program in Bath, England, has been extended to March 31. For details about this program, visit http://www.international.psu.edu/EA/programs_summer_bathspa.htm online.
The office currently is accepting applications for study-abroad programs. For more information, check http://www.international.psu.edu/students_study_abroad/ online.
The International Programs Office offers scholarships and need-based grant-in-aid to regularly enrolled undergraduate Penn State students participating in Education Abroad-approved international programs. The grants are the Grant-in-Aid, the Diversity Grant-in-Aid and the Whole World Scholarship.
The Grant-in-Aid disburses funds from named scholarships, which are made available to regularly enrolled undergraduate Penn State students who have been accepted into an Education Abroad program and meet the eligibility requirements of the scholarship. Based on merit (and need, as appropriate), awards are made during each of the three semesters during the academic year. Individual awards are posted to a student's bursar account as a reduction in study-abroad fees that is equivalent to his or her award.
The Diversity Grant-in-Aid is disbursed to qualified ethnic minority students and/or students with disabilities participating in Education Abroad-approved programs. Funding for these grants is made available through the University's Equal Opportunity Planning Committee. International Programs contributes additional funding and staff resources to this endeavor as part of its commitment to give members of under-represented groups greater access to education abroad opportunities. Eligible students are members of an ethnic minority group or have a documented disability (covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990).
Finally, beginning this year, Education Abroad implemented a new scholarship -- the Whole World Scholarship -- to promote study in non-traditional destinations (non-Anglophone, non-Western European locations). Certain programs are targeted for this scholarship, which will award up to $20,000 per year in $1,000 individual awards for semester programs, and $500 awards for summer programs. Current program locations eligible for this scholarship are in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, India, the Middle East, Mexico, Russia, and Vietnam.
Applications for these grants are available on the International Programs Web site at http://www.international.psu.edu/ or by picking up the forms between 10 a.m. Monday through Friday in 412 Boucke Building on the University Park campus.
For more information about these grants, other scholarships available for study abroad, and study abroad programming, check http://www.international.psu.edu online.