The International Political Economy Program is pleased to provide several grants of up to $4000 to support IPE majors’ original reflection projects on their study abroad experience as an IPE major. The final reflection project may include writing, photos, videos, visuals of collected artifacts, anything you want to document your experience in a meaningful way! Grants are for study abroad in the upcoming summer, or during the fall or spring of the following academic year. The reflection project will be conducted under the supervision of an IPE faculty, with whom the student will maintain regular contact during the study abroad period. The IPE faculty project advisor may or may not be a student’s academic advisor.

As a recipient of the Vasilius IPE Study Abroad Project Grant, you will do the following:

1) During Your Study Abroad

Keep track of everything! Your reflection project can act as a blog of your trip, a personal journal, or a notebook of events and impressions. Identify for yourself where you are when you start this journey: expectations, goals, cultural pre-conceptions, and worries. This helps give you a touchstone for the notes you’ll take along the way. These notes could be stories, summaries of coursework, mementos from side trips, pictures of daily life, and descriptions of the people who are now part of your world.  Pay attention to the new skills you are developing and document them whenever you can. And of course, make notes any aspects of your life and the world around you that is related to issues you study in IPE.

2) Reflection Project

Tell your study abroad story. Here is your opportunity to pull it all together for others, including future IPE students interested in studying abroad. There are a number of different ways to reflect on your experience. You may use a report/document form, but could also use an online format, like a blog, visuals, videos, or a combination. Possible questions to get you thinking are:

  • How has your study abroad experience changed you?
  • How would you describe the educational and career value of your study abroad experience to a potential employer?
  • How did you optimize your experience to meet your personal goals?
  • How would you use your study abroad experience to convince a prospective IPE student to include international study in their academic plan?
  • What did you learn about IPE in real life during your study abroad?

With this simple framework you can build your personal representation of your study abroad experience. The more you personalize with pictures, mementos, videos, documents, and your own words, the more impactful your story becomes for the people with whom you share it.

Terms and Conditions for the Vasilius IPE Study Abroad Project Grant

  1. Applicants must be IPE majors in good academic standing.
  2. The grant recipient must be accepted in a university-approved study abroad program (whether summer, fall, spring or a full year). Students should discuss their interest in the grant and discuss it with an IPE faculty as early as possible after they have been accepted in their study abroad program.
  3. Applicants check in regularly with their IPE project advisor during study abroad.
  4. The grant recipient must email the final Reflection Project to the Director of the IPE Program within 4 weeks of return from study abroad. A submission date will be agreed upon with the IPE faculty project advisor.
  5. The grant recipient must give a presentation about their experience during the semester following their study abroad, as part of the IPE Program’s Brown Bag Series.

A complete application will contain:

  1. A completed Vasilius study abroad project application form (available below).
  2. IPE faculty. The faculty study abroad project advisor must agree to be available for regular check-ins during the duration of study abroad.
  3. Confirmation of acceptance in the study abroad program from the office of International Programs.
  4. A Puget Sound transcript (an unofficial transcript is OK).

Completed applications must be submitted via this Google Form. Deadlines are November 1 (for spring study abroad) and April 1 (for fall study abroad). 

Contact the IPE Director or other IPE faculty if you have any questions.