The President’s Award for Global Learning is a competitive process where teams of students and faculty mentors will be selected to pursue interdisciplinary projects.
- How does the President’s Award for Global Learning work? Interdisciplinary teams composed of 2-3 faculty and 15-18 undergraduate students collaborate with an international partner in addressing an identified global challenge. Each faculty team/student cohort will engage in experiential learning with both on-campus coursework and international travel. Faculty members will each receive a $14,000 honorarium and travel expenses up to two trips to one or multiple international locations (maximum length of total travel is six weeks). An additional $5,000 is budgeted for equipment, training, or supplies required for the student projects.
- Who is eligible to participate? (students) Students with a minimum 3.0 GPA (or faculty endorsement) and who will not graduate before completion of the program. Students must be in good academic and disciplinary standing to apply to and participate in international education opportunities. Student may not be on disciplinary probation, suspension or deferred suspension at the time of application, prior to or during their time abroad. Students on academic probation may not apply or participate. Students who are previous President’s Awards recipients are not eligible to receive the award again.
- Who is eligible to participate? (faculty) The President’s Award for Global Learning is only open to UT Austin tenured and tenure-track faculty members, lecturers, professors of practice, and Assistant and Associate Deans.
- Can students apply to more than one faculty program or join more than one student team? No, students can only submit one application for the President’s Award for Global Learning. They can only select one faculty program and join one student team.
- Can students apply as individuals or do they have to apply as teams? Individual student applications will be accepted on an exceptional basis. Students applying as interdisciplinary teams will be given preference.
- Can students graduate before the program is complete? No, students have to remain enrolled as a full-time student through the program duration, including the 1-credit fall semester reflection course.
- Can students participate in the program virtually if they are off campus for study abroad, internships, or domestic programs like Archer and UT in LA? Students need to be on campus for the 3-credit spring semester course. Students can participate in the 1-credit fall course virtually.
- Are graduate students eligible? No, graduate students are not eligible to apply for the President’s Award for Global Learning.
- Can faculty be on more than one team? No, faculty members cannot be on more than one team. They can only join one team and submit one proposal per application cycle.
- Are all faculty members require to travel? A minimum of one faculty member is required to accompany students for any proposed travel.
- Can the international partner be an NGO, community group, or higher education institution? Yes, an international partner can be a higher education institution, a non-profit organization, a government entity, a business, or even an individual stakeholder.
- Where can I find support on incorporating virtual exchange methods into my proposed courses? Information is provided through the Global Virtual Exchange Canvas course. Email presidentsaward@austin.utexas.edu to be enrolled in the course.
- What do I do if my required international partner letter is not in English? Include a translated version of the partner letter in English along with the original copy in your proposal submission.
- When will I submit a budget for the $5,000? The budget will be submitted during the spring semester.
- Do indirect costs need to be included in the proposal budget? No, indirect costs do not need to be included in the proposal budget.
- Does my proposal have to go through Office of Sponsored Projects? No, your proposal will be submitted directly to Texas Global for consideration via InfoReady.
- Will I also receive a course buy-out in addition to the $14,000 honorarium? No, the President’s Award for Global Learning does not provide course buyouts. The 3-credit spring course and 1-credit fall course must be taught at an overload. Each faculty team member will receive a $14,000 honorarium, paid via payroll through Workday with all applicable withholdings.
- What course number should I use for the 3 and 1 credit courses? Texas Global can assist with providing an LA Global Learning Seminar or UGS Undergraduate Research Experience as needed for the 3-credit and 1-credit courses. If you have another course number in your department that you would prefer to use, you can propose an alternate course number.
- How do I incorporate language and cultural learning into the course work? If the team does not have a faculty member with language teaching expertise, the team may reach out to an outside specialist. Teams may utilize the $5000 budget for language instruction.
- Whom can I contact for more information? Contact presidentsaward@austin.utexas.edu.