MSU announces the first competition for 10 awards of up to $5,000 each for foreign travel of MSU Ph.D. candidates at the predissertation stage in the Colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arts and Letters, Education, and Social Science. These awards will support travel abroad to the awardees intended dissertation research sites for a minimum 60-day stay during 2006, allowing investigation of the appropriateness of the research problem and methods; assessment of the affiliation potential of university, research institute, or NGO partners; identification of in-country collaborators or mentors; improvement of language proficiency; and the opportunity to obtain letters of affiliation or sponsorship from local institutions.

In addition to supporting the basic dissertation enterprise, the new awards are intended to assist MSU graduate students in developing competitive dissertation proposals in national fellowship competitions sponsored by agencies such as Fulbright, the National Science Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council.

This funding opportunity is supported by the Fund for the Advancement of Academic Quality, a $9.7 initiative approved by the Board of Trustees in July 2005 to aggressively enhance academic quality and demonstrably benefit students at MSU in the context of the emerging strategic imperatives of the Boldness by Design strategic positioning process.

A complete description of the new program and its requirements, as well as the application form, can be obtained from Office of Dean, International Studies and Programs, from area studies and thematic international institutes, and on the web at http://africa.msu.edu/awardannouncement.pdf

All documents must be submitted to Prof. Jenny Bond, Office of the Dean of International Studies and Programs, 209 International Center by 5:00 pm on Monday, April 24, 2006 for travel in summer or fall 2006. Awards will be announced no later than May 12, 2006.

Questions should be directed to Prof. Jenny Bond, Acting Assistant Dean, International Studies and Programs, 355-2350.