Guidelines

• To learn more, make sure you carefully read all tabbed sections of this page.  Further questions should be directed to uradvisor@northwestern.edu or 847-467-0501.
• Applicants are welcome from all undergraduate schools.
• Applicants must be full-time Northwestern juniors who will be returning to campus next year.  NU students with senior standing may apply only if they will be returning to Northwestern as full-time undergraduates for the entire academic year following the summer circumnavigation.  Students who will be studying abroad or otherwise away from Evanston campus during the winter/spring before the trip and/or the fall following the trip are not eligible.
• During the summer award period, the grant recipient is required to spend a minimum of ten continuous weeks on the road outside of the United States and Canada in conducting her/his travel-study project.  The project must include travel to, and research in, a minimum of five countries (excluding the U.S. and Canada) on at least three continents. 
• You cannot travel to a location that has been rated as high (H) or extreme (E) risk by International SOS. This policy is university-wide and is non-negotiable. To check the rating of a country and areas within a country, go to the International SOS member website using NU's group account number: 11BCAS000003. 
• In general, undergraduates are not permitted to travel to a country subject to a U.S. Department of State Travel Warning. However, if the ISOS security rating of the location is Insignificant, Low or Moderate, exceptions may be made in certain circumstances when the student’s experience is facilitated, sponsored, monitored or controlled by Northwestern faculty or staff. The supervising faculty or staff (not the individual student) must apply to the Study Abroad Risk Assessment Committee (SARAC) on the student's behalf for permission to travel at least eight weeks prior to the student’s planned travel. For details please see the University Undergraduate International Travel Policy and Procedures. Requests for travel permission should follow the guidelines provided in Appendix B of the Travel Permission Application Process.
• If safety issues exist in a research locale to which travel is permissible, the applicant should address in the application steps that will be taken to ensure personal safety.

• No group submissions are allowed; the grant is only for a single individual. The travel-study trip, furthermore, must be undertaken by the grant recipient alone, unaccompanied by friends, significant others, relatives, a research partner or partners, or larger group of associates.

• All applications must be submitted to our on-line submission system and are due by 11:59 pm on the due date.
• To apply, you will need to submit a project proposal of no more than five double-spaced pages, a resume, two faculty endorsements, and an official academic transcript.  Further details and advice about your application package can be found under the How to Apply tab.
• Finalists will be selected by a Northwestern Review Committee.  Finalists must be available in person for an on-campus interview with members of the Circumnavigators Club in early January (see above for specific day and time). No phone, Skype, or alternate day interviews will be permitted.  The Circumnavigators Club will choose the grant winner and notify all three finalists of its decision.
• If your research involves human subjects, including interviews, you must recieve certification from the University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) that no human subject will be put "at risk." It is the student's responsibility to obtain this approval. There is an education requirement for all NU researchers, including undergraduates, who wish to use human subjects in research. No one may receive IRB approval without first completing the required training program.  Any necessary IRB approval must be obtained prior to travel and the start of the research project. Answers to many questions can be found on the Institutional Review Board Web site. Questions about IRB should be directed to Kathleen Murphy, IRB Manager, at kemurphy@northwestern.edu or Deborah Coleman, IRB Coordinator at d-coleman2@northwestern.edu.
• The winning student is required complete a number of additional steps, outlined HERE.  Grant funds cannot be released until you send proof of these to the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research.
• The grant recipient will be required to maintain a blog, provided by Northwestern.  The blog will be updated regularly - at least twice a week for the duration of the trip.
• After completion of the trip, the grant recipient is required to submit a 50-page (minimum) research paper to the Circumnavigators Club Chicago Chapter and Foundation.  A draft analytical outline is due to the Chapter's Foundation Coordinator within 30 days of the end of the trip.  The final paper must be submitted no later than 90 days following the end of the trip.  Additionally, the winner will speak to at least two Circumnavigators Club banquets during the nine months following the trip.
• The grant recipient will be expected to help advise applicants for the following year’s competition, including speaking at the Fall info session in October, and to help mentor the following year’s winner by passing on tips and suggestions.

Faculty Guidelines

• Applicants are welcome from all undergraduate schools.  Applicants must be full-time Northwestern juniors who will be returning to campus next year.  NU students with senior standing may apply only if they will be returning to Northwestern as full-time undergraduates for the entire academic year following the summer circumnavigation.  Students who will be studying abroad or otherwise away from Evanston campus during the winter/spring before the trip and/or the fall following the trip are not eligible.
• All applications require an endorsement by two faculty advisors. You will base your endorsement on a draft of the proposal that the student will have provided. When the student completes her/his portion of the online application, the system will generate an email to the advisors containing instructions for online submission of the endorsement.  You will be asked to comment upon the merits of both the proposed project and your opinion of the student’s abilities. There is a 4,000 character limit for each of these questions; it is the equivalent to 1 ½ pages single spaced for each question. 
• Endorsers will be asked to answer the following four questions.  Please answer these questions in place of a standard letter of agreement as they help the review committee fully assess each candidate. 
  

  1.            Please offer your opinion on the quality and significance of the proposed project.

  2.            How, in your opinion, does this project fit into the student’s overall academic/career goals?

  3.            Please offer your opinions on the student.  How long have you worked with the student, and in what capacity? 

  4.            How confident are you that the student will successfully complete the proposed project?  How well prepared do you feel this student is to undertake the world travel associated with this award?

• Students cannot travel to a country subject to a U.S. Department of State Travel Warning.  This policy is University-wide and is non-negotiable.  A Travel Warning encompasses the entire country, meaning that even if parts of the country may be considered safe, the entire country remains off-limits.

• If the student’s research involves human subjects, including interviews, s/he may need to receive certification from the University's Institutional Review Board (IRB) that no human subject will be put "at risk." Only members of the IRB staff can make determinations on the need of students to receive IRB authorization. 
• Students cannot, however, directly submit proposals to IRB.  A faculty member serves as the Primary Investigator (PI) for all IRB aspects of the project.  Contact Carla Barnwell, IRB Manager, (c-barnwell@northwestern.edu) for additional help with the IRB process.

• No group submissions are allowed; the grant is only for a single individual. The travel-study trip, furthermore, must be undertaken by the grant recipient alone, unaccompanied by friends, significant others, relatives, a research partner or partners, or larger group of associates.
• Outside faculty may be used as a recommender; contact the Circumnavigator Coordinator (undergradresearch@northwestern.edu) for details.  Graduate students and post-docs are not eligible, unless they are added as a supplemental third endorsement. 
• Faculty endorsements are due no later than 3-4 days after the student deadline. The Northwestern Review Committee meets to vote on proposals soon after the deadline, and proposals cannot be evaluated until the faculty endorsement is received.  If you feel that you will need more time to complete your assessment, you should make arrangements with the student to receive copies of the application materials well in advance of the deadline.  Un-endorsed proposals will not be considered by the Review Committee.
• If you would like to see changes to a submitted proposal, you may request those changes within the submission system, generating an email to the student and placing the proposal back into draft status.  Only the advisor has the capacity to change a proposals status. 
• Any questions or problems should be directed to undergradresearch@northwestern.edu

How to Apply

All students must apply through the online application system.  A complete application consists of:

• a project proposal of no more than five double-spaced pages, using Times Roman font of 11 or 12 points in size and one-inch margins
• a resume
• two faculty endorsements
• an official academic transcript

The project proposal and resume must be uploaded in .doc, .rtf, or .pdf format. You must deliver (or have delivered) an official copy of your transcript to the Office of the Provost. Paper copies must be sealed and should be delivered to Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street- West Tower, Room 118. Official transcripts ordered for electronic delivery should be sent to uradvisor@northwestern.edu. Once you have submitted your portion of the online application, your faculty advisors will receive an email containing instructions for their online submission of the endorsements.

APPLY ONLINE

Preparing an Application

Your first step should be to discuss your ideas with faculty members who may be able offer insights on what you want to do. Faculty advisors also can help you assess and refine the proposal.  In fact, given the scope of a Circumnavigator project, it is a good idea to ask a number of faculty members for input on your ideas.  You can find faculty with interests related to yours by searching the Northwestern Scholars database.  You should also take full advanatge of library resources.

Second, there will be a special information session dedicated to the Circumnavigators Grant in late October. The previous year's winner will speak about her/his experience, and members of the Circumnavigators Club Chicago Chapter will be present to answer questions.  In addition, Northwestern representatives will be present to go over the application process and to answer questions.

Finally, as an additional resource, you may seek feedback from a Circumnavigator Advisor, by email (uradvisor@northwestern.edu) or in an arranged meeting, once you have written a draft proposal. While a faculty advisor can best apply his or her expertise to the intellectual and methodological foundations of the project, the Circumnavigator Advisors can offer useful writing assistance in shaping the proposal for readers from both the Northwestern Review Committee and the Circumnavigators Club.

Jana Measells - Circumnavigators Grant Coordinator/ Advisor

     847-467-0501     uradvisor@northwestern.edu

Peter Civetta - Circumnavigators Grant Coordinator/ Advisor

     847-467-0499     undergradresearch@northwestern.edu

The Project Proposal

The proposal may be no more than five double-spaced pages (use Times Roman font of 11 or 12 points in size and one-inch margins). The proposal must include the following elements: 

• A description of the proposed study topic. Examples of past study projects include: youth movements; the death penalty; freedom of the press; care for the aged; and the uses of technology in the elementary grades.
• Explanation of the project's significance/importance. Discuss the intellectual merit and original nature of the research with reference to scholarly literature.

• A description of specific case studies that you plan to explore during the trip and their anticipated relevance to the overall project goals.  The research (as well as the final paper) must examine specific case studies in the context of global, or at least trans-regional, issues.  In the final paper, the grant recipient will be expected to compare and contrast her/his case-study findings across regions of the world, generating conclusions and policy recommendations at the case-study, national, and global (or at least trans-regional) levels.  You should choose your case studies with these goals in mind.

• A general itinerary. The itinerary must include a minimum of ten weeks of continuous travel outside the United States and/or Canada, must circumnavigate the globe, and must include substantive research conducted in at least five countries on at least three continents. Applicants should clearly explain the rationale for the selection of the proposed countries to be visited.

• The plan of study, including research and planning activities to be undertaken in advance of the trip and research methods proposed to be used in the field during the trip itself.

• An explanation of the relevance of the study project to the student's field of academic endeavor or interests, as well as to the student's life goals and career plans.

While designed to support URG proposals, the following documents will be useful for helping you write your Circumnavigators application.  It is highly recommended that you review these documents before submitting your proposal.

• Crafting a Research Proposal
• Writing Style Advice for Proposals

In general, it is helpful to think of your proposal in terms of the sections explained in the Crafting a Research Proposal document; these sections cover the elements key to most any effective research proposal.  The following overview, together with that document, will help you better understand how to present your proposed Circumnavigators Grant project as effectively as possible.

• Your Introduction should succinctly indicate 1) what your project is about, 2) how you plan to undertake it, and 3) why it is important to do.
• In the Background section, briefly provide your readers with any information that is essential to their understanding the context, parameters, and/or importance of your topic.
• In your Literature Review, identify scholarly trends or key works that help situate your proposed project within the larger academic discourse about your subject.  Use this discussion of what has already been done, what is already known, etc., as a way of making the case for the novelty of, and need for, your own particular research project.  The point is not to prove how well read you are on the subject matter, but rather to provide intellectual context for your own research questions and project—the details of which you will elaborate in the next two sections.
• Research Questions will highlight the knowledge that you want to gain through this trip.   What are the goals of your project? What are the questions that you hope to answer?
• The Methodology section is the heart of your proposal.  Here you will outline specifically what you will do to obtain that knowledge: What countries/sites do you plan to visit, what are your proposed case studies, and what is the rationale for choosing these? What research methods do you propose to use in the field?
• Your Preparation should highlight why you are the person capable of conducting this research.  Explain the training/teaching that you have received that leaves you ready to successfully complete the project.  Indicate your previous travel experience and any relevant language skills. Also include in this section any preparation that you expect to undertake in advance of the trip.
• The Conclusion need not summarize your proposal; instead it should look forward towards what you hope to do with the experience of this trip in the future. In other words, use this section to explain the relevance of the study project to your larger goals and future plans.

The text of your research proposal should be no more than five double-spaced pages.  Longer proposals may not be considered.  You may include additional information, such as details of your proposed itinerary, as appendices.

Faculty Endorsement of Project

All applications require an endorsement by two faculty advisors. Each advisor will base her/his endorsement on a draft of the proposal that you will have provided. When you complete your portion of the online application, the system will generate an email to the advisors containing instructions for online submission of the endorsement.  Outside faculty may be used as a recommender; contact the Circumnavigator Coordinator (undergradresearch@northwestern.edu) for details.  Graduate students and post-docs are not eligible, unless they are added as a supplemental third endorsement.

Selection Process

Both Northwestern and the Circumnavigators Club are looking for interesting, pertinent, and globally-based topics, undertaken by persons who can easily think on their feet in any situation they might encounter abroad. Final selection will further be based on a number of factors, including: (a) merit of the subject to be studied, (b) student's academic record, (c) poise, maturity and communication skills, and (d) inherent discipline and enthusiasm of the candidates.  A Northwestern Review Committee will select finalists from among the applicants.  The Chicago Circumnavigators Club Selection Committee will interview all finalists, select the winner, and notify the University and the International Foundation in New York.

Trip Information

Northwestern and the Circumnavigators Club Chicago Chapter will work closely with the grantee to finalize project priorities and recommend suitable ports of call. They also want to ensure that the travel and research project will be safe for the chosen candidate. The final itinerary will be forwarded for approval to the International Foundation and the U.S. State Department. Contacts are then established with American Embassies en route and Club members worldwide.

Complete photo galleries and dispatches from past Circumnavigators Club Foundation award winners are available online. Please see the web pages for Meixi Ng (2010),  Sam McAleese (2009), Harris Sockel (2008), Christopher Ahern (2007), Alex Robins (2006), Susannah Cunningham (2005) and Sarah Graber (2004).

For more information on past award recipients and their projects, visit the Circumnavigators Club Chicago Chapter Foundation Scholars page.

FAQs