CIRCUMNAVIGATOR GRANT
A once-in-a-lifetime $10,000 grant to spend the summer travelling the world, researching a topic of your choice. The Circumnavigators Travel-Study Grant is jointly given by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Chicago Chapter of the Circumnavigators Club, an external organization dedicated to promoting cross-cultural exchange through international travel. One winner a year is selected to travel to a minimum of 5 countries across at least 3 continents studying whatever it is that you feel should be studied around the world. Only students with junior class standing are eligible to apply. Your project can be in any field, and students have been funded across every eligible undergraduate school at Northwestern. Everything from engineering design to new media journalism to global health to theater and music have been funded previously. Plus, during the trip, you must cross every meridian – in other words, you will truly circumnavigate the globe!
We work on the assumption that you have no idea how to develop an independent, international research project, so we have advising to help guide you through the process. Applications center on a five-page, double-spaced research grant proposal (1″ margins, Times New Roman 12), and proposals that do not meet these formatting expectations will not be considered by the review committee. The application takes a while to put together (it is about a trip around the world, after all), so we recommend reaching out to make an advising appointment as soon as you can. You don’t have to know what you want to do – just come talk through your interests and bring your questions. Working together with your OUR advisor, you can make an action plan!
Congratulations to 2024 winner Lucia Barnum – Medill ’24 (Journalism). Her project is titled: “Mobilizing Like Wildfire: a Cross-Cultural Examination of Community Organizing in Post-Fire Contexts.” Over this summer, she will research community mobilization and social organizing in the wake of fire disasters in Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Greece, Ghana, and Australia. Each of these countries has experienced a major fire event in the last six years, or has otherwise grappled with how national fire policy fails to meet the needs of communities on the front lines of these disasters. In talking with experts and stakeholders, she hopes to develop best practices for how fire and disaster management policy can meet the needs of those most impacted by these tragedies.
Here is an excerpt from her final blog post of the trip: “This summer I hiked in the Andes mountains, the Australian coastline, and the Panamanian rainforest (thank you layovers!). I swam in the Aegean Sea and the waterfalls of the Brazilian savannah; I biked on a Greek island and the Portuguese coast. I ate souvlaki in Athens, gelato in Rome, fresh fish and wine in Porto, fufu and goat stew in Kumasi, asado in Buenos Aires, and açaí in Brasilia. I saw monkeys, sloths, flamingos, parrots, bats, kangaroos, and so, so many cool lizards, all with my very own eyes! I made it through a Greek summer, a Patagonia winter, a Ghanaian wet season, and a Brazilian dry season. I talked to some of the most inspiring people I have ever met — heard stories of community care, of building climate resiliency, of unwavering love for one’s home no matter the adversity. I relied on the kindness of strangers, and I made it out the other side!”
DEADLINE
- Thursday, November 21, 2024 (11:59 PM CST)
Final interviews will be held in early January.
INFO SESSION
Learn more about the Circumnavigator application process and timelines, and hear from a former Circumnavigator winner! RSVP for the info session.
- Tuesday, October 15 | 4:00 – 5:00PM at the Office of Undergraduate Research (1801 Hinman Ave.)
Eligibility
Student Eligibility
Eligible Applicants:
- Applicants must be full-time Northwestern students with junior standing 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.
- Applicants must be available for an interview. Exact date to be determined (but usually in early January).
- Students in any discipline may apply.
Ineligible Applicants:
- Undergraduates at other institutions are no eligible.
- Students who do not have junior standing are not eligible.
- Students who will be studying abroad or otherwise away from campus during the winter/spring before the trip or during the academic year following the trip are not eligible.
No group submissions are allowed; the grant is only for a single individual. The travel-study trip must be undertaken by the grant recipient alone, unaccompanied by friends, significant others, relatives, a research partner or partners, or larger group of associates.
Grant Details
One winner is chosen each year. The grant recipient travels:
- for at least ten continuous weeks
- to at least five different countries (excluding the U.S. and Canada)
- on at least three different continents (excluding North America)
Study whatever you want as long as it fits into a global context! You will also want to consider the ethical implications of your project, so please review these Principles of Ethical Research.
The winner is required to keep a blog throughout the duration of the trip, posting at least twice a week.
Requirements for international projects apply.
This grant is jointly funded by Northwestern University and the Chicago Chapter of the Circumnavigators Club. Visit the Chicago Chapter of the Circumnavigators Club and the Circumnavigators Club Foundation to learn more about the organization and its support of around-the-world travel-study projects.
Faculty Role
Discussing your ideas with faculty is key to developing a meaningful and feasible global project. The unique travel requirements of the grant pose challenges distinct from those of traditional, more narrowly focused research projects.
Faculty serve primarily as recommenders, rather than project supervisors.
Applications require endorsements from two faculty recommenders (aka sponsors).
Outside faculty may be used as recommenders; graduate students and post-docs are not eligible, unless they are added as a supplemental third endorsement. If a recommender falls into one of these categories, contact the Circumnavigator Coordinator prior to the application deadline for details. At least one of your faculty sponsors must be a Northwestern faculty member.
Request endorsements well before the deadline.
Ask your recommenders to review Info for Faculty and provide them with a draft of your proposal and resume well in advance to give them time to write their endorsements.
Endorsements are due within 48 hours after the student deadline.
Unendorsed applications will not be considered.
Make sure faculty see the Info for Faculty page to show them how to access our system and the endorsement questions asked.
Selection Process
Three Finalists are Chosen
A Northwestern Review Committee evaluates applications and selects three finalists before winter break to be interviewed by the Chicago Circumnavigators Club Selection Committee.
Interview Required
Finalists must be available for an interview with members of the Circumnavigators Club (normally in early January). No alternate day interviews will be permitted.
The Circumnavigators Club will choose the grant winner and notify all three finalists, the University, and the International Foundation in New York of its decision.
What Are They Looking For?
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 connection/commitment to the subject, (c) poise, maturity and communication skills, and (d) inherent discipline and enthusiasm of the student.
Post-Trip Requirements
- The grant recipient is required to submit a 50-page (minimum) research paper to the Circumnavigators Club Chicago Chapter and Foundation. This paper is not submitted to Northwestern, but many students use the trip/project as the basis of a senior thesis.
- A draft analytical outline of the research paper 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.
- Within 60 days, a summary of all expenses, such as travel, food, lodging, extras must be sent to New York headquarters.
- 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 fall info sessions and helping to mentor the following year’s winner by passing on tips and suggestions.
- After completion of the requirements, the grant recipient is expected to complete an application and join the Circumnavigators Club.
Developing Your Application Package
Independent Research Projects
This program is for new, original research only. The development of new, original research ideas occur differently across fields. We work on the assumption that students have never developed their own independent international research projects before, so we recommend working with an advisor as early as possible to help you take your ideas/interests and learn how to turn them into a concrete, achievable project/trip. Make an Advising Request today!
Drafting Your Proposal
The Office of Undergraduate Research does not expect any student to know how to write a grant! We meet with students in one-on-one advising appointments, where we regularly guide students through the process of writing a grant. We also have a lot of resources to help you get started.
Proposal Basics
The writing required for a research proposal is not like other, more familiar, forms of writing. In particular, it does not work like an essay where you weave your ideas in and out of the different sections. Grant proposals are very segmented; each section is its own little pod. In general, you complete the section and never revisit the content in it – you simply move on to the next argument you have to make.
While a Circumnavigators proposal differs in some ways from a standard URG proposal, the overall structure and arguments remain the same. It can be useful to review our Proposal Writing page, and then work with an advisor on the changes necessary to apply to this program.
Formatting
Five pages, 1″ margins, double spaced (*GoogleDocs defaults to 1.15 spacing! You must change it manually!)
Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11 font
No headers, footers, or cover pages
Additional Resources
ANNOTATED SAMPLE GRANT PROPOSALS: This resource includes a description of common types of research methodologies and a database of 25+ annotated sample grant proposals. We recommend you read annotated sample grants based on which methodology is most applicable to your project, not based on which sample grant is closest to your field of study.
THE ADVENTURES OF GRANT MAN WEBSERIES: This web series follows three students as they struggle through the process of creating a project connected to what they want to research— plus, you’ll get to meet the mysterious Grant Man, who seems to have all the answers (and a cowboy hat to boot).
LIBRARY RESOURCES: This page introduces you to helpful library resources for developing your project and your application. It includes a video overview on how to make the most of the library, links to subject librarian contact information, and books to help you get started.
Drafting Appendices
Works cited and appendices do not count towards the five page grant limit. However, all components of your grant application will ultimately be uploaded to the application portal as a single PDF.
Works Cited
All proposals will include a literature review justifying the need for your project; therefore, every proposal must have a Works Cited list. You can use any official citation style that you like – usually students use one they are familiar with from their field.
Travel Plan
Most proposal appendices include a summary table/list outlining the stops on your trip. The Circumnavigators Club prefers preliminary itineraries that go in one direction around the world. In other world, list your countries in the order you would realistically visit them. You wouldn’t go from England to China to India; you would go from England to India to China. Your OUR advisor can help sort the order with you.
Proof of Contacts
The review committees expect to see that you have reached out to people/organizations at each stop of your proposed trip. Ideally, they want to see correspondence back from them showing that they understand your project and agree to support you. They don’t need formal commitments, as the trip will be a long way off; however, they need to assess how realistic it is for you to do the things you propose to do. Your OUR advisor can help you to reach out to people/organizations and what kind of proof of contact the committees prefer.
Project-Affiliated Appendices
INTERVIEW/SURVEY QUESTIONS: If your methodology uses interview or survey questions, the questions MUST be included in an appendix. It demonstrates to the committee that the data you plan to collect will sufficiently allow you to answer your research question (and there is alignment between these two components). For example, if your research question is about X, it should follow that the questions you pose to your subjects are ALSO about X (and not about some unrelated topic Y).
READING LISTS: If your methodology requires lots of reading (e.g. literary/composition analysis and some creative art projects), you should include a reading list to convince the committee that you have narrowed your focus to a specific starting place. However, you must do enough preliminary reading of material prior to grant submission to sufficiently argue the scholarly relevance of your proposed work in your background section.
ARCHIVAL COLLECTION PLAN: If your methodology requires collection of archival materials, you should include a list of what sort of content you plan to collect. This step is particularly important for proof of project feasibility when you are asking for funding to travel to the archive itself and only have a brief window of time for data collection.
Citing Scholarly Sources
Works cited formatting varies across disciplines, so you should use a citation format that is common in your field of study. If you are not certain what citation format is most common for your field, please leverage the Library’s Citation Style Guides and contact your Subject Librarian for additional guidance.
We strongly recommend you use citation management software to help you with this process. Check out the Library’s Citation Management webpage for instructions and tips for each of the following tools on their website. Or, attend a Library Citation Management workshop to teach you how to best use these tools:
- Zotero is a free, open source bibliographic manager. It works with the Firefox web browser or in a standalone version that works with other web browsers – download Zotero. Zotero is compatible with GoogleDocs.
- EndNote is a software program designed to store and manipulate bibliographic information. It is free to all Northwestern students, faculty and staff and can be downloaded from NUIT.
- Mendeley is a free reference manager and academic social network.
Application Submission & Review Process
Faculty Endorsement and Faculty Role
Your faculty sponsors must submit an online endorsement of your research grant proposal within 48 hours after the application deadline. Unendorsed projects will not be considered. Make sure you give your faculty sponsor enough warning of the deadline. You should discuss your project with them ahead of time, and they should have a copy of your final proposal draft. Do not leave it to the day before to ask someone to give you an endorsement! For specific guidance tailored to faculty sponsors, including the endorsement questions, please visit the Faculty System Help webpage. Although you will likely seek their counsel if you are awarded the grant, sponsors play no formal role beyond submitting their endorsement.
Application Evaluation
All applications are reviewed by the Northwestern Circumnavigators Review Committee, and they will select three finalists (and an alternate). Decisions will be announced via email notification before winter break.
The finalists will be interviewed by members of the Chicago Chapter of the Circumnavigators Club Foundation. All interviews will be held on the same day/evening, and they will select the winner. They usually notify the winner within 24 hours of the interview.
Frequently Asked Questions
I got a grant. How do I get paid?
Unlike other OUR programs, your grant will be paid through the Circumnavigators Club. You will be given a liaison partner after you are awarded the grant who will help you prepare the trip and arrange for payments.
Can I change my project once I've started?
Change is a naturally occurring part of the research process; objectives and the means of obtaining them can shift. It isn’t even uncommon for trip locations to change (even during the trip itself). To make substantive changes to your trip, you will need the approval of your Circumnavigators Club liaison and the OUR Circumnavigators Grant Coordinator.
I'm confused by the final report. What do I need to do?
Your audience is the Circumnavigators Club, not Northwestern faculty, so all terms and conditions will be handled through your Circumnavigators Club liaison. It is not uncommon for students to use the final report as the basis of a senior thesis (or even combine them into a single work).
I've finished my research project. What are my options for publishing, presenting, or building on my findings?
The best person to answer this question is your faculty sponsor/advisor. Fields can run very differently, so you want to talk to see what is best in your area. However, here are some definite options:
Undergraduate Research and Arts Exposition
Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium