Grants and Awards for International Education and Teacher Travel
· Fulbright Short-Term Awards
The Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program provides opportunities for overseas experience. The program is open to educators and administrators with responsibilities for curriculum development in fields related to humanities, languages, and area studies. Topics and host countries of the seminars vary from year to year. All seminars are in non-Western European countries.
· Fulbright Teacher Exchange
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It promotes mutual understanding among teachers, their schools and communities in the U.S. and abroad by: building teachers’ and students’ global competence, sharing of best educational practices internationally. Participants in this three to six month program are based at university-level schools of education. They take courses, lead master classes and seminars, visit local schools, collaborate with each other online and in person, and complete an inquiry project of their own design.
The Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will provide 14 U.S. teachers and administrators with a fully-funded opportunity to travel to Japan to learn about ESD efforts and strengthen ESD curricula in both countries. ESD is “a vision of education that seeks to balance human and economic well-being with cultural traditions and respect for the earth’s natural resources,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- Grosvenor Teacher Fellowships From National Geographic: Each year, National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions take K-12 geography teachers on expeditions around the world. Usually, 25 educators are selected for fellowship trips each year, and participants travel to exotic locations and participate in professional development and curriculum-building activities.
- Fund for Teachers Fellowships: Fund for Teachers fellowships enable educators to design their own professional development programs. International and domestic travel are often included in grant proposals, and FFT has been supporting these grants since 2001. Additionally, FFT has links to some other great travel fellowships.
- Global Classrooms Program From IREX: This Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program is a year-long cultural exchange for middle and high school teachers. The program includes intensive training, an international field experience, and a global education symposium in Washington, D.C.
- Toyota International Teacher Program: This program from Toyota and administered by IIE combines international travel and environmental education. Through the program, secondary educators from U.S. schools go on two- or three-week trips to learn about environmental issues and innovative solutions for environmental challenges.
- Einstein Distinguished Fellows Program in STEM: The Einstein program enables teachers to advocate for STEM on Capitol Hill and/or Congressional offices for up to a year. The application process for the 2015-2016 school year opened in fall 2014.
Other Great Travel Grant Sources
- Travel the World With Grants Just for Educators: This article from the National Education Association features ten scholarships designed to help teachers travel the world. Included are program details, funding amounts, and eligibility requirements for applications.
- 35 Travel Grants and Other Travel Opportunities for Teachers and Education Professionals: Travel Beyond Excuse is a blog that is "helping teachers who want to travel." This article features 35 sources for teacher travel grants, and in addition, you'll find tons of ideas and strategies for traveling on the cheap.
- Travel Grants From Teaching Traveling: Another website dedicated to education travel, Teaching Traveling is a great source of inspiration for educators looking for travel funding. In addition to the site's Travel Grants section, you'll find inspiring interviews with "teacher-travelers," as well as ideas and tips for securing funding.