The News spoke to students and staff about the myriad of opportunities available for summer study abroad funding.
Irene Colombo
Contributing Reporter
Yale Daily News
Students hoping to further their study of language, engage in research and take summer courses at universities around the globe have a myriad of opportunities to receive funding from Yale.
In addition to the many internships and research opportunities that Yalies engage in during the summer, traveling abroad and taking courses for credit is a common summer plan. Yale offers a variety of programs through Yale Summer Session, and it also grants credit for preapproved Non-Yale Study Abroad programs. Students have the option to participate in other non-Yale programs but must apply for approval in order to receive credit.
“Funding opportunities crop up out of nowhere, so always keep an eye out,” Leila Iskandarani ’22 told the News.
The International Study Award, or ISA, is one of the most popular funding options available to students on financial aid looking to take courses for credit during the summer months. The similar Summer Experience Award, or SEA, can be used by those on financial aid for international internships, as well as domestic opportunities.
Allie Agati, senior associate director for study abroad at the Yale Study Abroad Office, told participants in a Wednesday webinar about the ISA that “ISA funding can be used for either type of program, a Yale Summer Session Abroad or an approved Non-Yale Study Abroad.”
First-year students, sophomores, juniors and first-semester seniors planning to graduate in December 2022 are eligible for ISA funding.
Hana Galijasevic ’22 participated in a Yale Summer Session course abroad her first year and received ISA funding from Yale. After submitting her ISA application, the process of receiving it was very straightforward, she recalled.
“I was doing a Yale Summer Session Abroad and was using Yale funding for it, so once I got into the program they handled the funding within the Yale billing system,” Galijasevic told the News.
But for Iskandarani, who applied to a Non-Yale Summer Abroad program, the process was different.
She attended the Arabic Language and Culture Program at the American University in Beirut in the summer of 2019, which allows students to take courses in elementary, intermediate and advanced Arabic, as well as a course in colloquial Lebanese Arabic. The program was not on the Yale-approved list and so she had to submit a request to have it approved for credit transfer. The program was ultimately approved, and Iskandarani funded it using the MacMillan Center Summer Language Fellowship.
“The process for getting my study abroad approved was pretty convoluted and definitely had more steps than the process for attending a Yale Summer Session Abroad,” Iskandarani told the News. “However, the application process for funding was pretty standard.”
Iskandarani recalls having to submit a budget for her expected expenses during the summer along with her resume, transcript, a letter of recommendation and a language evaluation in order to apply for the fellowship.
Although many fellowships and funding opportunities pay upfront, Iskandarani’s worked via reimbursement.
“It was not the ideal process for me but it worked out in the end,” she told the News. “I was written a check for the amount of the grant and received it at the end of the summer.”
And to all those applying for funding for a summer abroad program, Iskandarani advises them to not get discouraged.
For students not on financial aid, Yale offers funding opportunities for summers abroad, such as the MacMillan Fellowship that Iskandarani received. Other grants include the Light Fellowship, the Franciscus Summer Travel Fellowship in Entrepreneurship, the Gay and Lesbian Alumni Summer Fellowship and more.
More information about summer abroad planning is on Yale’s website.
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