The Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies (GPI) provides eligible students with the opportunity to apply for a Student Experiential Learning Fund (SELF) Grant to defray some of the costs of participating in a UCA-sponsored experiential learning activity outside of the traditional classroom. Experiential learning activities include service-learning projects, independent research projects (e.g. department honors thesis), global education opportunities (e.g., study abroad and semester exchange programs), and professional internships. Students participating in academic internships or seminars in Washington DC sponsored by The Washington Center (TWC) are eligible to apply for a SELF grant. Students in the GPI department who are working on an independent research project, including a department honors thesis, should also consider applying for a Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) grant. Students participating in a study abroad or semester exchange program should also consider applying for grants through the UCA Office of Education Abroad.
Eligibility Criteria:
1. An applicant must be a current UCA undergraduate student with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher.
2. An applicant for the SELF Grant must have declared political science, public administration, and/or international studies as their academic major(s) at UCA when the application is submitted and when the experiential learning activity takes place.
3. An applicant is limited to one SELF Grant ranging from $100 to $250 per calendar year, depending on the availability of funds.
4. Applications for SELF Grants should be submitted for experiential learning activities that will take place within six months of submitting the application.
5. The SELF Grant application is open from September 1st to April 30th each academic year, although the experiential learning activity may take place at any time during the calendar year.
6. SELF Grants may be used for expenses directly related to the experiential learning activity, including travel expenses, conference registration fees, and program fees. SELF Grants may not be used to pay for UCA tuition, fees, housing, and meal plans.
7. If possible, applicants are encouraged to apply for additional or other sources of funding for the experiential learning activity.
8. SELF Grants that are awarded are deposited by the UCA Foundation directly into the applicant’s Student Account at UCA.
If you have any questions about the SELF Grant, please contact Dr. Mark Mullenbach at markm@uca.edu or Dr. Hyo-Won Shin at hshin@uca.edu.