January Term Grants

The Center for African Studies is pleased to offer J-Term Travel Grants for the 2023-2024 academic year. Undergraduate students may apply for up to $3,000 in funding for travel to Africa for senior thesis research, internships, or special projects during winter break and J-Term. All applicants’ proposals must follow current university travel policies.  All awardees must complete all pre-departure requirements noted on the Harvard Global Support Services website

The Center reserves the right to revoke funding if travel is no longer permitted to your requested country due to health and safety concerns. Because of this, we encourage all awardees to purchase travel insurance or a ticket through an airline with flexible cancellation polilcies, especially when travelling to countries with elevated risk ratings.

All awardees must present their work/projects to CAS staff following the award period and write a report that can be shared on the CAS website. Templates will be provided in your award packets. The deadline to apply is October 15 at 11:59PM. Please contact Lindsay Moats at lmoats@fas.harvard.edu with questions.

Eligibility:

  • Applicant must be a full-time Harvard student.
  • Applicant must have completed two African Studies-related courses and/or be able to demonstrate a prior and continued academic or professional interest in Africa. 
  • Research must be supported by a Harvard faculty member. (For example, a Harvard junior/senior working on a Senior Thesis Project would have their faculty adviser sign off on the research proposal in the recommendation letter.)
  • Special Projects must be Africa-related and provide academic or professional development.
  • Internships must last a minimum of three weeks and provided a minimum of 20 hours of work per week.
  • Students collaborating on a project or research must complete separate applications. 
  • This is a travel grant, and all projects must take place in Africa. Remote projects will not be considered.

 

Application:

The application for J-Term 2024 funding is now open and will close October 15, 2023 at 11:59PM.

  • CARAT Online Application Link
  • Current unofficial transcript
  • Current resume/CV
  • 500 word proposal, including a description of the research/project you are planning to work on in January, and whether or not it is continued research from prior time spent in Africa
  • List of at least two African Studies-related courses you have taken and their relevance to your interests/field of study OR write a paragraph describing your previous and continued interest in Africa beyond this award period. 
  • Detailed intinerary (Researchers: include research timeline and deliverables | Internships/Special Projects: include job description and/or project timeline)
  • Detailed budget (If your budget exceeds $3,000, please explain how you plan to fund your additional expenses) 
  • One letter of recommendation (For thesis research, this letter must come from the Harvard faculty member advising your research project)
    • Please note that all letters of recommendation should be submitted through CARAT by the application deadline. Notifying your references in CARAT allows you to submit your application but will NOT mark it as complete. Complete applications include submitted letters of reference. It is your responsibility to follow up with your references to make sure that your letters are submitted by the deadline. 

**If you are applying for funding for a program or internship where your acceptance is pending, please make a note of this in your application so we can follow up with you after the application deadline**