Thinking about doing a research project in Kenya, Israel or the Philippines? This summer, students have more funding options than before to do research in countries classified as high-risk.
All three countries are among those for which the U.S. Department of State has issued travel warnings, and many University grant programs will not fund student research in nations on the so-called "watch list."
Deans at the Trinity School of Arts and Sciences decided last summer on a consistent policy for programs sponsored by the College. Now, students who win funding for research in countries on the watch list must consult the Office of Study Abroad, and they and their parents must sign a waiver form.
"When we met last summer was only days after the London bombing, and Great Britain was never on one of these lists," said Mary Nijhout, associate dean of Trinity College. "That probably played a role in our thinking."
This year, Nijhout said, two of the 51 recipients of Deans' Summer Research Fellowships will be traveling to countries on the watch lists: Kenya and Israel.
She noted that previously, at least one student wishing to conduct research in a country on the watch list had been discouraged from applying for funding. Still, she said that the new policy is more a standardization than a change, bringing research funding in line with the waiver system already used by the Office of Study Abroad.
"We actually never enforced the inability of a student to go to a country under a travel warning," Nijhout said.
Practices continue to vary across the University, however, since the International Affairs Committee did not determine a common stance during discussions last summer. Thus, individual programs not part of Trinity College may determine their own policies.
"At the International Affairs Committee, there was a clear difference of opinion," said Gil Merkx, vice provost for international affairs.
He added that he is ambivalent about the issue of funding student travel to countries deemed dangerous by the Department of State.
"On the one hand, there are safety issues. On the other hand, there are academic freedom and mobility issues," Merkx said.
Merkx added that the IAC would probably reevaluate its position in a couple of years, depending on the success of Trinity College's waiver policy.
The Hart Leadership Program is one organization that does not fund student travel to countries on the warning list.
Senior Nicholas Shungu, one of the program's two fellows for 2006-2007, said he was disappointed not to be able to work with the program's NGO partner in Kenya but understands why that partner's specific location would be dangerous.
Shungu added that he would support investigation into whether the Department of State's list is an appropriate guide.
"A lot of it's pretty ambiguous, what countries are and aren't [on the list]," he said.
Students applying for Undergraduate Overseas Summer Awards from the Center for International Studies face fewer restrictions.
"The Center for International Studies does not consider the country that a student is planning to do research in, in terms of grading a proposal or awarding a fellowship. And that's the way it's always been," said Nancy Hare Robbins, outreach and fellowship coordinator for the center. "Basically, we leave it up to the student's discretion."
Robbins noted that the U.S. Department of Education's own rules govern any grants it funds directly.
Sherryl Broverman, assistant professor of the practice of biology, said the waiver policy is a good compromise between limiting liability and promoting research.
"They push you very hard to change your mind, which they probably have to do for legal reasons. But the nice thing is, if you don't change your mind, they let you go," Broverman said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.