Funding Opportunities

See the Watson School Undergraduate Student Opportunities page for additional resources.

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Funding Opportunities

See the Watson School Undergraduate Student Opportunities page for additional resources.

Funding Opportunities for Undergraduates

Funding provides opportunities for students to develop their research and writing skills outside of the classroom, opportunities that many students would otherwise not be able to pursue if it weren’t for the funds provided by generous donors. Students are challenged to apply their knowledge critically and think creatively about international issues through research projects, internships, and academic studies away from Brown.

Eligibility

You must be enrolled as an undergraduate student at Brown University at the time you apply and during the duration of your funded opportunity.
Travel/project must be completed prior to your graduation.
You must have a Brown faculty member be your recommender.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Students are required to write a brief post-award reflective summary describing how the support from the Watson School grant shaped their academic progress at Brown.
Students proposing research involving human subjects must follow the guidelines of the University's Regulatory Advisory Unit (RAU).

Payment

All student fellowship awards are paid via Brown University payroll. We encourage all students to enroll in direct deposit for the processing of the awards, if applicable. The payment will follow the Brown University bi-weekly payroll schedule. See the Controller's Office for those dates.

Available Grants

Thesis Research Fund

The IAPA Thesis Research Fund provides financial support for undergraduates concentrating in International and Public Affairs who have been accepted to the IAPA Honors Program.

APPLICATION DEADLINES
For the 2026-27 Academic Year

September 15, 2026 - fall term research
December 1, 2026 - winter break research
May 15, 2027 - summer research

AWARD AMOUNT

Up to $2000 for students who need to travel to an archive or to conduct interviews, surveys, or ethnographic research, or for students who need to purchase data sets not available at Brown. Cannot be used to purchase books.

ELIGIBILITY

Undergraduates concentrating in International and Public Affairs who have been accepted to the IAPA Honors Program.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Thesis Proposal: A copy of the thesis proposal you submitted when you applied for honors in April
Personal Statement: A 1–2-page personal statement
- If you are proposing to travel to a research site, explain why travel is necessary (e.g., why you cannot collect this data remotely). Include an itinerary for any travel. Describe your data collection method(s), the data or other materials that you will analyze, and explain how you will analyze this data.
Budget: For all research expenses, provide a specific budget, including airline flight costs, hotel, estimated daily food and transportation, proposed compensation for field study participants, and any specific additional expenses.
Transcript: Unofficial internal transcript is acceptable
Resume
Faculty Recommendation: 1 letter of recommendation from your thesis advisor (first reader)
Students receiving an award must:
- Reply that they accept the award
- Apply for and receive permission to proceed from Brown’s IRB before conducting research involving human subjects
- If traveling abroad, register with Global TravelSafe

POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS
Students receiving awards drawing from named funds will be required to submit a 1–2-page reflective essay, including 1-2 photographs if applicable

If the student is unable to travel, attend the program, complete the internship, or conduct research after the award has been distributed, they will be required to return the award money in full.
If the original project was modified, an updated budget and travel expense accounting is required. Money not accounted for in the modified budget must be returned.

Post-Award Report Due Date:
September 30th for summer term
January 31st for fall term and winter break

CONTACT: For more information please email iapa@brown.edu.

Apply in UFUNDs

Summer Research and Internship Grants

Summer Independent Research and Internship Grants provide financial support for undergraduates pursuing summer independent research or unpaid internships related to the field of international and public affairs. Priority will be given to current IAPA concentrators and to students in semester 05 or beyond, but students from all undergraduate concentrations are eligible to apply.

Summer internship experiences must be 8-10 weeks long.

APPLICATION DEADLINES
For academic year 2026-27

March 30, 2027 - Round I
April 17, 2027 - Round II (for internship awards only)

AWARD AMOUNTS

Up to $4,000

ELIGIBILITY

Undergraduate students in good academic standing who are returning to Brown the following fall.
Priority given to students with an approved ASK declaration in International and Public Affairs.
Priority given to students in semester 05 or above.
Not available to graduating seniors.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Proposal: A 1-3-page proposal for independent research or description of the internship, including the title and description of the work to be done and an explanation for how this research or internship complements your intellectual work and interest in the field of international and public affairs.
Travel Plans: If you are traveling, include an itinerary and description of what you will do in each location.
Budget: For summer research, provide a specific budget, including airline flight costs, hotel, estimated daily food and transportation, and specific additional expenses. You do not have to provide a specific budget for internship living expenses. The internship must be at least 8-10 weeks in duration.
Transcript: Unofficial internal transcript is acceptable.
Resume
Internship Statement: For an internship, include a supervisor statement or offer letter
Faculty Recommendation: For independent research, 1 letter of recommendation from your faculty supervisor to be submitted via UFUNDs.
Students receiving an award must:
- Reply with confirmation that they accept the award
- Apply for and receive permission to proceed from Brown’s IRB before conducting research involving human subjects
- If traveling abroad, register with Global TravelSafe

POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS

Students receiving awards drawing from named funds will be required to submit a 1–2-page reflective essay
If the student is unable to travel, attend the program, complete the internship, or conduct research after the award has been distributed, they will be required to return the award money in full
If the original project was modified, an updated budget and travel expense accounting is required. Money not accounted for in the modified budget must be returned.

Post-Award Report Due Dates:
September 30 for Summer Term

CONTACT: For more information email iapa@brown.edu.

Apply in UFUNDs

Conference Grants and Opportunities

IAPA CONFERENCE TRAVEL GRANTS

IAPA Conference Travel Grants provide financial support for undergraduates concentrating in International and Public Affairs who would like to travel to attend a conference related to their track and focus area. Preference will be given to students who have not already received an IAPA Conference Travel Grant.

APPLICATION DEADLINES
For academic year 2025-26

September 15, 2025 - fall conferences
December 1, 2025 - winter conferences
March 30, 2026 - spring and summer conferences

AWARD AMOUNT

Up to $500

ELIGIBILITY

Concentrators in good academic standing with an approved ASK declaration in International and Public Affairs
Summer conference travel grants not available to graduating seniors

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Personal Statement: A 1-2-page personal statement explaining how attending this conference will contribute to your education in International and Public Affairs, focusing specifically on your track and focus area within your track.
Budget: provide a detailed budget including the conference registration fee and your travel expenses.
Transcript: Unofficial internal transcript is acceptable.
Resume
Faculty Recommendation: 1 letter of recommendation
Students receiving an award must:
- Reply that they accept the award
- If traveling abroad, register with Global TravelSafe

POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS

Students receiving awards drawing from named funds will be required to submit a 1–2-page reflective essay, including 1-2 photographs if applicable
If the student is unable to travel, attend the program, complete the internship, or conduct research after the award has been distributed, they will be required to return the award money in full
If the original project was modified, an updated budget and travel expense accounting is required. Money not accounted for in the modified budget must be returned.

Post-Award Report Due Dates:
September 30 for Summer Term
January 31 for Winter Break

CONTACT: For more information please email iapa@brown.edu.

Apply in UFUNDs

Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA)

The Student Conference on US Affairs is an annual four-day conference hosted at The United States Military Academy at West Point. The purpose of the conference is to facilitate interaction and constructive discussion between civillian student delegates and West Point cadets in order to better understand the challenges that the United States faces in an increasingly global society. SCUSA delegates attend panel discussions, hear from high-profile keynotes speakers, and develop policy recommendations during roundtable sessions.

ELIGIBILITY

Concentrators in good academic standing with an approved ASK declaration in International and Public Affairs

AWARD AMOUNT

Award covers conference registration fees and travel costs

APPLICATION DEADLINE
For fall 2025 Conference

September 6, 2025 for Fall Term

Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC)

The Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference has become a way of bringing together the nation's future Navy and Marine Corps officers with their peers from other colleges and universities, both civilian and military, from across the country and around the world. Participants include prominent politicians, leading academics and public intellectuals, government officials, and foreign dignitaries—providing a unique forum for scholarly discourse.

Eligibility: All Brown Undergraduates
Amount of Award: Award covers conference registration fees and travel costs

Application Deadlines

TBD for Spring term conference dates

Examples of Funded Projects

Title	Type
Project Access Austria and McKinsey & Company Vienna Professional Development and Networking Event	Conference
Threat to Human Security: Vulnerabilities in Space-Based Infrastructure Critical to Natural Disaster Response research in collaboration with UNOOSA (the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs)	Conference
DUKE-UNC CHINA LEADERSHIP SUMMIT	Conference
AI Governance Global Conference in Boston	Conference
EAG X Latin America 2024 Conference	Conference
2024 American Educational Research Association Conference, Research Paper Title: “Strategic Niceness:” A Study of Middle-Class Latinx Parents' School Involvement in San Antonio, Texas	Conference/Research
State Department internship with the US Mission to the Human Rights Council	Internship
Research Internship, Center on the United States and Europe, Foreign Policy (Brookings)	Internship
Foreign Policy Interrupted Editorial Intern	Internship
Research Internship at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Office of the Investor Advocate)	Internship
Digital Content Creation Intern at Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development	Internship
Research Internship, Center on the United States and Europe, Foreign Policy (Brookings)	Internship
Research Internship at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Office of the Investor Advocate)	Internship
Fall Intern for CARE in the Office of the President	Internship
Internship with Eleison Foundation: survivor-centered and evidence-based approaches to combat human trafficking and gender-based violence in the Philippines	Internship/Research
Research and Events Internship, Center on the United States and Europe, Foreign Policy, Job ID: 2021-2629	Internship/Thesis
Language study in Amman, Jordan	Language
Language study in Florianopolis, Brazil	Language
Language study in Quetzaltenango,Guatemala	Language
Language study in Geneva, Switzerland	Language
Language Study in the Humbodlt Program in Germany	Language
Collaborative Graphic Novel Anthology Project with Scarlet ChaCha and Red Canary Song (working project name)	Project/Research
Distorted Memories: Nostalgia and its Inaccuracies in Cold War Coming-of-Age Literature	Project/Research
Children at the Border: The Effects of U.S. Immigration Policies on the Experiences of Migrant Children	Project/Research
Confining Contradictions and Transformative Collaborations at the Intersection of Anti-Trafficking and Prison Abolition with Professor Shih	Project/Research
The Intersections of Housing, Mass-Incarceration, and Policing — Comparative and Domestic Research Study	Project/Research
Between Empire and Post-Colonial Nation-Building: A Case Study of French India’s Decolonization in Chandernagore and Pondicherry (1947-1954)	Project/Research
Participatory preservation, construction, and transformation: Ethnic architecture of Indonesia under global development	Project/Research
El Camino de Santiago	Project/Research
In the Margins of History: Uncovering Queer Stories in Korean History	Project/Research
Repairing Global Democratic Erosion & Confronting Domestic Extremism in the US Military by Analyzing the US Mil's Branding	Project/Research

Funding Sources

Some International and Public Affairs and Watson Grants will be awarded using funds given in honor or memory of people associated with the Watson School or Brown University or who exemplify the spirit of Watson and Brown. Students whose grants draw from these funds will be informed of their funding source and will be asked to provide a reflective essay about their experience for the funder. Fund recipients may list the name of their grant on their resume.

The Michael Bhatia Fund for Peacekeeping and Conflict Studies was established in memory of Michael Vinay Bhatia '99, who died in May 2008 in Afghanistan, where he was working as a social scientist in consultation with the U.S. military. The Bhatia fund underwrites thesis or independent research for IAPA concentrators working on peacekeeping and conflict studies. It will be awarded to a student who, like Michael Bhatia ’99, hopes to deepen their understanding of a region or culture by traveling and studying there, with the goal of helping to promote cross-cultural understanding that might end or avert violence or military conflict.

The Richard C. Barker Award provides financial support to IAPA undergraduates for thesis and independent research, internships, and conference participation.

The Birkelund Fund provides financial support to Brown undergraduates for independent research and internships related to foreign policy and diplomacy.

The Kochon Fund provides financial support to Brown undergraduates for independent research and academic activities related to Korea.

The Jack Ringer Fellowship provides financial support to Brown undergraduates for thesis and independent research in Southeast Asia, through the generosity of Jack Ringer '52, who served in Burma after graduating from Brown.

The Marla Ruzicka International Public Service Fellowship provides financial support to one Brown student doing international public service during the summer. The fund is named for Marla Ruzicka, whose compassion, determination, and selflessness in pursuit of international human rights, post-conflict rehabilitation, and international public service exemplify the values of the Watson School.

A dedicated human rights activist, Marla Ruzicka arrived in Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban to record the effects of conflict on civilian communities. She lobbied diligently and effectively to seek compensation for those families whose homes had been destroyed in the Afghan conflict. From Afghanistan, Marla went to Iraq. She founded the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), which was dedicated to assisting civilian victims of the conflict in Iraq. Marla's compassion and dedication touched all who met her, and her tragic death in April 2005 was deeply felt by those who had benefited from her selfless work. This fellowship has been made possible through the generosity of Lucinda B. Watson.