The Research Immersion grants support meaningful hands-on experiences for USC students interested in global health issues. The objective is to enhance the recruitment of diverse students into research and practice careers in global health. The Research Immersion is funded by the USC Institute for Global Health.

All USC undergraduate, graduate, and pre-doctoral students including (but not limited to) students in Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business, Cinema, Medicine, Public Health, and International Studies are eligible to apply. Students who will be completing their studies prior to their travel/research are not eligible to apply. Applicants will be selected based on their academic performance, quality of their proposal, and evidence of a sincere interest in a global health career.

Travel must occur while you are a matriculated student and must be a minimum of 1 month abroad. Group funding will be considered. During the Research Immersion students will blog about their experience on the USC Global Health Blog. After having completed fieldwork abroad, recipients are required to submit a 10 page report, a brief summary of their Research Immersion experience, and do a 30 minute presentation as part of the USC’s annual Global Health Awareness Week.

Students must identify a faculty advisor willing to support their application and provide mentoring. Typically, the student will work at an international site where the faculty advisor has on-going research activities. Students will be selected to participate in hands-on research in developing countries or with key institutions engaged in global health research and practice. The program includes $3,000 for undergraduate students and $5,000 for graduate students to support travel and field research for up to three months.

Applications Due: February 1, 2010
Award Announcement: March 15, 2010
Travel/implement project: May-August 2010
Project Summary Report Due: 30 days following project completion

Interested students should submit application form, letter of intent, and budget electronically to:

Ivette Flores Guintu, Program Manager
Institute for Global Health
University of Southern California
Tel: 323 865 0419
Fax: 323 865 0127
Email: ieflores@usc.edu