Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Grants

These grants are available to any faculty of a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) in Texas who are pursuing scholarly research dedicated to Europe.

These funds may be used for travel domestically or internationally for research on Europe-related topics, although in some instances the funding may be used to attend and/or present a paper at a conference if the applicant can demonstrate that doing so will markedly enhance their work on a research project. 

Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis and will be awarded until funds are exhausted. Should funds reach a critical minimum before the final deadline, announcements will be posted on CES' website, Facebook, and Twitter accounts.   Priority application review deadlines:

• February 16, 2024
• February 29, 2024

All travel must be pre-approved by the U.S. Department of Education and submitted to CES at least thirty days before purchase of tickets.

All travel must be completed by August 1, 2024 and receipts submitted to CES by August 7, 2024. 

Please work with your home institution to fulfill any travel-related requirements and/or paperwork that might be requested by your institution and/or CES. 

The online application allows for submission of required materials in PDF format via Microsoft Forms. 

Important information regarding UT Austin and US Department of Education Travel Policies

International Travel

All flights to international destinations must abide by the Fly America Act and Open Skies Agreement. CES asks that all awardees do not purchase any tickets until your travel and flights have been approved by the folks at the Dept. of Education. These are federal guidelines and neither CES nor UT Austin staff have control over them.

Beyond institutional approvals, you will also need to obtain approval from the Dept. of Education to travel abroad. Currently, the Dept. of Education will approve requests ONLY to countries carrying the following Dept. of State-issued travel advisories:

• Level 1: Exercise normal precautions
• Level 2: Exercise increased caution
• Level 3: Reconsider travel

 The Dept. of Education will not permit NRC travel & research grant funds to be used toward travel, lodging, meals, etc. for countries that carry a “Level 4: Do not travel” warning. Should your country of destination’s warning be upgraded to “Level 4: Do not travel” after approval has been obtained, the department will retroactively rescind approval. Should this happen, CES staff will work with you to find alternative ways of using your funds.