Travel Awards

Starting in spring 2023, the McGill Global Health Programs office will offer travel awards on a rolling basis. Please carefully review the information below to see what is currently available.

COVID – 19  and Travel

While McGill has lifted the travel restrictions in place during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains as important as ever to be vigilant and to consider the risks. Review the McGill Guidelines for safe travel.

Background

McGill Global Health Programs (GHP) Travel Awards support McGill students and residents with travel funding for global health electives, fellowships, practicums, research projects, and other global health-related initiatives.

Travelling to international settings for a clinical or research placement requires careful thought and planning. Please consult our international electives and placements page for more information and resources.

Awards Currently Accepting Applications

The chart below details the awards currently available and their eligibility criteria. Click on the award name for more information about award criteria and eligibility. If an award description mentions a “developing country", or a "low or middle-income country", it refers to the World Bank listings (countries up to and including “upper-middle-income economies”). For awards mentioning "underserved" or "under-resourced" areas or populations, applicants must make the case in their application essay that their placement fills the requirement.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only McGill students and residents in good standing are eligible to apply.
• Awardees must remain registered as full-time or part-time McGill students or residents for the entire trip funded via their travel award.
• Applications should be submitted at least 6 weeks before the start of travel.
• Travel completed before the application is submitted is not eligible.
• While the project does not need to be supervised by a McGill Professor, you do need to have the support of a McGill professor with experience in the research or field in question. We expect the McGill professor to look at the project and recognize it as relevant. You will need to provide the name and email address of that professor in your application.
• GHP only funds travel to countries and regions with a Government of Canada travel advisory risk level of Level-1 (“take normal security precautions”) or Level-2 (“exercise a high degree of caution”).
  • Travel to countries or regions with a Government of Canada travel advisory risk level of Level-3 (“Avoid all non-essential travel”) is only possible with written approval from the Deputy Provost. Please see McGill Abroad's Travel Exemption Request page for further instructions.
  • Travel to countries or regions with a Government of Canada travel advisory risk level Level-4 (“Avoid all travel”) is not eligible.
  • Review the latest Government of Canada travel advisories.
• Students/residents are only eligible for one award from the GHP office per trip.
• Criteria for the Bubbie and Nanny Global Health Travel Award, and the Dr. Alice Benjamin Global Maternal and Child Health Fund may differ slightly and are explained in the award descriptions.
• GHP Travel Awards do not support:
  • Travel for conferences
  • Program costs or fees

Program Terms and Conditions

• GHP Travel Awards are non-transferable.
• Awardees must complete the mandatory Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) online Pre-Departure Training before travelling. The GHP office will contact awardees with instructions for enrollment.
• Awardees have 12 months to complete travel as described in your application from the day you receive your award letter.
• Any changes in travel plans (based on what was originally proposed) must be communicated to and approved by the GHP office ahead of time in order for the award to be honoured. Subject to GHP’s approval, awards may be deferred up to an additional six months, used for an elective or placement in another location, or declined.
• The applicant must provide a signed letter from their host organization or local supervisor (at your destination site) demonstrating the host's acceptance of your visit.
• For travel tied to a research project, the award winner must provide to GHP confirmation of IRB approval from both the host institution and McGill before departing.
• Awardees must register their travel via the McGill Student Travel Registry – the official safety app for McGill students travelling outside of the Greater Montreal area on university-related travel activities.
• Awardees must submit a post-travel report up to 6 weeks after their return.
• Awardees must present a poster on their research or project at GHP’s annual Global Health Night event, typically held in early November.

Application Instructions

Award-specific forms

The following awards have their specific forms and requirements. Please visit each page for all details.

• Global Health Award for Postgraduate Medical Residents
• Bubbie and Nanny Global Health Travel Award

General Application Form

Most travel awards use the same application form. The GHP office will determine which awards you are eligible for.

The following instructions apply to the following awards:

• Ashworth Student Travel Award
• Dr. Alice M. Chan‐Yip Humanitarian Global Health Initiatives Award
• Medical Class of '84 Student Bursary
• Luger-Mikelberg Travel Award for Global Health
• Mary A. Metcalf International Travel Fund

Application components

Note: applications must be submitted as one PDF file, containing the following elements in the order presented below. Please title the PDF using your first name and last name e.g. “Jane Doe.pdf”)

• Essay (2-3 pages max)
  • Briefly describe your placement/practicum/elective/research project (for instance, the site, timeframe, planned activities or clinical conditions you will encounter).
  • If you are travelling with a volunteer placement organization – for example, the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) or Child Family Health International – please mention that.
  • Why are you interested in this project? What do you hope to gain from the experience? How does this project link to your career path or ambitions?
  • McGill Students returning from placements abroad often note that they wish they had taken more time before travelling to learn about the cultural, religious, political and/or ethical contexts of their destination, and how to better deal with differences in opinions and behaviours (e.g. around issues such as homophobia, racism, practices relating to death, etc). Give three examples of challenges you anticipate that you will face in your destination and how you are preparing for those challenges ahead of time.
  • Discuss the potential impacts that your presence as a student studying in North America and completing a placement in a low-resource setting could have on the local community or site and the related ethical considerations.
• CV
• Signed letter from host organization or local supervisor (at your destination site) demonstrating the host's acceptance of your visit.
• Budget

Please use the below budget template. If any line items do not apply to your situation, please write ”N/A”.

Evaluation Criteria and process

Applications are evaluated by the Global Health Programs office as they are received. Reviewers look at the educational merit of the project, the applicant’s consideration for ethics, degree of self-reflection, the applicant’s CV, and the cost and budget presentation.

Applicants will receive a response within 15 business days of the application submission. As a reminder, you must submit your application at least 6 weeks before your travel start date.