Global Field Experience Financial Award - Application Opens January 17, 2023

The Global Field Experience Financial Award (GFEFA) is a unique scholarship offered by the Rollins School of Public Health. GFE Financial Awards provide supplemental funding to support Rollins student summer field experiences in low- and middle-income countries. The scholarship was started to encourage students interested in global health to participate in supervised field training which will facilitate the transfer of classroom knowledge into practical experiences.

The total amount of funding awarded each cycle will be based on availability of funds in a given year, the number of students who apply and the quality of the applications.

MSPH and MPH students from all departments are eligible to submit a proposal for a GFE Financial Award and must be enrolled at Rollins for the semester before their field experience to qualify for an award.

> View slides from 2023 GFA Financial Award Info Session
> View recording of GFEFA Info Session
> View examples of previously funded Global Field Experiences.

The GFE applications are open in mid-January and are due in March. Students can apply to receive a GFE Financial Award after they have completed 9 credit hours at Rollins.

Here is the planned award timeline:

Please note that the student will typically receive award funds 6-9 weeks after they have provided the necessary account information and completed the Award Acceptance Agreement. The award is meant to supplement the student’s funds. The GFE Award will typically NOT cover all costs that the students will incur for the international project.

To apply, students must develop and submit an application describing a project that is:

• Well-defined, rational, and feasible
• Integral to the student’s public health training
• Of measurable value to the host organization/community, and
• Based in a clearly articulated, mutually beneficial partnership

GFEFA Student, Project and Site Eligibility and Exclusion Criteria

Student

• The GFEFA applications are open to RSPH MPH and MPSH students pursuing summer fieldwork, usually between their first and second years. GFEFA is not available to accelerated MPH students.
• The field experience must be a minimum of six weeks, but average field experiences are between 10 ‐ 12 weeks.
• Students must be enrolled at RSPH or Emory for the semester following their field experience to qualify for a financial award (and to meet award requirements).

Project

• For the purposes of GFEFA, a field experience is defined as applying public health knowledge and skills in partnership with a community to advance the wellbeing of a population(s); this includes but is not limited to research projects.
• Funding is not provided for student travel that can be categorized as medical- or public health-"tourism;" short term mission opportunities; or shadowing clinicians in settings abroad. Students are also warned not to fall prey to third-party companies that "sell" experiences in LMIC and call these APE even though they do not offer public health supervision nor a specific implementation/research partner. Such organizations often charge for a services such as tuition, enrollment, or registration. If you are not sure if your site is eligible, please contact Dr. McFarland.
• If a project will consist only of data analysis or lab-based work, the applicant will need to justify why those activities require a student to be in-country.

Site

• The review committee gives priority consideration to eligible fieldwork that takes place in low- and middle-income (LMIC) nations as defined by the World Bank or within indigenous regions, e.g. tribal designated statistical areas (TDSAs), land base or reservations.
• Consideration will be given to projects in the United States and other high-income countries for specific projects related to underserved or marginal populations, e.g. refugee populations in Belgium, post-hurricane environmental data collection in Puerto Rico or Zika virus education and surveillance in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• The review committee will not consider applications to countries with a U.S. State Department Level 4 warning at the time of application. Should the risk of a project site escalate after funds are awarded, additional criteria may apply and there is a chance the trip may not occur at all. In addition, travel to all countries under trade or economic embargoes by the United States government (OFAC) and Afghanistan require a specific endorsement by Emory's international insurance carrier.
• There may be modified site eligibility in Summer 2022 based on pandemic situations.*
• Students may APPLY here

*Fieldwork may take place in the U.S. in person and/or virtually per CDC COVID-19 Safety Guidelines and Emory University policies regarding Emory-sponsored travel.

Contact dmcfar@emory.edu or gferequests@emory.edu for more information.