Vredenburg Travel Fund

About

The Vredenburg Travel Fund offers strong Johns Hopkins engineering students the opportunity to apply their engineering, technology, or applied science skills and training in an international setting. The Fund encourages engineering majors of any discipline to broaden their engineering experience by giving them the chance to participate in international experiential activities through collaboration, investigation, and application.

Current engineering sophomores and juniors may apply for the Vredenburg Travel Fund by proposing a 7 to 10 week international experience in the form of research, an internship (paid or unpaid), or a service project. Independent research projects are highly encouraged. Recipients of the Vredenburg Travel Fund will participate in a summer course, Life Design Summer Experience Practicum (LDSEP), offered by the Life Design Lab during their summer of funding. The fall after returning from their summer abroad, recipients prepare and present their experiences during a public poster session.

Projects can be funded to a maximum of $10,000; the typical range of the Vredenburg Travel Fund is between $5,000 and $8,000, depending on the location of the experience, additional funding sources, and other associated costs. The Fund prioritizes airfare, housing, food, and other reasonable expenses associated with the international experience. Financial need will not be a factor in the selection of the recipients and funding of the proposals, however, Vredenburg funding may impact a student’s financial aid package. Students with demonstrated financial need may be eligible for an additional stipend upon return.

The Vredenburg Travel Fund does not cover traditional “study abroad” experiences. A research opportunity, internship, or service project proposal is required in order to apply.

What Does It Mean to Be a Vredenburg Awardee?

To be a Vredenburg awardee is to embody the spirits of ingenuity, integrity, and innovation; they are curious students who actively seek to integrate this unique international opportunity into their professional and personal development. To encourage and support this development over the summer, Vredenburg has partnered with the Life Design Lab. If selected for a summer scholarship, students are required to enroll in a 1-credit development course. The course is virtual, both synchronous and asynchronous, and offered at no-cost to students. The course, Life Design Summer Experience Practicum (LDSEP), provides students with a structured opportunity to apply Life Design to their summer immersive experience. Over the course of 8-weeks, students will use the principles and processes of design thinking to: 

• Reflect upon their values, identities, habits, and experiences and their relationship to the world of work & research 

• Deepen their understanding of potential professional pathways through conversations with colleagues, supervisors, and alumni 

• Test out these pathways through storytelling and the designing of new habits

By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate the ways in which their summer experience informs and supports their academic, professional, and personal ambitions. The course is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U).

Recipients of the Vredenburg Travel Fund are considered to be ambassadors of the experience and are expected to contribute towards promoting Vredenburg in the greater Hopkins community. The fall after returning from their summer abroad, recipients prepare and present their experiences during a public poster session. This poster session is not a standard research presentation, as it incorporates the reflections from the LDSEP course with the work done abroad. Awardees will also be recruited to work with the Vredenburg Administrator to co-host information sessions in the fall.

Prior to their departure, Vredenburg awardees must attend a mandatory in-person Pre-departure Orientations for GEO in April and a LDSEP Orientation on May 1, 2026.

Current sophomores and juniors of any engineering discipline may apply for the Vredenburg Travel Fund by proposing a 6-to-9-week international experience in the form of research, an internship (paid or unpaid), or a service project. Independent research projects are highly encouraged. Dual-majors are permitted to apply, however only students with engineering as their primary major are eligible. At the time of travel, selected students will be rising juniors and seniors who will be returning to JHU for at least one full term post-travel. Students enrolled in a 3+1 program, classified as a graduate student, or graduating early are ineligible.

Projects can be funded to a maximum of $8,000; the typical range of a Vredenburg Travel Fund is between $5,000 and $8,000 depending on the location of the experience, additional funding sources, and other associated costs. The Fund prioritizes airfare, housing, food, and other reasonable expenses associated with the international experience. Financial need will not be a factor in the selection of the recipients and funding of the proposals, however, Vredenburg funding may impact a student’s financial aid package.  However, students with demonstrated financial need may be eligible for an additional stipend upon return.

You may receive credit for your Vredenburg Travel Fund project/program as long as you are not paid and you have the support of your faculty advisor and, in the case of research or internships, a Hopkins faculty sponsor. If you intend to receive credit for your experience, you should fill out the necessary forms before you leave for the summer.

Finding Opportunities

The Global Education Office is the preeminent resource for students interested in any sort of international experience. We encourage students to explore programs available through the Global Education Office’s program database, but they support independent international activities as well.

Whether you are pursuing applied mathematics in Denmark, an independent research opportunity in materials science with a professor in Cairo, or doing an environmental engineering service project in Malaysia to combat water pollution, an appointment with a Global Education Advisor is necessary. Approval by the Global Education Office is required before you can proceed with your Vredenburg application. To schedule an appointment with a Global Education Advisor, please use their booking portal. The office provides both in-person and virtual advising appointments every weekday.

It will be important to see what, if any, type of visa, vaccination proof, and/or other documentation may be needed depending on the proposed project location. It is advised that students begin looking into these things well before the application deadline.

Apply

If you are interested in studying abroad or applying for the Vredenburg Travel Fund, we highly encourage you to talk to your Academic Advisor first, as they can provide you with ongoing support and guidance throughout the process.

Applications to the Vredenburg Travel Fund must be submitted by the 3rd Friday in February at 11:59 PM. The applications for Summer 2026 open November 3, 2025 and student submissions are due February 20, 2026. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted, no exceptions.

Timeline and Deadlines for 2026

Application Process

A complete application will contain the following components:

• Intent to Apply form
• Project Proposal form
• Letter of recommendation from a WSE faculty member
• Commitment from a host
• Approval by Global Education Advisor
• CV/Resume

Click below to read the full application information and begin your intent to apply.

Helpful Resources

Use any of the various links below to help you with your application, funding, and travel planning process.

Finding Funding

• LDL Summer Scholarships
• GEO Scholarships
• Study Abroad | Johns Hopkins Student Financial Support
• HOUR Funding

Travel Planning

• GEO Practical Guide

Travel Policy

Johns Hopkins University does not permit undergraduates to travel for university affiliated purposes (e.g. study abroad, research, independent study, internships, field work, etc.) or to use university funding for international travel to “high risk areas” as determined by the Department of State (DOS), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), University Risk Management, or other university international travel consultants. This includes countries under a Level 3 (reconsider travel) or 4 (do not travel) advisory with the U.S. DOS/CDC. The university will consider petitions for travel to Level 3 destinations on a case-by-case basis, but not for Level 4 destinations. Read the full policy for all details.