UIC receives IIE American Passport Project grant

The University of Illinois Chicago has been selected by the Institute of International Education, or IIE, to receive an IIE American Passport Project grant that will enable 25 UIC students to obtain a U.S. passport and support their study abroad journeys.

UIC is one of 40 institutions named to the inaugural cohort for the grant, which is intended to promote diversity, inclusion, access and equity in study abroad opportunities.

A portion of the grant funds will be used to award the first group of the UIC Chancellor’s FirstGen Flames Abroad Scholars with funding to obtain their passports. Remaining grants will be available to new first-year, first-generation college students in the fall through passport workshops facilitated by the Study Abroad Office at UIC. More details will be available via the Study Abroad Office’s website in the fall semester.

“We are thrilled to be named a recipient of this inaugural nationally competitive grant as it directly aligns with our mission to increase access to study abroad for UIC students,” said Kyle Rausch, executive director of UIC’s Study Abroad Office. “We know that cost is of paramount concern, especially to students who are traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, so we hope that by removing the initial barrier of obtaining a passport we can motivate first-generation, first-year students to consider studying abroad.”

IIE, a nonprofit with 17 offices and affiliates worldwide, designs and manages more than 200 scholarship, study abroad, workforce training and leadership development programs with participants from over 180 countries.