Eligibility Criteria:

1. The grant competition is open to accredited U.S. colleges and universities physically based in the United States or its territories with a broad range of capacity to administer study abroad programs. This includes institutions that currently have limited or no experience administering study abroad programs as well as those with established programs;
2. Proposals must support primarily U.S. undergraduate student mobility abroad, although graduate student participation in programs is allowed. Proposals do not need to support the creation or expansion of a specific study abroad program. The IDEAS Program welcomes innovative ideas for how to build (or rebuild) study abroad capacity on campus or nationally, for example, through the development of virtual activities to complement in-person exchanges;
3. Funding may not be used to support direct outbound or inbound student costs, including but not limited to scholarships, travel, passports, tuition, or meals for U.S. or foreign students. Funds may be used to support U.S. faculty and/or staff travel overseas as well as travel for foreign faculty and/or staff to come to the United States to support program development. Group travel or program costs such as ground transportation, room rental, or cultural visit or tour fees that include both faculty and student participants are allowable. These group costs should be limited to no more than 5% of the total budget. All grant-funded travel must comply with the Fly America Act;
4. While an institution as a whole may submit more than one proposal, individual units within an institution (i.e., schools, colleges, offices) may submit only one application each. If an institution is organized into a single school or college, it may only submit one proposal. Individual campuses within wider university systems will be considered separate institutions.
   1. Example 1: The School of Business of X University and the School of Nursing at the same X University may each submit separate proposals.
   2. Example 2: Within the School of Business of X University, the Marketing Department and Finance Department may only submit one proposal total.
   3. Example 3: The School of Business of X University – City A and the School of Business of X University – City B may each submit separate proposals.
5. IDEAS grants can support the development of in-person study abroad programming in foreign locations with a U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Level 1, 2, or 3. Development of in-person programming in foreign locations with a U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Level 4 is not permitted.
   1. In the event that a proposal is selected for an IDEAS grant and the destination changes to a Level 4, the recipient may be required to change their program location or other planned program activities to align with U.S. Department of State travel policies.
   2. The IDEAS Program reserves the right to request program changes for specific countries or areas if deemed necessary during any stage of the application, selection process, or program period. Final awards are contingent upon the availability of funds and the security situation in-country. Furthermore, grant-funded overseas travel and in-person activities abroad may be suspended in consultation with the U.S. Embassy in-country during the course of the program.
   3. Note: If selected for an IDEAS grant, institutions using funds to support travel to foreign locations will be required to share travel and safety information with the IDEAS Program, and those traveling to Level 3 locations will need to provide additional safety details. More information will be provided on this following award issuance.
6. IDEAS grants can support the development of virtual study abroad programming in all foreign locations, regardless of their U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory level.