The Department of Global Health manages fellowships that offer financial assistance to graduate and professional students at the University of Washington to help support in-depth fieldwork experiences in global health. 

All travel fellowship recipients must abide by all fellowship, Department of Global Health, and University of Washington policies that pertain to travel under the fellowship. Failure to do so may result in the withdrawal of a fellowship.

Warren George Povey Endowed Fund for Global Health Fellowship

The Warren George Povey Endowed Fund for Global Health Fellowship provides financial assistance of up to $4,000 to students at the University of Washington to support their travel. First preference will be given to full-time graduate students working toward a degree in the Department of Global Health, or undergraduate students enrolled in the Public Health-Global Health major or Global Health Minor. Preference will also be given to students studying or engaged in work related to maternal, reproductive and child health in low-income settings. 

The Warren George Povey Endowed Fund for Global Health Fellowship 2024-2025 application is now open. The application deadline is April 3, 2024 at 11:59pm PST. The application and instructions may be downloaded here.

Department of Global Health Fieldwork Travel Funding

The Department of Global Health offers student travel support up to $4000 to complete global health activities abroad as part student education at the University of Washington.  Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until May 1, 2024 or as funds are remaining, and should be submitted around 90 days prior to proposed travel dates.

The application is now open. The full application, including eligibility information and instructions, may be downloaded here.

 

DGH Travel Funding is generously supported by the Thomas Francis, Jr. Global Health Fellowship and the Stergachis Endowed Fellowship for International Exchange. (Global Mental Health Fellowships and GO Health Fellowships are not being offered in the 2024 cycle, updates will be shared as they are available.) You can learn more about recent travel fellowship recipients here.

The purpose of the Stergachis Endowed Fellowship for International Exchange is to promote global health by providing financial assistance to graduate or professional students who would like to work on public health projects in developing countries, preferably in Uganda.   

 

Robin Klabbers, PhD in Global Health Metrics and Implementation Science, Department of Global Health, 2023 Stergachis Endowed Fellowship for International Exchange recipient  

Country of travel: Uganda 

Robin Klabbers

Robin’s research is a part of the Head StART study, a cluster randomized trial taking place at health centers in refugee settlements in mid- and southwestern Uganda. The study is a collaboration between the University of Washington, the Infectious Diseases Institute at Makerere University in Uganda, and Medical Teams International and focuses on investigating whether community antiretroviral therapy (ART) delivery can improve viral suppression among refugees newly diagnosed with HIV in refugee settlements. Currently, this form of differentiated service delivery, in which people living with HIV (PLHIV) form groups and take turns collecting the group’s HIV medication from the health center and bringing it to the others in the community, is only available to PLHIV who are “stable in care” and are already virally suppressed. We are interested in studying community ART delivery for refugees newly diagnosed with HIV because we hypothesize that the social support and assistance in overcoming barriers to care that community ART delivery offers, would be especially beneficial during the time following a new HIV diagnosis. If community ART delivery is shown to be effective for this new population, this research could help inform a change in Ugandan HIV guidelines and promote early HIV care engagement in refugee settlements.

The purpose of the Thomas Francis, Jr. Global Health Fellowship is to promote global health by providing financial assistance to graduate or professional students who would like to gain practical global health field experience in international and/or underserved community settings. Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr. taught Dr. Jonas Salk the methodology of vaccine development, and designed and directed the Salk polio vaccine clinical trials. 

 

Floria Nyandaya, Global Health Master’s in Public Health, Department of Global Health, 2023 Thomas Francis, Jr. Global Health Fellowship recipient 

Country of travel: Nigeria 

Floria Nyandaya

Floria travelled to Lagos, Nigeria, to conduct a landscape analysis of diversity gaps in cancer drug clinical trials and evaluate phase III clinical trial readiness at the Marcelle Ruth Cancer Center in collaboration with Hurone AI. With a passion for improving oncology health disparities among underrepresented populations, Floria seeks to utilize digital health technologies to enhance clinical trials and augment treatment and care in resource-constrained settings. Her collaborative work will promote trial diversity, leading to more accurate and representative outcomes for approved cancer drugs in diverse settings. By leveraging machine learning, Floria's practicum aims to democratize access to affordable, equitable, and context-specific oncology care, benefiting patients in Nigeria and individuals of African descent. 

 

 

Viviana Alban, PhD in Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, 2023 Thomas Francis, Jr. Global Health Fellowship recipient 

Country of travel: Ecuador 

Viviana Alban

Viviana travelled to Quito, Ecuador, to conduct a summer project investigating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns in E. coli strains isolated from animal fecal samples. The scientific data will constitute baseline information for her research plans and provide valuable information on AMR profiles and potential risks associated with different animal types in a low-and middle-income country. Leading this project will contribute to her growth as an early career researcher on animal-to-human AMR transmission and child health. This travel constituted an opportunity to build technical capacity in-country and to work closely with Ecuadorian undergraduate and graduate students. 

Additional Funding & Fieldwork Programs

Many Departments and Centers at the University of Washington offer fieldwork experience and some offer funding. Discover additional opportunities by visiting their websites.

Travel Preparation

Information on UW administrative processes for global travel, education and research can be found on the Office of Global Affairs website. Please consult your program, department, or school for their specific requirements including orientations or documentation.

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University of Washington Hall Health Travel Clinic offers pre-travel counseling, immunizations, and health advice for adults and children who are planning to travel out of the U.S. or Canada. The clinic is a Washington State Department of Health-designated center for yellow fever vaccine. Pre-travel consultations are available by appointment. Travelers will be asked to complete a questionnaire regarding travel plans. It is important to bring all immunization records available. Because several weeks may be required to complete a needed vaccine series, we recommend the initial appointment be held at least 4 weeks before departure. You should telephone for an appointment two weeks before that, if possible. When this is not possible, the clinic will meet your travel health needs as completely as the time allows.

Additional clinic locations are listed on the UW Medicine Travel Medicine page.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention Traveler's Health Health information for specific destinations and what to know before you depart.

The UW Department of Global Health has compiled a sexual misconduct resource guide for students that provides information on organizations that assist UW students and employees who have experienced sexual misconduct if they are in the US or abroad. The UW Office of the Title IX Coordinator also has excellent resources.

A comprehensive list of insurance for UW staff and faculty can be found through the Global Operations Support. For UW students traveling abroad on official UW programs, please see information on Study Abroad Insurance. For international visitors to the UW, visit the International Students and Scholars "Other Insurance" page.

WITH UW

For students traveling with UW programs, contact UW Study Abroad for the University of Washington travel registry, For individual students, staff, and faculty traveling abroad on UW official business, contact the International Travel and Security Manager, Pascal Schuback, schuback@uw.edu. 

WITH THE US STATE DEPARTMENT

For US Citizens, register your travel with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. When you sign up, you will automatically receive the most current information we compile about the country where you will be traveling or living.  You will also receive updates, including Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts (where appropriate).

For non-US Citizens travelling abroad, please contact your embassy for travel registration and documentation for international travel.

U.S. Department of State, Consular Services
Passports, visas and consulate information for U.S. citizens and citizens of foreign countries. Also includes information about international law and policy. To find out more information about traveling safely abroad visit the U.S. State Department Students Abroad page.