Brussels Study Tour
The 2021 application is now live. Please apply through the University of Pittsburgh’s website.
Each year, the UNC Center for European Studies chooses a cohort of NC K-12 teachers, community college instructors, and HBCU/MSI faculty to join a study tour to Brussels, Belgium. This tour, organized by the University of Pittsburgh’s European Study Center is a five-day professional development opportunity to learn about the European Union in collaboration with university partners from across the nation. This study tour provides educators the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experiences that bolster an understanding of Europe and the EU.
Participants visit influential European institutions, attend high-level briefings with EU officials, and make valuable networking connections.
If accepted, CES provides reimbursement for one, round-trip transatlantic flight. Group hotel arrangements for the duration of the tour and all programmatic costs are covered as well. Meals, incidentals, and any additional travel costs remain the responsibility of the participant. The University of Pittsburgh requires a non-refundable administrative fee of $275 per applicant if you are selected by the tour.
Participants are asked to create a lesson plan or course module, reflecting new content learned from the tour.
To get an impression of the Study Tour, please look at a sample itinerary from the 2018 tour. View lesson plans created by past participants. More information specific to each type of awardee can be found below.
Tour Objectives
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The Brussels Study Tour aims to comprehensively impact the North Carolina education community in the following ways:
- Educator impact – This trip will tangibly contribute to the educators’ professional and personal development.
- Student impact – The information learned and connections made on this trip will be integrated into the classroom.
- Community impact – The resources, information, and connections will reach the participant’s education community, including their colleagues and school systems.

TESTIMONIALS
Educators from outside of North Carolina, please apply through The University of Pittsburgh.
NC K-12 Educators
The application consists of:
- Personal Information
- School & Teaching Information
- Written Statements
- Please consider the tour objectives when crafting your written statement.
NC COMM. COLLEGE, MSI/HBCU FACULTY
The application consists of:
- Personal Information
- School & Teaching Information
- Written Statements
- Please consider the tour objectives when crafting your written statement.
Strong preference will be given to NC community college applicants from institutions participating in the NC Global Distinction Program,
From 2017-2019, Brussels Study Tours were supported by a Getting to Know Europe grant from the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.