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The 2024 application opens November 22, 2024, and the deadline to apply is January 10, 2025. Please apply through the University of Pittsburgh’s website. 

For K-12 teachers, community college instructors, and MSI/HBCU faculty

In cooperation with the European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and the European and Eurasian Studies Program at Florida International University, each summer the University of North Carolina’s Center for European Studies plans a week-long study tour to Brussels, Belgium, for educators to learn about the European Union.  With funding from Center’s National Resource Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education, CES will provide funds to support summer study tours of Brussels for K-12 educators, and faculty teaching at community colleges or minority serving institutions (Title III- or Title V-eligible institutions).  This study tour will provide you with the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experiences to further your understanding of Europe and the European Union. 

Participants visit influential European institutions, attend high-level briefings with EU officials, and make valuable networking connections.

Grants will provide up to $1,500 toward the cost of airfare to Brussels, six (6) nights shared accommodation in our contracted four-star hotel located conveniently in Brussels’ European Quarter, and breakfasts for six (6) days. In addition, the ESC at Pitt and CES at UNC will host one group dinner during the tour. Participants will be responsible for all additional meals, any additional costs for transportation, and all incidental expenses. There will also be a non-refundable fee of $275 USD charged to all participants to cover administrative costs.

As a requirement of the grant, participants will submit a lesson plan or syllabus module in August that shows how they will incorporate what they learned into the classroom.

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.

A picture of the 2018 Brussels Study Tour group.

TESTIMONIALS

“I’ve taught international relations for many years, but I’ve never felt as close to my teaching material as I did on the Brussels Study Tour. This experience will be invaluable to me as I step back into my classroom this fall..” – 2019 Participant
“Participating in the trip was transformative for my teaching about the EU.” – 2018 Participant
“Overall, I had a fantastic time and learned a tremendous amount about the EU and the EU/US relations. I’m very grateful for this opportunity.” – 2017 Participant

Tour Objectives

    1. The Brussels Study Tour aims to comprehensively impact the North Carolina education community in the following ways:

      1. Educator impact – This trip will tangibly contribute to the educators’ professional and personal development.
      2. Student impact – The information learned and connections made on this trip will be integrated into the classroom.
      3. Community impact – The resources, information, and connections will reach the participant’s education community, including their colleagues and school systems.

Past Itineraries

Educators from outside of North Carolina can also apply through The University of Pittsburgh.

NC K-12 Educators

The application consists of:

      1. Personal Information
      2. School & Teaching Information
      3. Written Statements
        • Please consider the tour objectives when crafting your written statement.
Any teacher currently teaching in a K-12 public, private, or charter North Carolina school

NC COMM. COLLEGE, MSI/HBCU FACULTY

The application consists of:

      1. Personal Information
      2. School & Teaching Information
      3. Written Statements
        • Please consider the tour objectives when crafting your written statement.
Any Community College instructor currently teaching at a North Carolina community college or faculty member of a NC-system MSI/HBCU

Strong preference will be given to NC community college applicants from institutions participating in the NC Global Distinction Program,

EU flag with text that says This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of its author and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.From 2017-2022, Brussels Study Tours were supported by a Getting to Know Europe grant from the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.