Travel abroad scholarships are awards that pay for the trip itself, and the strongest programs treat international airfare as an eligible cost or build the travel into the grant. Tuition scholarships fund classes at a foreign university. Travel-focused awards solve a different problem: the $1,200 flight, the passport fee, the visa fee and the insurance bill that arrive before the term even starts. Students planning a study trip, a field course or one study-abroad term can stack these awards against the travel budget line by line. Several of the programs below come from the United States (U.S.) Department of State, so the funding rules are published, fixed and free to apply for.
What Travel Abroad Scholarships Actually Pay For
Travel abroad scholarships pay for international airfare, passport and visa fees, travel insurance and local transportation, and some programs pay for room and board on top of the travel costs. Two funding models dominate the field. Fully funded programs arrange or reimburse the journey directly, so the student never fronts the airfare. Flexible cash awards hand the student a grant that the student then spends on eligible costs, with airfare on the approved list. A sophomore from Ohio flying to a summer field course in Costa Rica, for example, can charge the round-trip ticket to a flexible award and keep tuition money untouched. Applicants should read the eligible-cost list of each program before applying, because a program that excludes airfare will not reimburse a ticket later.
Travel Abroad Scholarships and Grants at a Glance
Seven established programs fund travel costs for study trips abroad, and the awards range from a $1,000 travel grant to a fully funded summer with airfare included. The table below compares the programs on award size, travel coverage and eligibility. One line deserves a close look before the details: the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) row, because the Critical Language Scholarship covers domestic and international airfare, visa fees, tuition, room and board for an 8 to 10 week summer institute.
| Program | Award | Travel Costs Covered | Who Qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship | Up to $5,000, plus supplements | International airfare, passport and visa fees, insurance, local transportation | U.S. undergraduate students receiving a Federal Pell Grant |
| Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) | Fully funded summer program | Domestic and international airfare, visa fees, program travel in the host country | U.S. undergraduate and graduate students |
| Fulbright U.S. Student Program | Full grant for one academic year | Round-trip transportation to the host country | U.S. citizens with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent |
| Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) | Up to $10,000 per academic year | Grant paid to the student for study abroad costs on programs of 28 days or longer | U.S. undergraduate students with financial need |
| Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) | Up to $7,000 per academic year | Airfare, basic living costs, local transportation, books | U.S. undergraduates with financial need studying in East or Southeast Asia |
| Boren Awards | Up to $25,000 per academic year | Grant budget for overseas language study outside Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand | U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who accept a federal service requirement |
| Tortuga Study Abroad Scholarship | $1,000 plus 1 travel backpack | Award usable for travel, tuition, room and board or books | Full-time U.S. undergraduates in a credit-bearing semester program |
Gilman Scholarship: The Main Airfare-Friendly Award for Pell Grant Students
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship pays up to $5,000, and the Gilman eligible-cost list names international airfare, passport and visa fees, insurance and local transportation. Nearly 3,000 scholarships go out in one academic year, which makes Gilman the largest single source of travel funding for American undergraduates. Eligibility turns on one document: the applicant must receive a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application or during the study abroad term. Supplements raise the ceiling for specific plans. The Critical Need Language Award adds up to $3,000 for intensive study of a language such as Arabic, Chinese or Swahili in a country where the language is spoken, and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Supplemental Award adds up to $1,000 for STEM coursework, research or internships abroad. A nursing student from Texas heading to a health internship in Ghana, for example, could combine the base award with the STEM supplement and reach $6,000. Two related awards use the same application family: the Gilman-McCain Scholarship pays $5,000 to child and spousal dependents of active duty service members, and the newer Gilman Skills for America Scholarship pays up to $5,000 to students at two-year colleges with no extra essay and no minimum program length.
Fully Funded Programs That Arrange the Travel: CLS and Fulbright
The Critical Language Scholarship and the Fulbright U.S. Student Program both put transportation inside the grant, so recipients do not buy the ticket first and claim the money later. CLS sends American undergraduate and graduate students to intensive language institutes abroad for 8 to 10 weeks each summer. The program pays for international and domestic travel between the student’s home city and the program site, visa application fees where applicable, tuition, room and board, and program-sponsored travel inside the host country. A graduate student from Michigan studying Hindi in Jaipur, for example, receives the flights, the visa fee and housing as one package. Fulbright works on a longer clock. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards more than 2,000 grants a year across more than 140 countries for graduate study, research and English teaching assistant placements, and grant benefits include round-trip transportation to the host country, a living allowance for the academic year and limited health benefits. Applicants need a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent before the grant starts, so final-year undergraduates typically apply in the autumn of the senior year.
Fund for Education Abroad and Freeman-ASIA: Need-Based Grants for the Flight and the Term
The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) pays up to $10,000 for an academic year, up to $5,000 for a semester and a minimum of $1,250 for summer programs, and FEA sends the money directly to the student. Direct payment matters for travel costs, because the student can book the flight when fares are low instead of waiting for a university bursar. FEA eligibility requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residence, undergraduate enrollment and a study abroad program that runs at least 28 days in the host country. Freeman-ASIA targets one region. The program funds U.S. undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who study in East or Southeast Asia, and the award assists with airfare, basic living costs, local transportation and books. Award ceilings sit at $3,000 for a summer program, $5,000 for a semester and $7,000 for an academic year, with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.8 and little or no previous experience in the destination country. A junior from California with a 3.1 GPA and no prior travel to Asia, for example, fits the Freeman-ASIA profile for a semester in South Korea.
Boren Awards and the Tortuga Scholarship: Long Language Stays and One Small Travel Award
Boren Awards pay up to $25,000 for an academic year of overseas language study, and the Tortuga Study Abroad Scholarship pays a flat $1,000 that the winner can spend on travel. Boren Scholarships fund undergraduates and Boren Fellowships fund graduate students in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. Ceilings run at $8,000 for a summer program of 8 to 11 weeks for STEM students only, $12,500 for a semester of 12 to 24 weeks and $25,000 for 25 to 52 weeks. Every Boren recipient accepts a service requirement of one year in a federal government position with national security responsibilities after graduation. Tortuga sits at the opposite end of the scale. The travel company awards $1,000 plus one travel backpack twice a year, the money can pay for travel, tuition, room and board or books, and funds go directly to the winner’s study abroad program or university. Only spring and fall semester programs qualify, so summer and winter trips fall outside the Tortuga rules. A senior from Florida spending a fall semester in Italy, for example, can aim the $1,000 at the transatlantic ticket and the train travel inside Italy.
Conference, Research and Field-Study Travel Grants
Short educational trips draw funding from a different pool: universities, academic associations and program providers run travel grants for conferences, research trips and field study that sit outside the big national scholarships. Campus fellowships offices administer undergraduate research travel funds, and academic associations in fields from geography to public health run student travel awards tied to annual conferences. Field-based program providers build travel support into program fees or run their own grant competitions for enrolled students. Amounts and rules vary sharply by institution, so no single national figure exists for this category. The working method is stacking. A history major from Pennsylvania presenting a paper at a student research conference in London, for example, might pair a campus travel grant with an association award and a small flexible scholarship, then pay the remaining fare balance from a part-time job. Applicants should ask the campus study abroad office and the fellowships office one direct question: which travel grants does this institution administer for trips under 4 weeks?
How to Apply for Travel Abroad Scholarships
Applicants win travel funding by matching one trip to the right programs early, because national travel abroad scholarships run on fixed cycles months before departure. Gilman, for example, runs two application cycles each year with deadlines in March and October. The sequence below fits every program in this guide:
- Choose the trip first: destination, dates, program length and whether the program earns credit.
- Check eligibility line by line: citizenship, Pell Grant status, financial need, GPA and program length.
- Build a travel budget with the flight, passport fee, visa fee, insurance and local transport as separate lines.
- Apply in the cycle that matches the departure term, and request advisor certification before the deadline week.
- Stack awards where the rules allow it, and report combined aid to the financial aid office.
Timing decides most outcomes. A student who targets a January term in Japan should enter the October Gilman cycle, since an application filed after the flight is booked cannot reimburse a ticket under most program rules. Essays carry real weight in these competitions, and the strongest essays name the exact travel costs the award will cover, city by city and fee by fee.
FAQs
Can a scholarship pay for my flight to study abroad?
Yes. Gilman lists international airfare as an eligible cost, Freeman-ASIA assists with airfare directly, and CLS plus Fulbright build round-trip transportation into the grant itself.
Do I need a Pell Grant to get travel funding for a study trip?
No. The Pell Grant requirement applies to Gilman only. FEA and Freeman-ASIA test financial need through other aid records, and CLS, Fulbright and Boren use merit-based selection.
How much money can I get for a short summer trip abroad?
CLS funds the full 8 to 10 week summer, flights included. FEA summer awards start at $1,250, Freeman-ASIA pays up to $3,000, and Boren pays up to $8,000 for STEM students.
Can graduate students apply for travel abroad scholarships?
Yes. Graduate students qualify for CLS, Boren Fellowships and the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, while Gilman, FEA and Freeman-ASIA serve undergraduate students only.
Are these travel grants loans that I repay after the trip?
No. Scholarships and grants in this guide are awards, not loans, and recipients keep the money after completing the program. Boren adds a one-year federal service requirement instead of repayment.
When should I apply for a travel grant for a study-abroad term?
Apply in the cycle before your departure term. Gilman deadlines fall in March and October each year, Freeman-ASIA runs one April deadline, and CLS applications close in the autumn before the summer program.
Does a travel scholarship cover passport and visa fees?
Yes, under the right program. Gilman counts passport and visa fees as eligible costs, and CLS pays visa application fees where the host country charges them.
Conclusion
Airfare, passport fees and visa fees are fundable costs under named 2026 programs, not personal expenses a student must absorb alone. Gilman alone will distribute nearly 3,000 awards of up to $5,000 this academic year, and every award names international airfare as an eligible cost on the official program page.
