The Semester Abroad in Intercultural Learning (SAIL) Scholarship Program is a credit-bearing program that provides mentored distance learning courses that assist students in their intercultural learning and development while abroad. SAIL courses challenge students to engage with their host-country’s culture in meaningful ways while supporting them in the development of intercultural attitudes, skills, and knowledge. Mentors share their experiences and insights to help students make connections between course content and lived experiences while studying abroad. Students who successfully complete the requirements of the program will receive a $1000 scholarship, regardless of financial need, as a credit in the semester after they return from their program abroad.
SAIL scholarships are disbursed to Student Bursar accounts in the return semester following the study abroad and only if the distance learning course is successfully completed. Funds typically reach student accounts two to three weeks after the start of the semester. Funding is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis until all funds are used.
Questions regarding the SAIL Scholarship and eligible courses should be directed to Dr. Daniel Jones, the scholarship and course coordinator.
Students wishing to take part in the SAIL scholarship program must be a degree-seeking student as one of the following:
*Check with your study abroad advisor to verify which semester your program is a part of as some program start and end dates do not align with Purdue Academic Calendars.
| Deadlines | |
|---|---|
| Fall (including Academic Year) | April 1 |
| Spring (including Calendar Year) | October 1 |
Note: This deadline pertains only to participation in this scholarship program; deadlines for course registration, study abroad applications, or applications for other forms of financial aid may differ.
Prior to applying for the SAIL scholarship, students must first apply to an approved semester or academic year program on the Purdue Study Abroad website. When the academic information has been downloaded to the student’s My Study Abroad page, the student will then be able to access the SAIL scholarship application via a green box at the top of the page.
The SAIL scholarship is provided as an award for successful completion of a SAIL-eligible course. Please navigate to the SAIL Scholarship Courses page to view a list of all available courses.
Students must complete the SAIL scholarship application by selecting the criteria that applies to the relevant study abroad program and academic requirements (e.g., GEARE students must select the ENGR 39700 course option in the application). When applying to a co-sponsored program, students must verify course availability with the hosting study abroad program provider. This is to verify that the course is actually available in the location and during the semester of your program. The best method for this verification is to contact a representative of the Program Provider. The response email can be forwarded on to Dr. Daniel Jones, the SAIL program coordinator.
SAIL applications will only be accepted after acceptance into an approved semester or year-long study abroad program.
Each semester, SAIL students as a whole show meaningful growth in intercultural competence development. Various methods, such as the Situated Intercultural Measure of Behaviors and Attitudes and student learning artifacts, have been used to assess learning in SAIL. Peer-reviewed publications in the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad document the effectiveness of the mentoring practices and curricula used in the SAIL courses.
Per the recommendations of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) Transparency Framework and the NILOA Excellence in Assessment Standards, we provide the goals for each student program offered through CILMAR.
Goal 1: 50% of mentored students will exhibit a lower regression rate than in the previous year. Evidence is via matched comparison of individual SIMBA pre and post scores. Specifically, there will be a 50% decline in the rate of regression as compared to previous year. Regression is defined as a decrease in the composite intercultural mindset score from pre to post.
Goal 2: 20% of mentored groups will, additionally, exhibit higher mean composite intercultural mindset score gain than in the previous year. Further, there will be a 20% improvement in mean intercultural competence gain for each mentored group type as compared to the previous year's outcome.
For more, please see Intercultural Learning in Semester-Long Study Abroad: A Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of One-on-One Versus Group-Mentored Interventions.
Updated 1/28/2025