The true traveler is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time.
-Colette (1873 - 1954), Paris From My Window, 1944

Before he sets out, the traveler must possess fixed interests and facilities to be served by travel.
-George Santayana (1863 - 1952)

Last updated October 28, 2006
About the Fellowship Program

In order to help financially needy Americans travel abroad, My Travel Bug, Inc. awards a number of Fellowships each year. Prospective Fellows submit an application and are judged on educational merit, originality and writing quality.

Winning Fellows are awarded money for self-designed trips overseas of 1, 2 or 3 months. Winning Fellows are required to write travelogues and take photographs of their travels, to be published online at www.MyTravelBug.org

You get to travel, we get to read about it.

About the application


We hope that the process of applying for this Fellowship spurs our applicants to start looking for funding possibilities. There is no greater motivation to dream than in planning and researching for a trip abroad. We believe it is a worthwhile and educational experience in itself. Enjoy the process!

If you are serious about applying for the Fellowship program we suggest you start thinking (maybe daydreaming) about where you want to go and what you hope to learn on your trip. The application for our Fellowship program involves:

  • A short budget and itinerary
  • Three written essays
    • Mandatory- "Why I want to go on this trip"
    • Topic 1- To be determined by list of 2007 options online in December
    • Topic 2- To be determined by list of 2007 options online in December
  • A small administrative fee to weed out the less serious candidates

You will have the opportunity to apply online or mail a paper version. Want to know when the application is online and the Feb/March deadline set? Join our newsletter by emailing: Newsletter You will receive a confirmation email from Topica.com.

School Challenge

If you'd like to improve your odds and help us make 2007 our biggest year yet, you might ask all your friends to donate to our "School Challenge". Alumni, teachers, parents, friends and students can donate to My Travel Bug, Inc. earmarking their donation for a group or school. For each $2,500 raised, My Travel Bug, Inc. will dedicate a Fellowship for that group. This mean that no matter how many applications we receive, there will be *X* dedicated Fellowships for applicants from *X University*.

For more information visit: School Challenge

We're reaching out to Alumni groups and magazines but you might be more persuasive in reaching out to the Alumni of your high school or college. With so many universities cutting study abroad funding, alumni may be happy to contribute.

The number of Fellowships awarded highly depends on the amount of money we are able to raise from personal and corporate donations. Why not join our circle of friends?

Eligibility

All U.S. citizens over the age of 16. We do not discriminate regarding race, gender or religion. We only require that you be healthy, financially needing, intellectually curious and have a valid U.S. passport.

We are a non-profit 501c3 organization as awarded by the IRS. At this time we do not award Fellowships to non-U.S. citizens. For more information on other travel grants and organzations, please visit Travel Grants.