Penn Global Research Institutes

The Penn Global Research Institutes (PGRI) provide outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to conduct research abroad alongside Penn faculty during the summer.

Program features and facts:

  • Work as part of a small research team abroad made up of Penn students, a Penn faculty PI, and local community members and researchers to address major global challenges

  • Gain access to hands-on research experience in the field as well as mentorship and training opportunities to support you in presenting, publishing, and continuing your research 

  • Receive funding to offset all summer research project and travel expenses

Details and deadlines for opportunities vary by each institute with information regarding summer 2023 listed on this page below. Interested in receiving reminders and information about future years and programs? You are invited to join our mailing list to receive program information, updates, and application timelines.

PGRI: Summer 2023 Opportunities

Penn Global Documentary Institute
People working on a camera.

The Penn Global Documentary Institute (PGDI) collaborates with global partners to document human migration and diasporic communities. Ongoing projects use film, photography, virtual reality, and other media to examine the impact of politics, religion, and climate change on displaced and other at-risk communities. Our network of faculty, students, and fellows embrace the latest innovations in filmmaking and scholarship to tell impactful stories. In addition to global collaborations, PGDI foregrounds the role of student contributions to research and multimodal scholarship. As a result, PGDI’s award-winning films, books, and other works have been featured in international festivals and exhibits and have been distributed by the United Nations and major video streaming platforms. 

  • The Penn Global Documentary Institute summer research program will take place from May to August 2023. Students will participate in a one-week bootcamp on Penn’s campus followed by three weeks of travel to Africa. Students will then be expected to work remotely on their projects for the remainder of the summer.

  • Each PGRI participant will receive full funding, covering all required costs associated with Summer 2023 travel abroad to Kenya. Students are responsible for their own accommodations during the bootcamp at Penn. Graduate students who participate in the program will receive funding awards in recognition of their additional mentorship responsibilities.

  • All full-time, degree-seeking Penn undergraduate and graduate students from all schools and majors are eligible to apply. Students must be returning to a full-time, degree-seeking program in the Fall 2023 semester.

Penn Global Documentary Institute Program Details

Program Structure

PGDI is seeking highly motivated, creative, and collaborative students to serve as fellows for immersive summer work in Kenya.

Penn graduate and undergraduate students may apply to be Fellows of the institute. Fellows will draw on their own interests and experience to engage in research and media production. They will have opportunities to be credited as key collaborators on documentary and virtual reality films. Fellows may also have opportunities to continue their engagement with PGDI during the academic year. In the past, Fellows have built on their experience, developing their own short films, conference presentations, and research papers and applying for Fulbright and other grants to continue work started with PGDI. 

Summer 2023 Fellows will collaborate on film, virtual reality, and related projects that will be made on location at the Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement in Kenya. We will collaborate with FilmAid Kenya students and staff who live and work on-site. Fellows will attend a pre-departure boot camp at Penn, travel to Kenya for three weeks, and remain involved remotely on post-production work. Fellows will be responsible for specific roles in the productions, and they will receive credit on the final products.

Research Projects

  1. A feature-length documentary film on arts and migration in East Africa.

  2. Virtual Reality short films about the Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement.

  3. Teaching in secondary school clubs in Kakuma and Kalobeyei.

Eligibility & Funding

All full-time, degree-seeking Penn undergraduate and graduate students from all schools and majors are eligible to apply. Students must be returning to a full-time, degree-seeking program in the Fall 2023 semester.

All costs associated with travel to Kenya, including airfare, lodging, ground transportation, and meals will be covered by the PGDI program. Students will live in a hotel in the Kakuma Refugee Camp and have meals catered by a local restaurant. Students are responsible for their own housing in Philadelphia during the boot camp. Graduate students will receive a funding award. 

How to Apply

The PGDI application is now open and the deadline to apply is Friday, February 10, 2023. Interested students may review the brochure information and submit an application through the PASSPORT system.

 Galápagos Education and Research Alliance 

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The Galápagos Education and Research Alliance (GERA) is a partnership between Galapagueños and students and faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, and Virginia Tech. They address crucial issues facing the Galápagos, including science, education, and conservation initiatives, by partnering with the people of the Galápagos, especially the community of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristóbal Island.

  • The Penn Global Research Institute opportunity with GERA will take place over a full calendar year, from January – December 2023.

  • Each PGRI participant will receive funding to cover all required costs associated with Summer 2023 travel abroad to Ecuador, plus a stipend.

  • All full-time, degree-seeking Penn undergraduate students from all schools and majors, as well as all full-time Master of Public Health (MPH) masters students, are eligible to apply.

The application deadline for the Galápagos Education and Research Alliance in Summer 2023 has passed. If you are interested in future opportunities with GERA, you are invited to join our mailing list to receive program information, updates, and application timelines.

For more information about the Penn Global Research Institutes, please email intern-abroad@upenn.edu.