Awards and Funding for REES Students

OCREECAS Winter Term Grants

Supporting student winter term projects that are thematically related to the OCREECAS region, this grant offers a maximum of $1,000 to four students annually. Projects can be individual or collaborative in nature, and focus on creative, scholarly, or other pursuits. The OCREECAS Winter Term Grant is open to all currently enrolled students, with priority given to REEES students and majors, and has additional consideration towards demonstrated financial need. The project location could be almost anywhere, but proposals required a thematic relationship to Russia, Eastern Europe, or Central Asia.

 

OCREECAS Russian Language Study Awards

OCREECAS provides monetary awards to students who want to supplement their Russian language learning with additional educational opportunities. Students generally use these funds during winter or summer to enhance their understanding of the Russian language in the USA and abroad. This award is designed to promote language learning, and is open to first, second, and third-year currently enrolled students who have taken at least two consecutive semesters (fall, winter, or spring) of Russian language and intend to continue studying Russian at Oberlin. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis during the school year and require a brief statement, confirmation of participation in a program, a detailed budget, and brief letter of support from an Oberlin Russian language faculty member. Please note that the overall annual budget for this programming is $6,000, and awards are allocated first-come-first-serve with a maximum amount of $2,000 per student.

 

OCREECAS Internships

In long-established grant programming, OCREECAS awards three annual grants (up to $5,000 each) to send students overseas on internships in the OCREECAS region. OCREECAS has a selection of affiliate internships, but students are also strongly encouraged to develop their own internship opportunities with recognized institutions. Students are required to have at least one affiliate institution in the host country, and most internships are 1-3 months in length. OCREECAS Internships are open to currently enrolled students and graduates within the past two years, with priority given to REEES students and majors who have not previously received OCREECAS Internship Awards.

 

The Richard Lankford Memorial Student Research Award

Given annually, this award is made in memory of Richard Lankford, a career diplomat, who considered his fluency in a variety of languages, including Russian and Slovak, vital to his success as a foreign service officer. Awards are made each spring by the Russian and East European Studies Program to support student research and educational opportunities, including, but not limited to, students’ expenses related to travel, books, materials, and expenditures that will increase their knowledge and appreciation for Russian and East European languages and cultures.

Students may apply for an award of up to $750. Successful applicants will typically have completed two years of Russian or other Slavic language by the time of the award. Interested students should contact the REEES chair to apply.

 

Jerome Davis Research Award

REES students with a social science focus may be eligible for the Jerome Davis Research Award, whose namesake and donor worked in Russia with the YMCA during the revolution of 1917 after graduating from Oberlin. This award makes available study grants to “Honors and other well-qualified students in the social sciences at Oberlin to assist them in doing field work in a community as part of their academic programs. In awarding the grants, consideration will be given to financial needs.’’

Every fall and spring term, the Jerome Davis Research Award Committee invites high-quality applicants from Oberlin College Honors and other advanced students (except Senior Scholars). The award helps defray research costs for well-defined field work projects that focus on and benefit or have some implications for a community (broadly defined). Students can apply for reimbursement for research already undertaken, but need to submit receipts with the application.

Awards do not exceed $750 and may be used for expenses related to travel to and from a research site, interviewing, supplies, equipment rental, and so on. The awards do not fund photocopying of an honors thesis. The field work should result in a research paper. Interested students can find contact and application information online.

 

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External Grants

Our seniors and graduates regularly receive grants and fellowships through opportunities such as the U.S. Fulbright Student Program to pursue postgraduate research, teaching, professional development, and additional studies in Russia, Eastern Europe, and beyond.

Interested students should consult with their advisors and with Oberlin’s Fellowships and Awards office.