Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, a research-based summer study abroad program will be free of charge to undergraduate students for the next three years.

The foundation's grant, totaling about $290,000 for three years, will cover nearly all student expenses for the trip, including lodging, operations and domestic and international travel. Students also will receive a stipend over the course of the eight-week program to make up for lost summer income.

The grant award is due in part to the efforts of Runsheng Yin, an assistant professor of resource economics and program director for the trip. Yin submitted a funding proposal to the foundation in August and said he was pleased when the grant was formally awarded to the program earlier this month.

"This is going to be a really exciting opportunity," he said.

The program, which will run from mid-May to early July, is called "Preparing Resource and Environmental Managers with International Understandings and Merits."

Students will have a one-week orientation on campus before spending five weeks in the Chinese cities of Beijing and Sichuan. The final two weeks of the program will be spent finishing research papers and presentations.

Yin said in addition to visiting the two cities to collect data, students will learn about environmental policies through cultural experiences as well.

"Students will have a number of interesting options," he said, citing climate change, biodiversity and poverty reduction as examples of issues students will be able to research on the trip.

Twelve students will be selected for the program based on various criteria such as past academic performance, research interest and completion of an essay. Because of the nature of the grant, the program must be open to a variety of students; therefore, five will be chosen from MSU and the remaining seven will be selected from other institutions across the country.

David Hart, spokesman for the foundation, said one reason the organization helps fund research opportunities is because of a growing concern that less students are interested in scientific fields.

"It's important to continue to fill the pipeline with future scientists and engineers at the undergraduate level," he said. "It's important to show students what life as a research scientist is like."

Hart said another benefit of such programs is having the opportunity to learn in different environments.

"It's not always the same as what you get in the classroom," he said.

The deadline for applications is April 5. For more information, visit http://forestry.msu.edu/China/Premium.htm.