A traveling club is offering an MSU junior the chance to spend the summer exploring the world.
The scholarship, offered by the Michigan Chapter of the Circumnavigators Foundation, which is part of the Circumnavigators Club, is worth $8,000.
The scholarship will be awarded to an MSU, University of Michigan or Wayne State University junior this January.
"We want them to go to as many continents as possible, but we prefer they stay either north or south of the equator," Michigan Chapter First Vice President Donald McIntyre said. "It's $8,000, and that's not too shabby."
Michigan Chapter President John Carroll said the scholarship can help students get a global perspective on what they learn in school.
"It definitely is an eye opener for students," Carroll said. "It gives them a greater appreciation for what they have in the United States and provides them with the opportunity to see the gifts and talents of other people throughout the world."
The scholarship, which has been offered by the chapter every other summer since 1981, gives students the chance to travel around the world working on a research project of their choice. Students must submit a research proposal when applying for the scholarship.
The selected student is given $7,500 for the trip and plans the itinerary, including lodging.
The plan is approved by the foundation and also by government officials, foundation chairwoman Mary Carroll said. The student is given the remaining $500 upon return.
"It's the chance of a lifetime to be handed $7,500 to travel wherever they want and study whatever they want," Mary Carroll said. "It's a wonderful opportunity."
The last MSU student to win the scholarship was selected in 1995. The last time the scholarship was offered - 2003 - no MSU students applied.
John Carroll said he believes because students plan most of the trip themselves, it helps them become independent.
"It forces a person to be resourceful and creative as far as developing a plan of study and following through with it and living on a budget," he said.
When students return from the trip, they are also required to give a presentation about their studies to the foundation members, which includes a 50-page paper.
The Circumnavigators Club has been in existence since 1902. The Michigan chapter in Detroit started in the 1980s.
"The Circumnavigators Club is an organization of men and women who have gone around the world in one continuous trip," McIntyre said. "They have to go through all latitudes and longitudes, and we've even had people go to the North Pole and walk around it."
The group, which is based in New York, has 11 chapters around the world with more than 1,000 members.
Carroll said the group's goal is to help people travel and learn more about the world.
"The purpose of the group is to promote global fellowship and understanding," Carroll said. "Our motto is 'through friendship, to leave this world a little better than we found it.'"
