Morehead State earns IDEAS grant for education abroad

Morehead State University’s Education Abroad program will offer more opportunities to students to gain invaluable cultural, personal and professional experience thanks to a notable federal grant.

Morehead State has been awarded a $35,000 Study Abroad Capacity-Building grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program to support faculty-led education abroad programs. MSU is one of 32 universities in the U.S. to receive the IDEAS Study Abroad Capacity-Building grant from among 95 semi-finalists.

The grant supports faculty who are new to leading education abroad experiences. It will support faculty travel to international locations like the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador; Budapest, Hungary; and the Netherlands, along with developing programs to Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden. Faculty from all disciplines will be invited to develop courses tied to these locations, according to Coordinator of Education Abroad and Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Jason Adkins, who is the primary investigator for the IDEAS grant.

“Many faculty are interested in teaching an education abroad course, but don’t know where to start,” Adkins said. “The IDEAS grant will help broaden the pool of faculty teaching education abroad courses, as well as provide students with important career skills through the Level UP program.”

Three MSU faculty benefited from IDEAS grant funding for education abroad during spring break in 2026. Dr. Kenneth Andries, chair of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, taught a commercial agriculture course for students traveling to the Netherlands; Steven Middleton (Class of 2004, 2008), senior instructor of media production and journalism, taught a travel journalism course to Budapest, Hungary, as well as Vienna, Austria; and Dr. Brittany Rancour, assistant professor of art history, accompanied students to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, program to learn more about how faculty-led programs operate.

“Thanks to the IDEAS grant, learning didn’t stay put; it moved,” Middleton said. “It boarded planes, crossed oceans, spilled into busy squares and quiet conversations half a world away. For students from Appalachia and Morehead State’s core service region, this funding matters because it opens doors that once felt distant, letting us learn through travel and return charged with experiences that ignite curiosity and possibility across campus.”

MSU offers several faculty-led programs each academic year. Faculty-led programs provide more affordable options for students, and students can go abroad with MSU faculty they know and trust. With many MSU students embarking on their first-ever international trip with education abroad, having MSU faculty who know how to navigate that country is important.

The IDEAS Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, funded by the United States Government and, in its implementation, supported by World Learning.

To learn more about other study abroad resources and other exchange programs offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please email ECA-Press@state.gov.

For more info on education abroad at Morehead State University and how the IDEAS Study Abroad Capacity-Building grant is helping students develop skills needed to thrive in a global economy, contact Dr. Adkins at jm.adkins@moreheadstate.edu or 606-783-2144.

Photo, upper right: Dr. Kenneth Andries (middle), chair of the Department of Agricultural Sciences, with students and Dr. Johnathan Nelson, dean of the Elmer R. Smith College of Business & Technology and director of Graduate, Online & Lifelong Learning, on a canal tour during their MSU faculty-led program to Amsterdam, Netherlands, during spring break 2026. Andries received IDEAS grant funding for his expenses to the Netherlands.

Photo, middle left, left to right: Senior Instructor of Media Production and Journalism Steven Middleton (Class of 2004, 2008, right), senior instructor of media production and journalism, enjoying Vienna, Austria, with Nicholas McPeek, a student who joined the Budapest, Hungary/Vienna, Austria education abroad program. Middleton received IDEAS grant funding for his expenses to the Netherlands.

Photo, lower right: Dr. Brittany Rancour (third from right), assistant professor of art history, taking in a boat excursion during an education abroad program to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, during spring break 2026. Rancour received IDEAS grant funding for her expenses to the Galapagos Islands.