DCIS Foundation Group Travel Scholarships

The DCIS Foundation funds immersive educational travel for Denver Public Schools students. Group Travel Scholarships award between $5,000 and $10,000 per group, and the application window opens once a year in the autumn.

Any DPS middle school or high school group is eligible. Travel, national or international, must be completed while the students are still in middle or high school. Lead teachers collaborate with their students to decide on a trip location, develop group-specific curriculum goals and work on the itinerary.

This is a competitive process. All applications are reviewed and scored against the Foundation's Levels of Intercultural Immersion scoring criteria, and not every group that applies is awarded a scholarship. Schools are responsible for all trip decisions, the itinerary and the applications; the Foundation focuses on fundraising and travel advocacy. Group scholarship cheques are given to the school to manage and distribute.

The travel level for group scholarships is beginner to intermediate — students gain experience planning, travelling and gaining independence while learning about cultures, languages, traditions, history and people.

The application has two parts. The lead teacher completes Part 1, the Lead Teacher Application for a DPS Group Trip. If a group reaches the finals, all its students submit their own applications and the group gives a student-led presentation to the DCIS Foundation board as the final step.

Key dates for 2026: Part 1, the teacher submission, closes on Friday, November 6 at 11:59 PM. Groups that do not make the final round are notified within two weeks. For finalists, Part 2 — student applications and student-led presentations — takes place in December and January, and awards are given in February.

Edits and changes can be made to applications up until the deadline. Incomplete applications are not considered. Sampler versions of the teacher and student application questions are published on the Foundation's scholarships page.