Graduate Initiative Grants
Purpose: The Graduate Initiative Grant supports independent initiatives and projects in European Studies that enhance graduate students’ education and professional development. The grant could fund a variety of projects, including conference participation, archival research, or field research; projects that support thesis development or papers for publication are especially welcome.
Deadline(s): April 8, 2013. Applications will be accepted at any time during the academic year, up until the deadline.
Maximum Award: $750. Funds used for travel, research , or conference attendance are typically paid as a one-time sum. Funds used for participation at an academic conference are paid upon the filing of an expense report.
Number of Awards: Multiple. Graduate students may only receive two (2) Graduate Initiative Grants in any given academic year. Within these restrictions, grants will be awarded based on merit until allocated funds for the fiscal year have been exhausted.
Eligibility: Applicants must be currently enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame and must be in satisfactory academic standing. Applicants may apply at any stage of their program, from matriculation to degree completion, but students must not be enrolled beyond the degree completion limits set by the Graduate School: ten semesters for master’s degree students and sixteen semesters for doctoral students. Eligible projects will demonstrate relevance for contemporary European studies and have clear bearing on the applicant’s academic and professional goals.
Questions? Contact Jen Fulton, our Student Coordinator, at jfulton@nd.edu.
Application Guidelines
The Nanovic Institute is now using Formsite.com to collect Graduate Student Grant Applications.
Please complete the online form and upload your materials as prompted. Directors of Graduate Studies, Academic Advisors, and faculty supplying approval or letters of recommendation will be notified by the system to complete their portion of the application.
A complete application consists of the following distinct parts:
• a completed online application form
• a current curriculum vitae
• a one- to two-page project description
• a detailed budget statement
• a letter of recommendation
The project description should include the project’s objective, the research plan and/or methods designed to achieve this objective (including a schedule or itinerary if applicable), and the overall rationale for the project.
The budget statement should detail the project’s costs in U.S. dollars (USD) and should list the sources used to determine those costs. Include any exchange rates used in calculation. Budgets should also state the names and amounts of other funding already obtained for the project.
The letter of recommendation should be from a faculty member who is familiar with the applicant’s academic work, preferably his/her advisor.
Complete applications, including all letters of recommendation, should be submitted online no later than 11:59pm on the application day. Letters of recommendation may be submitted to the Student Coordinator of the Nanovic Institute directly, if desired.
Failure to submit all required materials promptly will delay consideration. Complete applications will be considered by the institute’s associate director and student coordinator, and decisions will be announced in writing within three weeks of submission. Please note that application materials will not be returned.
Terms & Conditions: Once awarded, the funding must be used to conduct the project as proposed in the application (to the best of the recipient’s ability). Funded initiatives must be completed by the beginning of the next academic year.
Combined funding from this grant and other sources may not exceed the project’s total budget, and applicants must promptly inform the Nanovic Institute of additional funding received at any point from application submission through completion of the initiative. Recipients must return any paid funds if they cancel the project and must repay any non-refundable expenses incurred by the Nanovic Institute (i.e. airfare directly paid) if cancellation is not due to illness or another justifying circumstance.
After conducting the initiative, grant recipients must provide the Nanovic Institute with a 500-1000 word report about the experience and its outcome, as well as at least one digital photograph of the recipient on location. Reports and photographs must be emailed to the Student Coordinator of the Nanovic Institute by the deadline communicated at the time of award. Unless permission is expressly denied, the Nanovic Institute will share these reports and photographs with its supporters.
Download the Full Guidelines: Graduate Initiatives Grant (PDF)
Adobe Acrobat is the recommended program for our forms and downloads. Visit the Adobe website for your free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
