DTSA

Travel and research grants from the DSC

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

The Foundation Center

Financial Awards Available through the Theatre Program / Graduate Center

I. The Presidential Research Fund Travel Grant

Available to all students. Deadlines: November 1, March 15, June 1.

The Graduate Center offers funding of $500 annually to travel to present papers at professional (not Graduate Student) conferences. This is now “The Presidential Research Fund Travel Grant” (formerly Sue Rosenberg Zalk Travel Grant). This is supplemented by a departmental fund, from the chairs. The fund is offered by lottery, and is not guaranteed.

Students must first file for the Presidential Research Fund Travel Grant from the Provost’s Office.  Awards are made by Lottery and the forms are located in the program office, in a red folder in the Students’ Lounge (Green Room) and at http://www.gc.cuny.edu/current_students/pdfs/PresidentialResearchFundForm.pdf. This award is $500 (or less depending on the total amount of your travel expenses).  The completed application form and documents come directly to Lynette before students travel – she will ensure it is correct and take it to the Provost’s Office (keeping a copy of your application in your folder).

Application deadlines are November 1 (for conferences following that date, but before March 15); March 15 (for conferences following that date, but before June 1), and June 1 (for conferences following that date, but before November 1). The application must be accompanied by documentation of your paper’s acceptance for presentation at the conference.

On students’ return from the Conference they must present directly to Lynette all original receipts for the amount to be reimbursed, a photocopy of the cover of the conference program and the page listing their participation.  It is also a good idea to photocopy any receipts presented to the program or the university for reimbursement.

Total departmental reimbursement for individuals will be still be limited to a total of $700 per fiscal year for domestic travel and $900 for international travel, therefore

1. If a student receives an award of $500 from the Provost’s Office then he/she will only be awarded, from the Chairs, an additional $200 for domestic travel or an additional $400 for international travel
2. If a student does not receive an award from the Provost’s Office then he/she (because of limited funding from the Chairs) may (depending on balances in the Chairs’ budgets) receive up to $500 for domestic travel and $700 for international travel depending on total conference costs.
3. Please note that the Chairs’ fund treats each year as July 1 – June 30. The Chairs’ funds often run out before the end of this period, however.

II. Doctoral Students’ Council Travel and Research Grant

Available to all students. Deadlines: November 1, March 15, June 1.

Nearly identical to the Presidential Grant, the DSC grant provides $200 annually, by lottery, to present at Graduate Student conferences (not professional conferences), or to attend professional conferences at which the student is not presenting a paper.

The application process is identical, as is the process of handing in receipts to Lynette following the conference. For more information, see the following: http://www.cunydsc.org/travel-research-grants

III. Doctoral Students Research Grant Competition

Available to students in 2nd-7th year of doctoral study, who did not receive an award in the preceding year. Competitive. Deadlines late October each year.

The mission of the Doctoral Student Research Grant Program is to foster a research-oriented academic culture among Ph.D. students and to encourage interdisciplinary discourse at The CUNY Graduate Center by: (a) providing incentives for students to model and meet, early in their careers, the requirements for succeeding in the competition for funds by clearly defining a problem, a project, and a realistic budget; (b) providing an occasion for faculty-student mentoring relationships that are oriented around the concrete problems of proposing, planning for, and executing research; and (c) furthering student professional progress by providing funds for pre-doctoral research publications, presentations, and professional networking.  Individual awards in past competitions have ranged from $500 to $1,800.

D octoral students, in good standing and in their 2^nd to 7^th year at The Graduate Center are eligible to apply.  Those who received a Doctoral Student Research Grant award in the past competition.

Students will have 12 months to complete their research projects and spend all funds.

All research involving human subjects requires review by a CUNY IRB – also known as the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects.  Students who receive an award notification and require IRB approval must submit an IRB application as soon as possible after award notification. The application should be submitted to the student’s home campus when applicable, or to the GC IRB.  Students who require IACUC (Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee approval for research with animals must also submit an IACUC application.

As soon as you receive award notification, if your research involves human or animal subjects, go to http://web.gc.cuny.edu/orup/humansubjects.html for information and to download an IRB application. A delay in submitting your IRB application may result in losing your grant award.

A written proposal of no more than 6 pages is required as follows:

Pages 1-2  Cover Sheet, available from http://web.gc.cuny.edu/orup/funding.html. Executive Officers need to sign off on the cover sheet to certify that the applicant is in good standing and is in the 2^nd to 7^th year of her/his doctoral program.

Pages 3-4  A maximum 2-page description of the proposed research, the methods to be employed, and a review of relevant literature with selected references.  This two page description should be single-spaced, 12 point type with a 1 inch margin all around.

Page 5  A maximum 1-page detailed budget and the budget justification for the research activity. (Please indicate if the project has already received funding from other sources)  Executive Officers need to sign off on the budget page to certify that the budget meets the program requirements.

Page 6  A letter of support for the project from the student’s faculty research mentor.  The faculty research mentor does not have to be the student’s regular or thesis advisor but should be a faculty member who agrees to be a mentor for the student on the project.

Three sets (1 original + 2 copies) of the completed application package should be submitted by the student to the Executive Officer for their doctoral program by the deadline.

Proposals will be judged by faculty members in the applicant’s doctoral program as determined by the Executive Officer.

Proposals shall be evaluated by the following criteria:

a) Importance of proposed research;

b) Evidence of a well-designed methodology;

c) Clarity of the proposal;

d) Likelihood that the proposed research will be completed within the grant period; and,

e) Realistic and cost efficient budget

Examples of eligible expenses include:

• To attend professional conferences to present research results or meet with colleagues in the field, including travel, registration fees and accommodations;

• To visit other research facilities to obtain knowledge relevant to student’s research, including costs of  travel and accommodations;
• To travel for purposes of conducting research;
• To pay for recruitment and compensation of research subjects;
• For publication costs not normally paid for by the student’s research facility;
• For fees to use professional libraries or databases; and,
• For research-related books or software not available at CUNY.

Given that the primary purposes of these grants are to support graduate students in having enhanced research experiences and ‘getting out into the world of research,’ and not pay for expenses in a functioning CUNY research environment (e.g., equipment, chemical supplies, biological supplies, plants, etc.).  Only under rare circumstances, fully explained by the student and by the faculty advisor, may up to 25% of the grants be used for:

Laboratory fees (for research samples)

Data collection expenses

Purchase of chemical supplies, biological supplies, plants, etc.

Under NO circumstances may grant funds be used for:

Salaries for students

Purchase of computer or computer-related equipment

Food and/or entertainment

Upon selection of a student’s proposal for funding, the student must agree in writing to the following terms:

a)      That funds awarded will be used solely for the purposes of the proposed research in keeping with the budget submitted;

b)   That the student will be registered for at least one of the two semesters of the research grantperiod

c)   That a Final Report, comprised of a 1-2 page narrative describing accomplishments with the grant, together with original receipts documenting all expenditures, will be submitted no later than March 31, 2012, and that any funds unexpended at the end of the one-year grant period will be returned to The Graduate Center.  Students will not be able to register for the following semester or to graduate until the Final Report and all receipts are submitted.

If students have any questions about any aspect of the Doctoral Student Research Grant Program contact:

Linda Merman, Program Administrator

Phone: (212) 817-7524; Email: lmerman@gc.cuny.edu

Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

The Graduate Center of CUNY, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016

IV. Cohn-Lortel International Theatre-Going Award

Available to all students, one per year, may only be given to any student once. Deadline: December 1.

In 1990, the Program established an award of up to $1000 to allow a student  to attend theatre in some international theatre center for a week or so during the January intersession (or over the summer vacation). To apply students should submit to the Executive Officer a statement outlining what city and why they would like to visit (only non-English speaking countries). Preference will be given to students who have had less opportunity for international travel, who have studied or are studying the language necessary for their proposed destination, and who show some familiarity, in their application, with the specific theatrical fare available in their proposed destination. Note: This is an award for theatre-going, not research, and the application should not include any plans for research.

V. Martin S. Tackel American Theatre Research Fund

Available to Level III students with approved dissertation prospectus conducting research into American Theatre. Deadline February 15.

In Fall 2006, Dr. Martin S. Tackel, an alumnus of the Program, established a fund of $5000 to support dissertation research in American theatre history and/or criticism.  Eligibility is limited to doctoral candidates in the Theatre Program who have advanced to candidacy, whose dissertation prospectus has been approved, and whose research is underway at the time of application.  Applicants will submit copies of their dissertation prospectus, a statement describing their travel plans, an explanation of the relevance of that travel for their research, a detailed budget, and a letter of support from their dissertation director or another member of their committee.  Eligible expenses include travel and accommodation costs, along with other costs of data collection (e.g., photocopies or microfilms).  Students who receive travel awards are responsible for submitting to the Executive Officer a full report on their use of the award (including appropriate receipts) no later than the end of the semester in which their funded research took place.  DEADLINE – April 15, 2011

VI. June Bennett Larsen Fellowship for Dissertation Research

Available to Level III students with approved dissertation prospectus. Deadline November 1.

June Bennett Larsen Fellowship – In Spring 2008, the estate of Dr. June Bennett Larsen, an alumna of the Theatre Program, established a fund of up to $2,000 annually to support outstanding dissertation students.  Eligibility is limited to doctoral candidates in the Theatre Program who have advanced to candidacy, whose dissertation prospectus has been approved, and whose research is underway at the time of application.

Applicants will submit a one-page summary of their dissertation prospectus, a statement describing their research plan and its relevance to their dissertation, a detailed budget, and a letter of support from their dissertation director or another member of their committee.  Eligible expenses include travel and accommodation costs, along with other costs of data collection (e.g., photocopies or microfilms).  Students who receive travel awards are responsible for submitting to the Executive Officer a full report on their use of the award (including appropriate receipts) no later than the end of the semester in which their funded research took place.

Please Note:  This award is not to be used to support attendance at conferences at which the research is presented.  It will be given only once to any particular student.

VII. CUNY Graduate Center Dissertation Fellowships and Awards

Available to Level III students preparing to finish their dissertations. Deadline early February.

Students must be registered or on an approved leave of absence during the  academic year to be eligible to apply.   For a student’s application to be considered, the studentmust also be officially advanced to candidacy (level III) with a completed “Advancement to Candidacy for the Doctoral Degree” form on file in the Registrar’s Office before the deadline.  Students who have received a dissertation fellowship award of $10,000 or more from the Graduate Center previously are not eligible.

A student holding a five-year fellowship from the Graduate Center (e.g., Enhanced Chancellor’s Fellowship, MAGNET Fellowship, Gilleece Fellowship, or CUNY Science Scholarship) may not hold a dissertation fellowship concurrently with the five-year award.  A student with a five-year award may apply, but if selected for a dissertation fellowship he/she will have to choose between the five-year fellowship funding and the dissertation fellowship funding. (The tuition component of the five-year award will remain intact.)

A student holding a Graduate Center fellowship that is not part of a five-year award (a freestanding Graduate Assistantship A, B, or C) may apply for the dissertation fellowships but, if offered an award, the total funding (Graduate Assistant salary plus Dissertation Fellowship stipend) may not exceed $30,000 (subject to approval).  If the combined amount exceeds $30,000 the student will have to choose between the dissertation fellowship and the graduate assistantship.

Please note: GC Dissertation Fellowships require no service and are paid through Financial Aid stipends.  The dissertation fellowships do not carry eligibility for the NYSHIP health insurance or CUNY tuition remission. Some fellowships provide in-state tuition. (See the award descriptions for details.)

There are various different types of awards, and all applicants will automatically be considered for all relevant dissertation awards, with the exception of those listed on the checklist of special focus awards.  Students wishing to apply for those special focus awards that are reviewed by particular Centers and Institutes should check off the awards for which they are eligible on the application form (available through Office of Research and Sponsored Programs).

Dissertation Fellowships are intended for students who expect to complete the dissertation during the award year; the applicant’s likelihood of completing the dissertation during this period may be taken into consideration in the selection process.  Fellowship recipients are required to be registered during the award year.  Students who qualify for the Ph.D. in time for their degree by the application date are not eligible to receive the fellowship.  Students who complete the dissertation, oral defense, and revisions during the Fall semester are eligible for one-half of the award.