Grants & Fellowships
This document is also available in a downloadable PDF format.
Humanities Grant Development
Office
The University of Kansas
This guide to proposal development in the humanities is written for University of Kansas graduate students.
The guide is divided into the following sections:
Increase Your Chances of Success: Do
Your Homework
Types of Grants and Fellowships
Locating Fellowship and Grant Opportunities
Sources of Information on Funding External
to KU
Sources of Information on Funding Internal
to KU
Proposal Development: The Major Steps
Before You Write
Proposal Title
Abstract or Summary
Project Description
Bibliography
Budget
Personal Statement
Curriculum Vitae or
Résumé
Letters of
Recommendation
Letters of Affiliation
Transcripts
Application
Submission
Electronic Submission
Increase Your Chances of Success—Do Your Homework
When a good idea is not funded, it may have been submitted to the wrong funding agency or was not tailored to the agency. To avoid such pitfalls, do your homework on any agencies to which you are considering applying. See Sources of Information on Funding External to KU.
Steps to follow as you research potential sources of funding and begin the application process:
Compile
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Develop a list of potential funding agencies with interests that might lead them to fund your work.
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To help compile your list, use the Sources of Information listed in the following sections or visit the Grant Development Links, in addition to your scholarly, community or business contacts. Some scholarly societies and community service groups offer scholarships and fellowships that may not be widely advertised; you will have to ferret them out.
Investigate
Investigate your potential sources of funding not only to evaluate the likelihood of their funding your work, but also with an eye toward how you will formulate your application.
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Always visit the foundation or agency's website for current grant guidelines and, if available, annual reports.
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Look at listings of past awards given to support projects similar to yours. Most granting agencies provide lists of past awardees with at least the titles of the projects funded.
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Look for giving to support projects similar in size and scope to yours, but keep in mind that even if the agency may not provide all the funding you need, it may fund a portion of your work. Smaller amounts from several sources can add up to a completed research project.
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Learn all you can about the agency. Who created it? What is its purpose or mission? What is its scholarly or political orientation?
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Discover as much as you can about how your application will be evaluated. Are proposals vetted to "experts" in the field or reviewed by a committee of generalists? The answer will have an impact on how technical your project description can be.
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If you have questions, contact the program officer to outline your project and ask whether it seems to match the agency's interests. Most program officers are happy to help and may even send you samples of successful applications or give you other insight into the agency's current interests that you could not glean from its website or published materials.
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If you're applying to a research library, archive, or museum, research the institution's holdings to ensure they contain the materials you need.
Types of Grants and Fellowships
Funding for Coursework
Although fellowships and scholarships to support humanities graduate students are rare, there are enough opportunities to make searching out the possibilities worth your effort. Some funding opportunities are open to graduate students only at the point when they are applying for graduate school. Agencies often seek to fund work in narrowly defined areas of study or for individuals meeting strict requirements based on criteria such as hometown, organizational affiliation or racial/ethnic background. Consider whether your interests or your background qualify you for such opportunities. Finally, the KU Graduate School and individual humanities departments may offer one or more annual fellowships. These are generally not broadly advertised, learn about them from your faculty advisor or the departmental secretary.
Funding to Present Papers at Professional Conferences
Graduate students can often locate funding to defray expenses for participation in professional conferences. Many graduate schools and some departments offer at least partial funding for travel and room-and-board expenses. For example, the KU Graduate School offers a Paper Presenter Fund for graduate students. Organizations sponsoring conferences frequently offer special funding to graduate student presenters. Contact the organization hosting the conference to learn if such funding is available.
Funding for Dissertations and Theses
Although funding sources that support the thesis or dissertation writing phase are limited, it is a good strategy to explore different types of funding opportunities throughout the course of your graduate studies so you know what is available and can work proposal development into your schedule. The majority of funding open to graduate students is for dissertation research, followed by dissertation writing. Fellowships or grants that support the research phase may take the form of travel grants, portable fellowships (meaning that you can use the fellowship anywhere) or grants for in-residence study at specific research centers or libraries. Funding at the writing stage is generally designed to provide time free from other concerns and allow you to focus fully on completing your dissertation.
Postdoctoral Fellowships
All fellowships awarded to scholars with the PhD are considered postdoctoral fellowships. However, there is a class of postdoctoral fellowships that is generally geared toward new PhDs who are within a set number of years beyond the receipt of their degree. The function of these fellowships is to give new PhDs time to prepare their dissertations for publication and to gain further teaching experience within their focus area. Most such postdoctoral programs expect the scholar to teach a light load.
Locating Fellowship and Grant Opportunities
Locating sources of funding is more time consuming than most first-time grant/fellowship seekers expect. Because the majority of the humanities agencies have early fall semester deadlines, it makes sense to devote time in the spring to searching electronic and paper sources for information on possible funding opportunities. The following sections describe some of the sources that can aid you in your search for funding.
Sources of Information on Funding External to KU
Humanities Grant Development Office (HGDO)
The Humanities Grant Development
Office (HGDO) website has links to several important on-line resources.
The Grant Development Links section can serve as a home base to examine opportunities listed
in various on-line databases.
Community of Science (COS)
Disregard the word "science" in the name. The Community
of Science (COS) Funding Opportunities Database is among the most
useful links for current information on fellowship and grant opportunities
in the humanities. KU subscribes, so you can search the database from
any networked computer at KU. If KU is your Internet service provider,
you can access COS free from your home computer. Entries often include
links to sponsoring institutions' web sites and thus COS can serve as
a starting point for researching potential funders. COS provides straightforward
instructions on how to use this database.
H-NET Job Guide
Also of interest is the H-Net (Humanities
and Social Sciences Network) Job Guide. As the name implies, the Job
Guide provides weekly job listings. It also includes fellowship and internship
opportunities in the humanities and related fields. The database has been
archived since September 1997 and is searchable by area, or you can search
the whole text of the announcements for terms of your choice.
H-NET Announcements
The H-Net Announcements
web page provides useful up-to-date information on various announcements
of interest to humanities scholars. Besides listings for conferences and
calls for papers, the site contains fellowship announcements and lists
other funding programs open to graduate students and postdocs. The page
is updated weekly and keeps a searchable categorized archive.
H-NET Discussion Lists
The more than a hundred H-Net
discussion listservs, such as H-ArtHist and H-LatAm, that provide pertinent
information to graduate students. When you sign up to receive the e-mail
postings to any of these lists, you will also receive information about
intellectual debates in the field, conferences, calls for papers and
current funding opportunity announcements.
Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education's
website contains current job listings and grant competition announcements.
To access the current day's grant competition announcement, follow the
"New Grants Competition" link from the Chronicle's home page.
The job listings, which are available free of charge on the Chronicle
website, are updated daily, available on-line for thirty days, and keyword
searchable. Institutions offering postdoctoral and dissertation/teaching
fellowships often use the Chronicle to disseminate information nation-wide.
Archived grants listings are available only to Chronicle subscribers.
Financial Aid Information Page
Although much of the information on the Financial
Aid Information Page is directed toward graduate education in the
sciences, there is information about grants, fellowships, and internships
for students in the humanities. The web site has links to FastWeb,
a free email based service offering funding opportunities. FastWeb allows
you to subscribe and provide information about your funding needs. Periodically
the service will email funding tips based on the information you have
provided about your needs. You can update your information as your needs
change.
Other On-Line Resources
Browsers such as Yahoo!
or Google can help you locate
University, department, research library, foundation and professional
association web sites. Others are listed on our Grant Development Links
page.
Local Service Organizations
Check with local service organizations, such as Rotary, Lions, AAUW, etc.
Funding opportunities offered by these groups are often overlooked because
the eligibility requirements can be narrow. However, these organizations
are potential sources of support.
Published Lists and Reference Guides
A number of reference guides to grants, fellowships, scholarships and
internships are published annually for specific areas and the humanities
in general. Check Watson Library's Guide for Readers entitled "Grants,
Fellowships, Scholarships, Internships." The guide provides a quick
and easy-to-follow listing of directories and indexes of grant support
and lists a number of "how-to" books on proposal writing.
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Guides to Graduate Funding: Two books that are not listed in the Library's "Guide" may be of particular interest to graduate students: Peterson's Grants for Graduate and Postdoctoral Study, 4th ed., 1995 (call # LB 2337.2 .P46) and Ned Burels's Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans, 12th ed., 1997 (call # LB 2338 .S35). Both are located in the Watson Library Reference Department.
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Area-Specific Listings: Professional organizations such as the American Studies Association, Modern Language Association and College Art Association publish lists of area-specific fellowship opportunities. The MLA's comes out in the September issue of PMLA each year, and the ASA publishes an annual Guide to American Studies Resources that includes a listing of area-related fellowships and grants. Check the major publications in your field for annual listings.
Sources of Information on Funding Internal to KU
KU Graduate School Financial Aid
The KU Graduate
School
offers a variety of fellowships, including Graduate School Honors Fellowships,
Summer Fellowships and several fellowships for graduate students at the
dissertation stage. Check with the your department's graduate coordinator
or the Graduate School about the nomination procedures and particulars
of these fellowships.
The KU Graduate School also offers the Graduate Student Paper Presenter Fund, a small one-time award, to assist students traveling to present a paper at a professional conference.
KU Office of International Programs
Graduate students interested in study or research abroad, including Fulbright
Fellowships, should view KU's Office
of International Programs website. For further information on study
and research abroad, contact Hodgie
Bricke, Assistant Dean, International Programs, 300 Strong, phone:
864-4141. For more detailed information on Fulbright opportunities in
individual countries see the Fulbright
website on the Institute for International Education server.
KU Student Development Center
The Student Development Center administers several small scholarship funds
intended to asist non-traditional students. For information on the SDC's
opportunities open to graduate students, contact Laura Morgan, Assistant
Director; Student Development Center; 22 Strong Hall; 864-4064.
Proposal Development—The Major Steps
The following sections break down each aspect of preparing a grant or fellowship application, with tips on how to do so successfully. Not every section is applicable for every granting agency. Most graduate student funding opportunities in the humanities are fellowships that do not require budgets, for example. Check the agency's instructions carefully to make sure you have completed all of the requirements for submission.
Before You Write
Know your audience. As noted in the "Homework" section, knowing your audience will help you write your project description to that audience. Some agencies offer project categories, and the category you select (literature, languages, religion, philosophy, etc.) will give you some idea of the selection committee's composition. Check the agency's website for any information on the selection process and make-up of the selection committee.
Read with care. Once you've decided to apply, read the application instructions with care. Make sure you understand the guidelines. Contact the agency's program officer with any questions.
Note key information. It helps to highlight important information and use post-it notes to flag pages to which you will need to return frequently. Highlight the criteria for selection, instructions regarding the format to use in writing the project description, instructions on items to include in the application and the order in which they must appear, the deadline (and whether it is a postage or arrival date), the number of application copies to submit and any other critical information.
Proposal Title
Consider your title. Give careful thought to your proposal title. A good title can create enthusiasm for your project and may help determine who will review it. A poorly written title can be misunderstood or used out of context. The title will be the reviewers' first contact with your project. It should be informative and engender enthusiasm. Use words that convey what you want to do and why it is important.
Abstract or Summary
Make a great first impression. Most applications require a brief abstract or summary of the project. It is generally a good idea to write the abstract or summary last, when you can review the full project description and pull out the most significant and winning arguments. Think of it as the introduction to your project, which offers reviewers their first impression of you and your proposed work. Your goal is to gain their attention and guarantee that they will read the full proposal with interest, and even enthusiasm. Briefly outline:
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The problem/question
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Its significance
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Your objectives and goals
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Your approach to finding a solution/answer
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Your own capabilities
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The total budget request (unless the amount is set by the agency)
Project Description
Write the project description far in advance of the deadline so you can ask your graduate advisor, faculty mentor and anyone else willing to read the proposal to review it and offer constructive criticism.
Be prepared to write, write, and rewrite. No one produces a winning application in the first draft.
The proposal must conform to the agency's guidelines. DO NOT send the same generic application, with only the agency name changed, to all of the agencies on your list. You are highly unlikely to win an award if you do. Once you have written a master document describing your proposed work, create new versions of the description to match the requirements listed by each individual agency. Some agencies are very specific as to project description organization. If guidelines are not provided, organize your project description under headings that correspond to the selection criteria to illustrate how your project meets them.
Answer the "W" questions. Reviewers generally look for the answers to two specific questions: WHO CARES? and SO WHAT? They also want to know:
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Who will be interested in the results of your research?
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Who are you—are you the best scholar to conduct this research?
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What are we going to learn as the result of the proposed project?
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Why is it worth knowing?
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Where will you do the work?
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When will you complete the work?
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How will you accomplish the work?
Sell your project. You must sell your project to reviewers who may or may not know anything about your immediate field. The first and the last paragraphs of your project description are critical. To grab the reviewer's attention in the opening paragraph, say what you have to say immediately, crisply, and forcefully.
Show your excitement. Keep in mind what excites you about your topic and convey your enthusiasm throughout your proposal. Impress upon the reader the excitement you have for your project and its importance to the field and to the humanities in general. Leave the reader convinced of its significance. State clearly the impact your project will have beyond your immediate field.
Be confident. Your proposal must show you to be confident, enthusiastic, professional and well versed in your subject. You must strike the balance between appearing tentative and coming across as over-confident. On that note, do not try to evoke sympathy. Do not overuse the pronoun I. Do not attempt to be cute. And, finally, do not get into an ego-war with other scholars in the field. The scholar you skewer may be on the review panel for your proposal.
Leave the reviewers with something to remember, a message that will remain after reading many other proposals.
Beware of jargon. Avoid it if at all possible. If you do need to use technical terms, try to define them the first time you use them. Keep the spotlight on your ideas.
Carefully craft the first sentence of each section or paragraph. Some reviewers read only the first sentences and skim through the rest. Make your sentences straightforward and fairly short. Use active voice rather than passive. One successful proposal writer calls this style of writing the ABCs for Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity.
Show you know the state of research in your field. Point out how your project relates to the current hot topics in your discipline. Be specific as to exactly what you can expect to accomplish with this grant; indicate what part of your research project it will make possible.
Pay attention to the aesthetics of the page. A page without some white space between sections or paragraphs is difficult to read-especially for reviewers evaluating many proposals. Do not cheat on margins or pitch. Do not justify your text, it will produce odd spacing between words that can detract the reader from your ideas.
Consider your font choice. Studies have shown the serif font "Times" to be the easiest to read. It is also the most space efficient. Most agencies set font size limits. If none are given, use a font size no smaller than 12-point.
Refine your proposal. Have several people vet your proposal. If you know a successful grant-getter, ask that person to read your proposal and offer constructive criticism. Call upon your graduate advisor or faculty mentor. Ask your roommate. The more people who read it, the more likely it is that errors will be caught, and the better the final proposal will be.
Let it simmer. Address the criticisms and advice from your reviewers, and then set the proposal aside for a day or two. When you return to it for a final careful read, you will be able to view it more critically and add the finishing touches that will help your proposal stand out from the others.
Bibliography
Many granting agencies require a bibliography to accompany your proposal. This offers another opportunity to show the reviewers that you have a firm grasp on your topic. Some points to remember about bibliographies are:
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Follow the instructions as to bibliographic style, formatting and length. If no particular style is required by the agency use the one most common for your field.
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Present an up-to-date bibliography that assures the reviewer your project will complement, but not duplicate, the efforts of your predecessors.
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Include the major primary and secondary works that relate to your project. The secondary works are particularly important, as they show that you understand where your research fits within the larger field.
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Make your bibliography as complete as possible. The author of that reference you missed may turn out to be a member of the panel reviewing your project.
Budget
Most opportunities open to graduate students provide specified lump sum awards and do not require an itemized budget. The following applies to agencies that do require formal budgets:
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Allowable costs change depending on the grant, so it is crucial that you read the agency's application instructions carefully.
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Include costs only in the categories allowed by the granting agency.
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Think carefully about what it will cost you to do what you need to do in order to accomplish your research goals.
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Do not inflate your budget just to ask for the maximum allowed by the grant. Granting agencies can generally tell when applicants are padding their budgets.
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Do not underestimate what it will cost to complete the work. The difference is likely to come out of your own pocket. It is a mistake to believe that if you ask for less than the actual cost of the project you will stand a better chance of getting the grant. Review panels are made up of experienced researchers who will have a good idea that the work can't be accomplished with the amount requested. That will affect your overall credibility and shed doubt on the likelihood that you can complete the project.
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Use economy-class air rates when including costs for air travel. You can use one of the online travel sites or simply call a travel agent to get an idea of what airfare will cost to various destinations. Be sure to check on fares for the time of year you plan to travel. A few on-line sites are:
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Use standard per diem rates for estimating travel costs. See domestic and foreign per diem rates, which can be obtained from the web.
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Domestic Per Diem rates determined by the federal government.
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Foreign Per Diem rates from the US Department of State's website.
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If an agency does not offer enough funding to pay the entire cost of the project, break the work down into smaller segments and request funding for one segment. Some projects will require multiple grants from multiple agencies, and some agencies will fund a second and even a third phase of a study for which they've provided a first grant.
Personal Statement
Some competitions will require a personal statement. Use it to show the reviewers you are not only qualified to carry out your project, but that you are a natural choice because of your interest in and enthusiasm for the subject and your future goals.
When writing personal statements:
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Keep it short and to the point.
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Determine what sort of statement the granting agency wants by reading the instructions carefully. Some agencies will want a snapshot of your life, others will request a more detailed picture, but all will want to learn about your scholarly interests and achievements.
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Keep it professional. Personal statements are not the place to unburden yourself.
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Emphasize your specific qualifications for carrying out the proposed research.
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Give reviewers a sense of your development as an individual and a scholar.
What is the difference between a curriculum vitae (also called a CV) and a résumé
Curriculum Vitae or Résumé
A résumé is a brief account of your experience and skills tailored to a specific job for which you are applying. A CV is a full account of your academic credentials and accomplishments. Granting agencies often create confusion regarding CVs and résumés by requiring a "shortened CV" that lists only selected pieces of your scholarly history.
Whether the agency requests a CV or a résumé:
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Highlight your strongest credentials.
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Strictly follow any length, order or content requirements. This standardization allows reviewers to easily scan the document, saving them the time and the frustration that could result in a negative reaction to an otherwise strong proposal.
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Pay attention to visual effectiveness. Make it easy on the eye by using a 12 point font size, capital letters, bold print, underlining, bullets and plenty of white space. Don't make it dense, busy or cute. Use a white or cream bond paper (the same as for your cover letters).
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Be consistent in your use of grammatical structure and style, and make sure your grammar and spelling are perfect.
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Information presented at the beginning of a section, at the left-hand margin or in a column gets extra emphasis; thus, it is generally inadvisable to put dates in the margins.
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If the agency doesn't request specific content, select the best format to highlight your qualifications and experience. A modified chronological résumé (items described in reverse chronological order within different categories of experience) works for most applications. Include: Education record, including the titles of theses or dissertations and dates degrees were awarded; employment record, including current position and title; publications; and honors, awards, and grants. For grant applications it is generally more appropriate to focus attention on scholarly qualifications rather than teaching experience. If you're short on space, delete the "courses taught" section.
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Omit personal information such as age, marital or health status and race or ethnicity. Although information about citizenship or visa status is not required, it may be wise to include a reference to US citizenship or permanent resident status if your nationality is ambiguous.
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Omit a list of your references, unless otherwise directed.
Letters of Recommendation
Think carefully about your referees. The recommendations submitted on your behalf are extremely important. Good letters provide the reviewers with an evaluation of your overall work as a scholar and a detailed analysis of your specific project. Select your references with care:
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Your advisor should provide one of your letters of reference.
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Make sure that you ask for letters from other scholars who know and can discuss the quality of your work, the significance of your project to the field and your ability to complete the project successfully.
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Do not select famous scholars who are unfamiliar with you and your work. They can give only lukewarm references at best.
Provide your letter writers with the following:
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Your current CV or résumé
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A copy of the current draft of the application(s)
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A complete description of the award(s) for which you are applying (Highlight the criteria for awards and other information that will help them to address your qualifications for the award, as well as the mailing address and deadline.)
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Any forms they are required to fill out
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Proper mailing address to which they must submit the reference (Including a mail label with the address printed on it adds a nice touch.)
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Date by which the reference must arrive
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Give your letter writers plenty of time to generate favorable letters
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Follow-up tactfully to make sure that they have sent the letters
The Information Useful to Recommenders (pdf document) form may be helpful in ensuring that you provide your recommenders with the information necessary for them to write a sterling reference. Regardless of the format you use to present such information, your recommenders will be much more inclined to provide you with a highly favorable recommendation if you provide them with all of the information they need to do so quickly and easily.
Letters of Affiliation (with institutions)
A letter of affiliation from the host institution is sometimes required when you are applying for a fellowship or research grant for work away from your home institution. From the granting agency's view, such letters are necessary to assure the reviewers that you will have access to the necessary facilities or research materials at the host institution.
Many governments require permission to conduct research in certain areas or among certain groups. Check with your graduate advisor and the agency if you think your research might require letters of permission.
Although it may not be indicated in an agency's application materials, all research involving humans (including surveys, observation and interviews) requires approval of the proposed research by the KU Advisory Committee on Human Experimentation (ACHE).
Transcripts
Many granting agencies (and prospective employers for that matter) require that graduate students submit transcripts with their applications. Official transcripts can be obtained for a small fee from the KU Registrar's window in Strong Hall. The turn-around time is usually one day.
To obtain transcripts from other institutions, request them at least
three weeks in advance of your target application mailing date to allow
enough time for them to arrive. (Be sure there is time for you to mail
your request to the institution, for the institution to process your request
and for the transcripts to get back to you, or, if required, from the
institution directly to the granting agency.) To expedite matters, be
sure to include all of the information required by the institution, such
as:
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Your full name (and maiden name, if applicable).
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Your Social Security number.
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Telephone number.
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Complete return address.
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Number of transcripts needed (stock up now).
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Whether or not you need the transcripts in separate sealed envelopes.
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Your signature.
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A check to cover the fee, if applicable.
Application Submission
Before you submit your application, double check the instructions to make sure that you have followed them to the letter.
Completed applications can be submitted in a number of ways. The cheapest, of course, is regular post. However, the best way to ensure your application's timely arrival is to use an express mail service—if the package does not arrive by the deadline it can be traced and you can prove that you did mail it in time.
Some express services are:
NOTE: To submit via express mail services, you must provide the street address--P.O. Box numbers in lieu of street addresses will not be accepted. And, you must provide both your own and the recipient's telephone number.
Electronic Submission
Some funding agencies request that you submit your application electronically. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requires all of its applications to be submitted via its electronic, FastLane submission system, which is more user-friendly and less costly for applicants than paper means of submission.
Hall Center Scholars
Zach Abramovitz, Joel Burnett, Catherine Oberthaler and Dan Thompson prepare to lead a panel discussion with Susan Estrich.
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