Grants and other funding opportunities can help you develop a track record of success as a researcher, potentially increasing your attractiveness to future employers. Many graduate students have worthwhile projects that deserve funding. While that may be true, it will be up to you to convince proposal reviewers that your project is a worthwhile initiative to fund. Having a concrete plan will help you with that. This chapter provides you with some resources to help get you started.

Considerations

Graduate students often seek funding from foundations, agencies, and their own affiliated institutions of higher education. This money may be used to complete a research project, attend a professional conference, participate in a fellowship, etc. Some funding opportunities have a smaller pool of applications, so try not limit yourself. Consider a combination of funding opportunities.

Be sure to carefully read and follow all procedures and guidelines provided by the funding agency before submitting your funding application or research proposal.

The following embedded PDF includes details on some of the key features of a research proposal:

Wong, P. (2002). How to write a research proposal. Dr. Paul T. P. Wong. Retrieved from http://www.drpaulwong.com/how-to-write-a-research-proposal

Budget

While the particular proposal requirements for funding opportunities may differ, a key element for most will be your proposed budget. The grant proposal budget will be specific to your project or program and outlines the intended expenditures if awarded funding. Costs and project elements should be well-defined with capital and non-capital expenditures and all assumed in-kind services, volunteer efforts, and indirect costs included.

Additional Resources

The following workshop video [1:28:09] from Old Dominion University provides an overview of grant writing essentials:

Grant-Writing Tips

• The Making of a Successful Proposal (University of Illinois)
• Grant-Writing Tips for Graduate Students (Chronicle of Higher Education)
• On the Art of Writing Proposals – Adam Prezeworski and Frank Saloman (Social Science Research Council)
• Grant Proposals (or Give Me the Money!) (UNC’s Writing Center)
• Tips for Writing Graduate Student Grant Proposals (University of Colorado Boulder)
• Advice on Writing Proposals to the National Science Foundation (Susan Finger, CMU)
• A Proposal Writer’s Guide (D. Thackrey, UMich)
• Tips for a Successful Grant Application (Environmental Protection Agency)
• How to get a Grant from NEH(National Endowment for the Humanities)
• Grant-writing Guide (National Institutes of Health)
• A Guide for Proposal Writing (National Science Foundation)
• Proposal Writing Short Course (The Foundation Center)
• The Importance of Grant Writing in Graduate School (Mélise Edwards – Blog Post)

Grant-Finding Resources

• The Graduate College at University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign’s Fellowship Finder
• Florida State University’s Scholarships by Identity site
• Harvard University’s CARAT Database for Grants and Fellowships
• Duke University’s Research Funding Database
• The Graduate School at the University of California, Los Angeles GRAPES Database
• The University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School’s Funding Database
• The Graduate School at Rutgers University’s GradFund Awards Listing

Fredonia/SUNY/NYS Funding Opportunities

• Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students (Graduate Studies Office – SUNY Fredonia)
• Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants (SUNY Diversity Program Awards)
• SUNY Graduate Research Empowering and Accelerating Talent (GREAT) Award
• Innovation and Research Grant (College Student Personnel Association of New York State)
• Grants/Funding Opportunities (New York State – Department of Health)
• Grants and Awards (New York State Archives)
• Research Residency In New York State History and Culture (New York State Library)