Research Grant
Independent Travel/Research Grants are intended to support students who wish to pursue independent study and research, to be conducted off-campus on international or intercultural topics. These grants support projects which require additional time outside the calendar of an off-campus program. Applicants should plan to stay on after completing an off-campus program or to travel independently to a site. Proposals normally support independent study that is grounded in prior academic course work; normally the fruits of this independent study will contribute to subsequent academic work on campus.
Research involving human participants must be authorized by the Institutional Review Board, St. Lawrence's legally mandated ethics committee that reviews all research with human participants. If you wish to interview people or conduct surveys of certain populations, you MUST have approval from the IRB. You must also check with your host countries laws and regulations regarding research. Many countries require formal approval and a specific research permit to conduct independent research.
In developing a proposal for either kind of grant, students should consult with a faculty or staff member who will advise, review the final draft of the proposal, and write a recommendation about the student and the proposal. Students applying for Independent Travel/Research Grants must also make an appointment to discuss their proposal with the Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies at CIIS.
Preference for enrichment and for independent research grants goes to those who have not previously received a grant through CIIS. Travel research grants are extremely competitive and do not normally exceed a maximum of $1,500-2,000.
Applications are due on April 8th for Fall and Academic Year programs. Applications are due on November 5th for Spring programs.
Proposals are reviewed by the Committee on International and Intercultural Studies and decisions announced about two weeks after the deadline. For more---see the guidelines below
Students may propose to do this independent work in association with their participation in an off-campus program or independently of any program. However, proposers should recognize that such work requires an adequate time frame; off-campus programs have especially full schedules. Such work is best planned to follow the off-campus program or to be accomplished during the winter break in a full-year program. Independent work may be done in January, summer, or, rarely, during fall or spring breaks. Grants will be made only to matriculated SLU students whose grant project is completed before the end of the last semester in residence. Grants may not be used for internships or for tuition and fees for non-SLU programs or courses.
Research Proposal
Your first step should be to discuss your ideas with an appropriate faculty member and develop your proposal with this faculty mentor, who will then fill out the faculty recommendation form. You should also meet with the Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies (Carnegie 108) to review a draft of your proposal at least 1 week before the deadline for submission. One of the benefits for students is gaining some experience in how to write a grant, and we are eager to work with you on this process. In addition to the tips below, students can benefit from the guidelines for SLU fellowships as well.
The proposal should be single-spaced and include a detailed discussion of the elements indicated below.
After working on your proposal with your faculty mentor, provide him or her with a final copy of your proposal so your mentor can complete the required online recommendation.
1. Working title for your project
2. Name of faculty mentor with whom you worked to develop this proposal
3. Introduction-- Briefly describe the research project and the main research questions being investigated
4. Literature review- how does your project idea and research questions connect to scholarly debates from peer-reviewed sources. You should plan to cite sources from your bibliography here.
5. Logistical plans Describe as specifically as possible how you propose to organize your field work. Address the time frame within which you will do this work; comment on any calendar issues (such as a holiday period during the time of your research). Where will you stay during the field work? What contacts do you have which will assist you in organizing the project?
6. The methodology to be used in gathering data and the rationale for how this research fits into your ongoing academic work and goals. Does this methodology require any special skills, linguistic abilities or require IRB approval. [Address the issue of the adequacy of the time frame within which you intend to do this work.]
7. Your qualifications and preparation. Provide information about the development of your interest or involvement in this topic and the course work which has prepared you for this project. Upload a copy of your advising/informal transcript with this application.
8. Outcome. Your research supported by this grant should feed into a credit-bearing academic course upon your return, a course in which you will explicitly draw upon this research. This may be in the form of an independent study, an SYE, an honors project, a paper in a seminar course or a class presentation. Indicate how you plan to incorporate your research into a course. If the faculty director for this course is someone other than your mentor for this project, ask that faculty member to email CIIS with her/his approval of your plans.
9. A detailed and well researched budget for the travel and activity to be supported. Proposals which show a clear effort on the applicant’s part to be economical will be viewed favorably.
10. A bibliography of work on this topic. The bibliography will be an indication of your familiarity with the topic you propose to study or research further. Indicate what material in the bibliography you have already read. Students may present bibliographical and methodological information in the form of appendices, if this material has been developed prior to the proposal. Previous work on the topic may also be presented as an appendix.