personal statement for travel grant

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Writing a Winning Travel Grant Application

As PhD students and early career researchers, many of us don’t have the means to attend many conferences. Sometimes, the only affordable way to travel to a conference or another laboratory is to gain funding through a travel grant. I’ve been lucky enough to receive five travel grants during my PhD, and they have been so beneficial. In this post, I am going to go through some of my tips and tricks to give yourself the best chance of winning a travel grant.

Why get travel funding?

There are many benefits to attending conferences. These include the opportunity to present your work, network with peers, initiate conversations around postdoctoral opportunities, and develop collaborations. Presenting, whether it’s a poster presentation or an oral presentation , it’s so useful to develop confidence and to get feedback on your work from experts in the field.

As you’re probably aware, attending conferences is not cheap once you factor in conference registration, flights, and accommodation. Especially for an Australian like myself, most international conferences are a 15 hour flight away – this is not cheap! Travel funding is your entry to these conferences. As an added bonus, when the conference is not in session, you have the opportunity to explore a new city or country, try new food, and see the sights.

Identify grants to apply for (and get in early!)

First, you need to identify the conference(s) you want to attend. You can ask your supervisors and other students in your lab for ideas. Once you know this, start thinking about travel funding soon after. Often travel grants will only have one round a year or will close well in advance.

I have a general list I keep updated of grants to apply for. These can be really wide-ranging. My university offers a range of travel grants for PhD students, so I make sure I know when the deadlines are so I can start working on them early. Other places you can look for include:

• The actual conference (sometimes conferences have young investigator grants)
• Charities or research funds related to your research
• Alternative sources (e.g. businesses) – for example, Hello Bio offers a monthly $500 travel grant

Making your case

The requirements for each travel grant are different. Make sure you understand them, and reach out to the organisers to clear up any problems or ask any questions. Plan out what you need: for example, do you need a letter of recommendation from a supervisor or other contact? Ask for these as early as possible, and give reminders.

One of the other major factors in a travel grant application is your conference abstract submission. Having an accepted abstract is going to put you ahead of the pack. However, it isn’t a total barrier if you don’t have one. Last year, I wanted to apply for a prestigious travel grant, but it only had one funding round per year, which did not line up with abstract submissions for my chosen conference. However, I was able to provide the abstract I planned to submit, and was able to demonstrate my success in having previous abstracts accepted as evidence.

When writing travel grant applications, I like to think about how I can make my application most attractive to the committee. Is there something else you can do, along with the conference, to really maximise your learning and development opportunities? Some of the things I have added-on to a conference include:

• Attending a short training course at a nearby university after the conference
• Going to two conferences in the same week
• Visiting another lab

I have had success by finding researchers from my area in the city I am going to, and then emailing them to see if I can visit them for a day. It’s been great to see other lab set-ups, meet other students and receive feedback on my work.

And finally, think about why you want to attend your event, and what you hope to get out of it. Make sure you demonstrate this in your application:

• Are there specific people you want to meet?
• Do you want to collaborate with different groups?
• Do you want to talk to people about postdoctoral positions?

Having a clear idea of your objectives can help to convince funders that you should receive a grant.

Budget well

Many travel grants will ask you to develop and show a detailed budget for your trip. My tip is to provide evidence of costs in the form of quote or screenshots. You can ask your university institute’s travel provider for flights and accommodation quotes, and be sure to include the cost of conference registration in your budget. Think about what else you might need, such as land transport, visas, incidental expenses, and make a well-researched estimate of their costs.

Travelling is incredibly valuable during your PhD. Applying for travel grants can allow you to travel more easily and regularly, and is also really good practice for applying for research grants and fellowships as you come to the end of your PhD and move into postdoctoral positions.

_______________

Kate Secombe is a PhD candidate in the Cancer Treatment Toxicities Group at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her research focuses on reducing gastrointestinal side-effects of cancer treatments, with a particular focus on the role of the gut microbiome.

Outside of her research, Kate teaches Human Biology and Physiology to a broad range of both on-campus and online undergraduate students. She also regularly blogs at pooisnottaboo.com .

You can follow Kate on Twitter at @kate_secombe or find out more at https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/kate.s...

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Find out more and apply now!

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Matador Original Series

The complete guide to finding and winning travel grants.

G RANTS ARE AWARDED for travel research, humanitarian work, airfare, lodging, education, career advancement, and to cover living expenses while you are in another country.

I have won many grants to do humanitarian work in Sri Lanka. Through grants I have helped build homes for tsunami victims, started a guava jam project, and bought books and pencils for children in low income areas.

The grant proposal is the basic document that enables applicants to get money. First off, there are three types of grant proposals:

• A Letter of Inquiry (LOI) – A letter of inquiry is a one to two page summary that outlines the project. Funders request a brief description of the project before making a decision on whether to ask for a longer and more comprehensive proposal.
• Letter Proposal – A letter proposal is a three to five page description of the project plan, the purpose for which funds are being sought, and background information on the applicant requesting funds.
• Long Proposal – The most common document that funders seek is the long proposal. The long proposal is three to ten pages long. It contains the cover letter and the proposal summary accompanying it. The common format includes a need statement, goals and objectives, methods, budget, and evaluation.

Knowing where to look for money is key. Researching funders that are likely to give money to carry out your work requires time, patience, and perseverance.

Always remember to look at the funder’s current guidelines. Grant profiles, contact information, and funding criteria change frequently. The internet is an excellent source to look for funders.

You are likely to find the most current information available online, simply because web sites are easier to update than print publications.

How To Research Funders

Researching the right places is a critical component of increasing your chances of winning a grant for emergency expenses. The research phase is fun but requires patience.

If you have a family member or a friend who is willing to perform a good-will hunting on your behalf, you are likely to save a lot of time, energy, and effort. The reality, however, is that you are the most likely person to do the best job of researching potential foundations that are likely to cover emergency living expenses.

Get started here: The Foundation Center

This is the first place to begin your research on private foundations, community foundations, and corporate giving in any part of the country.

The Foundation Center Online provides links to individual foundations’ websites, offers news about foundations and giving trends, links to research materials, links to foundations’ 990 tax forms, and much more.

If you want to look at private foundations go to the home page and click on “Grantmaker Websites,” then click on “Private Foundations.”

National Funders – Where To Look

Expand your funding hunt to national sources as well. Here are some excellent sources:

• The Federal Register – When it comes to finding federal grant opportunities the first step is to go to the source: the Federal Register Online. The Federal Register is the official daily record of all meetings, notices, regulations, and other functions of the federal government.
• Grants.Gov is a centralized grant site for the federal government. The home page has a link to grant opportunities released during the previous week.
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) – The Catalog online is searchable by a variety of categories and key words. Click on “Search for Assistance Programs” on the Home Page to get to the search page. Then click on “Find a Grant.” This brings you to a list of categories, each of which has its own subcategories. Each subcategory has a number of grant programs.

When dealing with any funder, remember to read the instructions carefully before applying. Simple as it may sound, this advice is very important. Because grant makers receive so many applications, they are often quick to discard those that do not strictly comply with their instructions.

You may have excellent grant proposal writing skills and an uncanny ability to submit award winning proposals, but if you don’t know how to read the guidelines and obey them, the likelihood of winning funding is slim.

Ten years ago hard copies of directories were the standard method of hunting for grants. They are still widely used, but the internet is gaining more popularity when it comes to researching funders. Sometimes the internet version is more up to date than hard copies, which are only published once a year.

How To Evaluate A Potential Travel Grant

Look at each individual foundation’s profile. Most foundation listings are profiled as follows:

• Eligibility: Tells if individuals or organizations can apply.
• Funding Criteria: gives an indication of how large or how small the grants are. Some give a range, such as grants between $10,000-$500,000 are awarded
• Restrictions: tells the categories of support
• Contact Address: tells you who and where to contact to receive an application form.
• Areas of Funding: tells the fields that the foundation prefers to fund.
• Submission: tells how applicants can submit their work, whether by regular mail, e-mail, fax, or hand delivery
• Deadline: tells when the applications are due.
• Purpose of the foundation : You also want to make sure they share an interest in your project. Do they target a location? Check for geographic priorities. If the foundation only makes local grants and your organization is on the other side of the state cross its name off your list. If the foundation makes national grants, your project must have national importance if it is to be considered.
• Limitations: Look at the restrictions or limitations. Statements of limitations include “grant funds are generally limited to charitable organizations already favorably known to the foundation,” and/or “grant funds are committed.” Both statements mean the same thing, that the foundation already is working with established organizations and committed money to those same organizations year after year.

Sample Guidelines for Grant Applicants

Guidelines vary from funder to funder. Some are very basic while others are more complex. Here are three sample guidelines taken from private and federal funders:

Sample Guidelines #1

To apply to the foundation, please submit a three-page application. Applications over three pages will not be considered. Electronic submissions in Microsoft word or PDF formats are also accepted.

On the first two pages include the following:

• 1. Title of the project
• 2. A brief (two sentence) description of the project
• 3. Overall objective and significance of and benefit from your project
• 4. Clearly and in detail set forth the specific goals of your project, how you will accomplish these goals, and the time frame for the project. The foundation will primarily focus on stated goals and the plan to accomplish them in reviewing all requests
• 5. On a separate single page please provide:
• a. The dollar amount requested and the specific budget for the project and its justification. The foundation generally does not provide funds for organization overhead, routine equipment, standard photographic equipment or personal computers. Any related funding, active or pending, including “in-kind” funds should be explicitly described including the budget.
• b. The applicant’s name, address, and phone number
• c. Any affiliations of the applicant
• d. Identify all previous requests to the foundation

Use regular mail. Do not use a mail service that requires staff signature.

Debunking Travel Grant Writing Myths

Myths about grant writing can derail even the most skilled and motivated grant seekers. Don’t fall for the traps carefully laid out by a few self-seeking individuals.

Here are some myths to watch out for. Buying into any of these myths can keep success at arm’s length for many grant writers.

Myth #1: If you Craft an Excellent Proposal, You will Always get Funded

Not exactly. Even if a grant writer submits an exceptionally persuasive grant proposal, there is always the likelihood of a funder rejecting it.

The grant proposal is not the only factor that determines whether or not a proposal is funded. Most established grant writers would agree that the success of grant proposals depends on four factors:

• 1. The quality of the nonprofit organization
• 2. The innovative nature or critical importance of the proposed project
• 3. The emerging priorities of a funding source or the competition level in a particular grantmaking cycle
• 4. The skills of the grantwriter in building a compelling case. No matter how carefully and strategically a proposal is prepared, these other factors impact the outcome

Myth #2: There is No Money Available.

This is not true. Billions of dollars are waiting to be claimed.

Furthermore, those who are entrusted with dispersing this money are just as eager to give it away as organizations and individuals are to receive it.

With philanthropists like Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffet giving away billions of dollars in grants, the grant writing well is flowing quite strongly.

Myth #3: The Money Only Goes to Big, Prestigious Institutions; Not to Individuals or to Small Nonprofits

Wrong again. It is true that over ninety percent of grants are given to nonprofits and that individual applicants qualify only for a meager sliver of funding.

It is also true that enormous amounts of money are given to the same institutions, year after year. However, these reasons do not mean that small institutions and individuals do not qualify for grants.

Small institutions and people who are “unknown” to the general public are getting hundreds of millions of dollars too. Knowing where to look for them is key.

Myth #4: Successful Grant Seeking Requires Connections

Connections can help but they are not required. Connections may play a role in federal grants but private foundations are open to applications from anyone who fits the guidelines.

Myth #5: The Contact Information of Funders is Usually Kept a Secret

Far from it. By law, philanthropic organizations and federal funders are required to make their charity giving public knowledge. The 990PF reports are the tax returns filed by private foundations.

Legally, nonprofits are required to disclose their tax returns to the public, interested in learning about their grant giving trends. Knowing how to research funders is important.

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How to tailor a CV for travel grant applications

Can anyone advise on how to tailor a CV for travel grant applications?

I've seen a number of computer science conferences and workshops where the application for travel grants consists of simply sending your CV.

Is there anything that one can do specifically for this type of application?

• computer-science

• 7 I'd suggest sending an academic version of your CV (that has all your publications and pedagogical activities listed)... –  TCSGrad Commented Feb 25, 2015 at 16:29

3 Answers 3

In my experience, your CV is your CV, and it should list basically everything of scientific significance about you (unless you're so far along in your career that you can do an impressive "highlight" CV). The main decision available to you is how you order and cluster these things.

Thus, if your CV is already ordered and grouped to put your best foot forward, scientifically, I don't think you need to do anything else in particular to tailor it for a travel grant application. I certainly know that when I have been in the position of looking at student/early-career applications to decide on travel grants, the full package is generally small enough that it's easy to see the significant bits no matter how things are formatted.

You should always try to tailor your CV to the opportunity you are applying for. You might want to consider a personal statement of two sentences that encapsulate who you are and why this travel grant is relevant for you. People tend to read the beginning of CVs and then skim. You want to make sure that the narrative makes sense, so don't include too much information and make sure that the information included is phrased so as to be relevant to the opportunity. Definitely include a page with all your publications and previous conference papers. In terms of conference travel grants, however, it's going to mainly depend on the paper proposal - how relevant the proposal is to the conference's main aims will determine how much the organizers want to help make sure you can attend.

• 2 don't include too much information — I strongly disagree. An academic CV (at least in the US) is always a complete formal list of academic accomplishments, including all publications, talks, awards, grants, teaching experience, and so on. –  JeffE Commented May 15, 2015 at 14:41
• @JeffE: my academic CV does not include all my talks (though it did when I had given fewer talks). For people more senior than I am, I think it is extremely common that one's CV would include only a selection of talks (e.g. colloquiua, plenary lectures, etc.). Still, I agree with your overall point: it would be very strange if a CV included only some of the author's publications, for example. –  Tom Church Commented May 15, 2015 at 19:07
• A personal statement in your CV is a great idea: it could set you apart from other applicants by making it clear why you would benefit from being able to attend this conference, and why the conference would benefit from your presence. –  Gaurav Commented May 31, 2015 at 1:42

I think is the same as for job application - show the accomplished things but in a more direct way, not descriptive way e.g. "I participated in the project X that was dealing with Y, we proposed Z that is modified algorithm ZZ." can be converted to "We/I developed new algorithm Z showed better performance compared to state-of-art. The algo applicable in this and that areas".

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October 6, 2022

Writing a Confident and Thematically Driven Personal Statement for Fulbright

Like many large grant organizations, the Fulbright Foundation requires applicants to write both a statement of purpose and a personal statement.

Regardless of your personal background, a strong personal statement for a large grant application like the Fulbright should always have a clear focus: the content of it should always serve the overarching project proposal that you’ve articulated in your statement of purpose.

[For more about the statement of purpose, check out: Writing the Fulbright Statement of Purpose as a Practical Document . ]

4 goals of your grant personal statement

The personal statement is a persuasive text in which your job is to convince the reader that you are excited about and capable of achieving the impactful goals you have set for yourself. The choices that you make as you share your personal history should enable you to accomplish the following goals:

• Explain what drives you to carry out this particular project with an authentic sense of enthusiasm, passion, and commitment towards generating tangible impacts.
• Describe past experiences that have equipped you to carry out this particular project with a clear sense of cultural sensitivity, collaboration, and purpose.
• If your project plays a part in your overarching personal or professional trajectory, show the reader what you have already done to fulfill this mission.
• Show the committee what kinds of impacts you plan to have both as you carry out this project, and afterwards. How will the time that you spend on this grant contribute to a future that goes far beyond the project itself?

Below I’ve included the personal statement that I wrote for a successful application to the Fulbright Brazil cohort of 2016. After the original essay, I have provided analysis that clearly shows the argumentative logic and supporting evidence in each paragraph.

Fulbright personal statement example

My fulbright personal statement.

(Original text)

I first studied Portuguese to expand my comparative engagement with Spanish Latin American literature as an undergraduate student. This literary curiosity, however, quickly unfolded into an overwhelming year of music, buses, warm tropical air, and full- time coursework as an exchange student at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in 2007. Captivating Brazilian authors like Darcy Ribeiro and Machado de Assis pulled me deeper into the Portuguese language. The political power of Música Popular Brasileira and the stark creativity of Cinema Novo forced me to reconsider my own historical perspectives regarding the increasingly visible and global role of regional cultures. After that year of international studies my relationship with Brazil continued to expand in dynamic ways.

My first professional role at Glass Lewis required me to conduct research in Spanish and Portuguese, translating documents for the explicit purpose of assessing the monetary value of publicly traded companies in the Americas. There I realized that my affinity for language acquisition and critical thinking put me in a unique position to facilitate access to economic and cultural dialogues regarding the growing importance of Latin America and Brazil. After this experience I attended the University of Cambridge and wrote my thesis on 20th century visual and photographic representations of the U.S.-Mexico border. This project showed me that there are undeniable links between aesthetic representation, technology, politics and economic flows. By continuing my studies at the doctoral level and seeking opportunities to work with Latin America and Brazil, I make choices that allow me to facilitate public access to information, critical dialogue and multiple points of view in a variety of international contexts.

In the classroom I have collaborated with Professor L. to teach students how to translate ethnographic narratives about musical experiences into research projects regarding relationships between global popular culture, technology and individual identities. I have spoken at several conferences about my collaboration with UCLA archivists to make a previously hidden collection of cordel accessible through a highly searchable and detailed Finding Aid at the Online Archives of California. Last year I consulted with a small educational start-up called Endless Mobile, a company that facilitates access to educational information for communities that only have intermittent access to the Internet. At Endless Mobile I served as a content strategist and developed tools for selecting and storing educational content that is now being used in classrooms all over Guatemala.

The knowledge that I continue to develop and gain as I study Latin America and Brazil is only useful unless* I can share it with others. There are a variety of venues through which information can be made accessible to larger audiences, and they are not always in the classroom. In addition to my studies, experiences at Glass Lewis, the UCLA Library’s Special Collections and internet companies like Endless Mobile have shown me that that the stories we tell about relationships between the Americas, whether they are driven by financial or educational needs, play incredibly powerful roles in the contemporary world. As a student, translator, teacher and researcher I aim to participate in these conversations and search for better ways to make them possible.

* This typo was in my original (and successful) proposal. “Unless” should be ‘if.”

Analysis of the argument – paragraph by paragraph

Paragraph 1.

Persuasive goal: Explain my initial exposure to studying in the host country of Brazil as the root of my current desire to study the “increasingly visible and global role of regional cultures.”

Evidence provided in paragraph: As I discuss my experiences studying abroad in Brazil, I clearly reference the main components of my project. The prominent content of my project: “literatura de cordel,” is an object of regional culture, and the complex mechanism I wish to consider: “global visibility,” results from processes of circulation and redistribution.

Paragraph 2

Persuasive goal: Clearly show how my postgraduate experiences were a continuation of the interests I developed during my year abroad in Brazil.

Evidence provided in paragraph: Whether in my professional role as a financial researcher, master’s student at Cambridge, or doctoral student at UCLA, I consistently chose to pursue complex questions related to “public access to information” in cross-cultural, multi-lingual, and global contexts. Again, in this paragraph I’ve chosen to narrate my professional history through the broadest theme of the project: redistribution.

Paragraph 3

Persuasive goal: Demonstrate the active role that I currently play in the process of redistributing educational information through teaching, archival collaboration, and non-research work experiences.

This paragraph ties together a diverse set of work experiences, and purposefully cuts through a number of institutional boundaries. By clearly narrating my recent non-research work experiences as a teacher, collaborative archivist, and content developer for an education start-up, I clearly state my capacity to carry out my mission both within and beyond the university setting.

Paragraph 4

Hey there’s a typo in this paragraph, and I still made it through!

Persuasive goal: Envision a future for myself that will allow me to have broad social impacts through a continuous practice of making information accessible in a variety of institutional settings.

Evidence provided in paragraph: This paragraph clearly expresses a personal mission that is open to the future, wishes to make information available outside of the classroom, and can see beyond this singular project. I acknowledge the powerful nature of cultural relationships between the Americas and, in the final sentence; I firmly plant myself in the contemporary world, even though my object of study is from the past.

Bottom line: what I learned

Hindsight is 20/20. Even though I didn’t know how the events, activities, and interests of my past experiences would add up while they were happening, the personal statement was a chance for me to confidently show the committee that I was passionate about and prepared to achieve the project-based goals that I set for myself.

Need help navigating the grant application writing process? Looking for personalized guidance for your personal statement? Learn how your Accepted advisor can help you achieve your educational and professional goals.

Fulbright 2023-2024 Competition Deadline

Source: Fulbright website

Student Affairs Advisor and scholarship expert, Rebecca has six years experience reviewing and editing large grant applications, research-based proposals, statements of purpose, personal statements and fellowship materials. Want Rebecca to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide • What I Learned about Grant Writing from Putting Together 3 Fulbright Applications Before Finally Being Selected • Writing the Fulbright Statement of Grant Purpose as a Practical Document

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A number of grants ask for personal statements as part of the application. However, what they mean by the term can vary widely. “Personal statement” in some applications might refer to a hybrid research narrative-personal background format, while in others it might refer to a more strictly personal, i.e., autobiographical, essay. Be sure to pay close attention to how the funder defines the personal statement.

If an application requires a personal statement in addition to a more traditional proposal narrative, one productive way to go about writing the personal statement is to think of it as an intellectual biography and piece of creative non-fiction, which serves to connect where you are now (interested in a particular area of research) to your past (an event or context that brought you to the present) while also projecting into the future (where you see yourself going after having completed this research).

This blog post from UMass Amherst gives a good overview to different things you will want to keep in mind as you prepare a personal statement.

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Writing Personal Statements for Fellowships and Grants

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1. create purpose and goals, 2. search for grants, 3. create an outline, 4. use a good format, 5. proofread the proposal, share this post on your network, you may also like these articles, title project proposal.

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Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you write and revise grant proposals for research funding in all academic disciplines (sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts). It’s targeted primarily to graduate students and faculty, although it will also be helpful to undergraduate students who are seeking funding for research (e.g. for a senior thesis).

The grant writing process

A grant proposal or application is a document or set of documents that is submitted to an organization with the explicit intent of securing funding for a research project. Grant writing varies widely across the disciplines, and research intended for epistemological purposes (philosophy or the arts) rests on very different assumptions than research intended for practical applications (medicine or social policy research). Nonetheless, this handout attempts to provide a general introduction to grant writing across the disciplines.

Before you begin writing your proposal, you need to know what kind of research you will be doing and why. You may have a topic or experiment in mind, but taking the time to define what your ultimate purpose is can be essential to convincing others to fund that project. Although some scholars in the humanities and arts may not have thought about their projects in terms of research design, hypotheses, research questions, or results, reviewers and funding agencies expect you to frame your project in these terms. You may also find that thinking about your project in these terms reveals new aspects of it to you.

Writing successful grant applications is a long process that begins with an idea. Although many people think of grant writing as a linear process (from idea to proposal to award), it is a circular process. Many people start by defining their research question or questions. What knowledge or information will be gained as a direct result of your project? Why is undertaking your research important in a broader sense? You will need to explicitly communicate this purpose to the committee reviewing your application. This is easier when you know what you plan to achieve before you begin the writing process.

Diagram 1 below provides an overview of the grant writing process and may help you plan your proposal development.

Applicants must write grant proposals, submit them, receive notice of acceptance or rejection, and then revise their proposals. Unsuccessful grant applicants must revise and resubmit their proposals during the next funding cycle. Successful grant applications and the resulting research lead to ideas for further research and new grant proposals.

Cultivating an ongoing, positive relationship with funding agencies may lead to additional grants down the road. Thus, make sure you file progress reports and final reports in a timely and professional manner. Although some successful grant applicants may fear that funding agencies will reject future proposals because they’ve already received “enough” funding, the truth is that money follows money. Individuals or projects awarded grants in the past are more competitive and thus more likely to receive funding in the future.

Some general tips

• Begin early.
• Apply early and often.
• Don’t forget to include a cover letter with your application.
• Answer all questions. (Pre-empt all unstated questions.)
• If rejected, revise your proposal and apply again.
• Give them what they want. Follow the application guidelines exactly.
• Be explicit and specific.
• Be realistic in designing the project.
• Make explicit the connections between your research questions and objectives, your objectives and methods, your methods and results, and your results and dissemination plan.
• Follow the application guidelines exactly. (We have repeated this tip because it is very, very important.)

Before you start writing

Identify your needs and focus.

First, identify your needs. Answering the following questions may help you:

• Are you undertaking preliminary or pilot research in order to develop a full-blown research agenda?
• Are you seeking funding for dissertation research? Pre-dissertation research? Postdoctoral research? Archival research? Experimental research? Fieldwork?
• Are you seeking a stipend so that you can write a dissertation or book? Polish a manuscript?
• Do you want a fellowship in residence at an institution that will offer some programmatic support or other resources to enhance your project?
• Do you want funding for a large research project that will last for several years and involve multiple staff members?

Next, think about the focus of your research/project. Answering the following questions may help you narrow it down:

• What is the topic? Why is this topic important?
• What are the research questions that you’re trying to answer? What relevance do your research questions have?
• What are your hypotheses?
• What are your research methods?
• Why is your research/project important? What is its significance?
• Do you plan on using quantitative methods? Qualitative methods? Both?
• Will you be undertaking experimental research? Clinical research?

Once you have identified your needs and focus, you can begin looking for prospective grants and funding agencies.

Finding prospective grants and funding agencies

Whether your proposal receives funding will rely in large part on whether your purpose and goals closely match the priorities of granting agencies. Locating possible grantors is a time consuming task, but in the long run it will yield the greatest benefits. Even if you have the most appealing research proposal in the world, if you don’t send it to the right institutions, then you’re unlikely to receive funding.

There are many sources of information about granting agencies and grant programs. Most universities and many schools within universities have Offices of Research, whose primary purpose is to support faculty and students in grant-seeking endeavors. These offices usually have libraries or resource centers to help people find prospective grants.

At UNC, the Research at Carolina office coordinates research support.

The Funding Information Portal offers a collection of databases and proposal development guidance.

The UNC School of Medicine and School of Public Health each have their own Office of Research.

Writing your proposal

The majority of grant programs recruit academic reviewers with knowledge of the disciplines and/or program areas of the grant. Thus, when writing your grant proposals, assume that you are addressing a colleague who is knowledgeable in the general area, but who does not necessarily know the details about your research questions.

Remember that most readers are lazy and will not respond well to a poorly organized, poorly written, or confusing proposal. Be sure to give readers what they want. Follow all the guidelines for the particular grant you are applying for. This may require you to reframe your project in a different light or language. Reframing your project to fit a specific grant’s requirements is a legitimate and necessary part of the process unless it will fundamentally change your project’s goals or outcomes.

Final decisions about which proposals are funded often come down to whether the proposal convinces the reviewer that the research project is well planned and feasible and whether the investigators are well qualified to execute it. Throughout the proposal, be as explicit as possible. Predict the questions that the reviewer may have and answer them. Przeworski and Salomon (1995) note that reviewers read with three questions in mind:

• What are we going to learn as a result of the proposed project that we do not know now? (goals, aims, and outcomes)
• Why is it worth knowing? (significance)
• How will we know that the conclusions are valid? (criteria for success) (2)

Be sure to answer these questions in your proposal. Keep in mind that reviewers may not read every word of your proposal. Your reviewer may only read the abstract, the sections on research design and methodology, the vitae, and the budget. Make these sections as clear and straightforward as possible.

The way you write your grant will tell the reviewers a lot about you (Reif-Lehrer 82). From reading your proposal, the reviewers will form an idea of who you are as a scholar, a researcher, and a person. They will decide whether you are creative, logical, analytical, up-to-date in the relevant literature of the field, and, most importantly, capable of executing the proposed project. Allow your discipline and its conventions to determine the general style of your writing, but allow your own voice and personality to come through. Be sure to clarify your project’s theoretical orientation.

Develop a general proposal and budget

Because most proposal writers seek funding from several different agencies or granting programs, it is a good idea to begin by developing a general grant proposal and budget. This general proposal is sometimes called a “white paper.” Your general proposal should explain your project to a general academic audience. Before you submit proposals to different grant programs, you will tailor a specific proposal to their guidelines and priorities.

Organizing your proposal

Although each funding agency will have its own (usually very specific) requirements, there are several elements of a proposal that are fairly standard, and they often come in the following order:

• Introduction (statement of the problem, purpose of research or goals, and significance of research)

Literature review

• Project narrative (methods, procedures, objectives, outcomes or deliverables, evaluation, and dissemination)
• Budget and budget justification

Format the proposal so that it is easy to read. Use headings to break the proposal up into sections. If it is long, include a table of contents with page numbers.

The title page usually includes a brief yet explicit title for the research project, the names of the principal investigator(s), the institutional affiliation of the applicants (the department and university), name and address of the granting agency, project dates, amount of funding requested, and signatures of university personnel authorizing the proposal (when necessary). Most funding agencies have specific requirements for the title page; make sure to follow them.

The abstract provides readers with their first impression of your project. To remind themselves of your proposal, readers may glance at your abstract when making their final recommendations, so it may also serve as their last impression of your project. The abstract should explain the key elements of your research project in the future tense. Most abstracts state: (1) the general purpose, (2) specific goals, (3) research design, (4) methods, and (5) significance (contribution and rationale). Be as explicit as possible in your abstract. Use statements such as, “The objective of this study is to …”

Introduction

The introduction should cover the key elements of your proposal, including a statement of the problem, the purpose of research, research goals or objectives, and significance of the research. The statement of problem should provide a background and rationale for the project and establish the need and relevance of the research. How is your project different from previous research on the same topic? Will you be using new methodologies or covering new theoretical territory? The research goals or objectives should identify the anticipated outcomes of the research and should match up to the needs identified in the statement of problem. List only the principle goal(s) or objective(s) of your research and save sub-objectives for the project narrative.

Many proposals require a literature review. Reviewers want to know whether you’ve done the necessary preliminary research to undertake your project. Literature reviews should be selective and critical, not exhaustive. Reviewers want to see your evaluation of pertinent works. For more information, see our handout on literature reviews .

Project narrative

The project narrative provides the meat of your proposal and may require several subsections. The project narrative should supply all the details of the project, including a detailed statement of problem, research objectives or goals, hypotheses, methods, procedures, outcomes or deliverables, and evaluation and dissemination of the research.

For the project narrative, pre-empt and/or answer all of the reviewers’ questions. Don’t leave them wondering about anything. For example, if you propose to conduct unstructured interviews with open-ended questions, be sure you’ve explained why this methodology is best suited to the specific research questions in your proposal. Or, if you’re using item response theory rather than classical test theory to verify the validity of your survey instrument, explain the advantages of this innovative methodology. Or, if you need to travel to Valdez, Alaska to access historical archives at the Valdez Museum, make it clear what documents you hope to find and why they are relevant to your historical novel on the ’98ers in the Alaskan Gold Rush.

Clearly and explicitly state the connections between your research objectives, research questions, hypotheses, methodologies, and outcomes. As the requirements for a strong project narrative vary widely by discipline, consult a discipline-specific guide to grant writing for some additional advice.

Explain staffing requirements in detail and make sure that staffing makes sense. Be very explicit about the skill sets of the personnel already in place (you will probably include their Curriculum Vitae as part of the proposal). Explain the necessary skill sets and functions of personnel you will recruit. To minimize expenses, phase out personnel who are not relevant to later phases of a project.

The budget spells out project costs and usually consists of a spreadsheet or table with the budget detailed as line items and a budget narrative (also known as a budget justification) that explains the various expenses. Even when proposal guidelines do not specifically mention a narrative, be sure to include a one or two page explanation of the budget. To see a sample budget, turn to Example #1 at the end of this handout.

Consider including an exhaustive budget for your project, even if it exceeds the normal grant size of a particular funding organization. Simply make it clear that you are seeking additional funding from other sources. This technique will make it easier for you to combine awards down the road should you have the good fortune of receiving multiple grants.

Make sure that all budget items meet the funding agency’s requirements. For example, all U.S. government agencies have strict requirements for airline travel. Be sure the cost of the airline travel in your budget meets their requirements. If a line item falls outside an agency’s requirements (e.g. some organizations will not cover equipment purchases or other capital expenses), explain in the budget justification that other grant sources will pay for the item.

Many universities require that indirect costs (overhead) be added to grants that they administer. Check with the appropriate offices to find out what the standard (or required) rates are for overhead. Pass a draft budget by the university officer in charge of grant administration for assistance with indirect costs and costs not directly associated with research (e.g. facilities use charges).

Furthermore, make sure you factor in the estimated taxes applicable for your case. Depending on the categories of expenses and your particular circumstances (whether you are a foreign national, for example), estimated tax rates may differ. You can consult respective departmental staff or university services, as well as professional tax assistants. For information on taxes on scholarships and fellowships, see https://cashier.unc.edu/student-tax-information/scholarships-fellowships/ .

Explain the timeframe for the research project in some detail. When will you begin and complete each step? It may be helpful to reviewers if you present a visual version of your timeline. For less complicated research, a table summarizing the timeline for the project will help reviewers understand and evaluate the planning and feasibility. See Example #2 at the end of this handout.

For multi-year research proposals with numerous procedures and a large staff, a time line diagram can help clarify the feasibility and planning of the study. See Example #3 at the end of this handout.

Revising your proposal

Strong grant proposals take a long time to develop. Start the process early and leave time to get feedback from several readers on different drafts. Seek out a variety of readers, both specialists in your research area and non-specialist colleagues. You may also want to request assistance from knowledgeable readers on specific areas of your proposal. For example, you may want to schedule a meeting with a statistician to help revise your methodology section. Don’t hesitate to seek out specialized assistance from the relevant research offices on your campus. At UNC, the Odum Institute provides a variety of services to graduate students and faculty in the social sciences.

In your revision and editing, ask your readers to give careful consideration to whether you’ve made explicit the connections between your research objectives and methodology. Here are some example questions:

• Have you presented a compelling case?
• Have you made your hypotheses explicit?
• Does your project seem feasible? Is it overly ambitious? Does it have other weaknesses?
• Have you stated the means that grantors can use to evaluate the success of your project after you’ve executed it?

If a granting agency lists particular criteria used for rating and evaluating proposals, be sure to share these with your own reviewers.

Example #1. Sample Budget

Jet travel $6,100 This estimate is based on the commercial high season rate for jet economy travel on Sabena Belgian Airlines. No U.S. carriers fly to Kigali, Rwanda. Sabena has student fare tickets available which will be significantly less expensive (approximately $2,000).

Maintenance allowance $22,788 Based on the Fulbright-Hays Maintenance Allowances published in the grant application guide.

Research assistant/translator $4,800 The research assistant/translator will be a native (and primary) speaker of Kinya-rwanda with at least a four-year university degree. They will accompany the primary investigator during life history interviews to provide assistance in comprehension. In addition, they will provide commentary, explanations, and observations to facilitate the primary investigator’s participant observation. During the first phase of the project in Kigali, the research assistant will work forty hours a week and occasional overtime as needed. During phases two and three in rural Rwanda, the assistant will stay with the investigator overnight in the field when necessary. The salary of $400 per month is based on the average pay rate for individuals with similar qualifications working for international NGO’s in Rwanda.

Transportation within country, phase one $1,200 The primary investigator and research assistant will need regular transportation within Kigali by bus and taxi. The average taxi fare in Kigali is $6-8 and bus fare is $.15. This figure is based on an average of $10 per day in transportation costs during the first project phase.

Transportation within country, phases two and three $12,000 Project personnel will also require regular transportation between rural field sites. If it is not possible to remain overnight, daily trips will be necessary. The average rental rate for a 4×4 vehicle in Rwanda is $130 per day. This estimate is based on an average of $50 per day in transportation costs for the second and third project phases. These costs could be reduced if an arrangement could be made with either a government ministry or international aid agency for transportation assistance.

Email $720 The rate for email service from RwandaTel (the only service provider in Rwanda) is $60 per month. Email access is vital for receiving news reports on Rwanda and the region as well as for staying in contact with dissertation committee members and advisors in the United States.

Audiocassette tapes $400 Audiocassette tapes will be necessary for recording life history interviews, musical performances, community events, story telling, and other pertinent data.

Photographic & slide film $100 Photographic and slide film will be necessary to document visual data such as landscape, environment, marriages, funerals, community events, etc.

Laptop computer $2,895 A laptop computer will be necessary for recording observations, thoughts, and analysis during research project. Price listed is a special offer to UNC students through the Carolina Computing Initiative.

NUD*IST 4.0 software $373.00 NUD*IST, “Nonnumerical, Unstructured Data, Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing,” is necessary for cataloging, indexing, and managing field notes both during and following the field research phase. The program will assist in cataloging themes that emerge during the life history interviews.

Administrative fee $100 Fee set by Fulbright-Hays for the sponsoring institution.

Example #2: Project Timeline in Table Format

Example #3: Project Timeline in Chart Format

Some closing advice

Some of us may feel ashamed or embarrassed about asking for money or promoting ourselves. Often, these feelings have more to do with our own insecurities than with problems in the tone or style of our writing. If you’re having trouble because of these types of hang-ups, the most important thing to keep in mind is that it never hurts to ask. If you never ask for the money, they’ll never give you the money. Besides, the worst thing they can do is say no.

UNC resources for proposal writing

Research at Carolina http://research.unc.edu

The Odum Institute for Research in the Social Sciences https://odum.unc.edu/

UNC Medical School Office of Research https://www.med.unc.edu/oor

UNC School of Public Health Office of Research http://www.sph.unc.edu/research/

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Holloway, Brian R. 2003. Proposal Writing Across the Disciplines. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Levine, S. Joseph. “Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal.” http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/ .

Locke, Lawrence F., Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, and Stephen J. Silverman. 2014. Proposals That Work . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Przeworski, Adam, and Frank Salomon. 2012. “Some Candid Suggestions on the Art of Writing Proposals.” Social Science Research Council. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ssrc-cdn2/art-of-writing-proposals-dsd-e-56b50ef814f12.pdf .

Reif-Lehrer, Liane. 1989. Writing a Successful Grant Application . Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Wiggins, Beverly. 2002. “Funding and Proposal Writing for Social Science Faculty and Graduate Student Research.” Chapel Hill: Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science. 2 Feb. 2004. http://www2.irss.unc.edu/irss/shortcourses/wigginshandouts/granthandout.pdf.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Application Process: Personal Statement

Rowing is God's sport. The crisp early morning air, mist-shrouded hills, shells gliding silently on the glassy surface, oars slicing in unison. For casual observers, time slows and they become immersed in art. An ardent rower, I experience this beauty, but I also know that strength, courage and endurance command the shell, as in life.

Silence. White knuckles and callused palms suffocate the oar. In anticipation, my breathing, even my pumping heart stops. Then the horn sounds. Adrenaline rips through my torso. I pull, and keep pulling, sinews stretched to breaking, every muscle screaming to quit. Concentrating only on the starting dock, I surge forward relentlessly. That dock is my beacon.

I left home at sixteen. My single mother's drinking had become intolerable. M_____, my twin, was pregnant; her drug-addict boyfriend moved in. The starting horn had sounded.

High school races by when you have to study, make a living, do chores, play guitar in a band, and still maintain a social life. But the independence gave me strength. There were some ironies. I had no curfew, but there wasn't much to do in Artesia, New Mexico. As my own guardian, I could sign sick slips and grade reports, and attend PTA events. I earned two varsity letters, the maximum AP credits, and enough wages to escape debt.

Disregarding warnings that "fifty cents and a humanities degree could only buy a cup of coffee," I selected political science and economics, impelled by a seemingly instinctive curiosity to study the two edifices of our society. Taking to reading like breathing, I devoured Marx, Mill, Keynes, and Smith, oblivious to my roommate's pleadings to "chill out-put the books down."

But it wasn't all studies. I discovered rowing. Four hours of daily practice: jogging, racing, lifting weights. The intense winter regimen: push-ups in the snow, running stadium steps, battling the ergonometer. Still, it was energizing, incredibly satisfying. Balancing classes and training, however, required innovation-the coxswain would read my lecture notes aloud while I trained. My grades were good and, not surprisingly, there was no "freshman fifteen" for me.

I became seduced by legal theory and its axiomatic system. How constitutional law is foundational. How statutory law governs every facet of our lives: births, deaths, taxes. How criminal law maintains order. How the court is objective and politically insulated, the ideal forum for upholding controversial rights and effecting change.

As I matured, I realized it wasn't that simple. I was entranced by the originalist and non-interpretivist debates. Delving into the contentious theories of feminist jurisprudence, I was often bemused, as when I stumbled upon Katherine MacKinnon's characterization of sex as rape. I struggled with the question: is law truth or merely ideology? Realists like Jerome Frank exposed judicial subjectivity-the (perceived) objectivity provides credibility, but the process is inherently political. I appreciated the sociological view of the judiciary, but recognized that the legislature is best situated to implement policy.

For two years, I was entirely absorbed, almost intoxicated. Suddenly, my beacon flashed. It was a call from M_____. "The police are taking Britney away," she cried. M_____'s boyfriend had complained she was a user.

I drove all night. The next morning, I earnestly discussed M_____'s case with her court-appointed attorney. He just shook his head. Later, as we approached the judge, he asked M_____, "What did you say your name was?" She didn't stand a chance.

That courtroom experience transformed me into an advocate for social justice. I had removed myself from M_____'s life and plunged into the law; now the dualities had converged.

I resolved to work to achieve outcomes that were pragmatic, yet personal. Declining a clerkship at a posh Charleston law firm, I opted for the Neighborhood Legal Clinic where I could help Edna, unable to read her divorce papers; Mrs. Gray, bilked of her insurance benefits; and Maria with her children, who desperately needed child support. Interning at the Probation Office, I investigated criminal histories and drafted sentencing recommendations, but I created my own opportunities, volunteering counseling services to convicts.

Drawn to community activism, I spearheaded a housing renovation project and wrote a proposal for affordable financial services for Tulsa's low-income population. Now with AmeriCorps, I am developing curricula to foster small business development in low-income communities, and setting mechanisms for coordinating these efforts nationwide, so that populations can pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

I want to fight poverty and social inequity on a large scale. My plans include obtaining a law degree with a concentration in public interest law, gaining broad policy experience as a legislative advisor and eventually leading my own anti-poverty agency. But I dream of running for elected office, and winning-politics has the power to mobilize individuals, communities and nations.

But who am I to dream such things? Why will I succeed? Because I am passionate? Maybe. Because I live my life like I row? Possibly. The real reason is that there will always be a part of me, M_____, cleaved from the same flesh, for whom poverty is a daily struggle. M_____ is my beacon. I see her in the eyes of every person I try to help.

Student Academic Grants and Awards

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ASME Charles J. Wilson Fastener Travel Grant

• Technical Conferences held within the United States as well as internationally.
• Students must be studying at a US or Canadian University.
• A stipend of $1,250 is available semi-annually. The two available timeframes are January - June and July - December. The stipend will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
• If no applicant is selected in a six (6) month timeframe, two (2) applicants can be considered in the subsequent timeframe if the fund balance permits.
• Applicants will receive a certificate when travel grant funding is awarded
• A cover letter
• Proof of applicant’s paper was accepted for presentation at the conferencec (e.g., acceptance letter or email)
• A personal statement (1-2-page statement about the applicant’s career goals/plans and expected outcomes of attending the conference); The personal statement will be shared with the donor

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Weinstein Travel Grant

The Weinstein Travel Grant is administered through International Student Engagement and made possible through a generous gift from Carol and Marcus Weinstein.

The grant is designed to give international students (F-1 visa holders) an immersive experience within the United States, but outside of the Charlotte metro area.

International students are invited to pursue experiential learning opportunities that allow for intentional immersion, reflection, and transformation. Applicants should creatively design projects/trips that facilitate interaction with diverse cultures, environments, standards of living, artistic expression, political climates, and/or more, across the U.S.

Previously funded projects include: traveling the U.S. west coast by Amtrak, exploring street art in NYC, following the route taken by Jack Kerouac in  On the Road , experiencing food trucks in Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas, recapturing American cinema using iconic film locations in New York, and traveling the Southern States in search of the most delicious BBQ.

Grant Details

• All current F-1 students may apply for experiences to take place during Winter Break  within the current year. The Weinstein Travel Grant will no longer be available during Spring Break or summers.
• Students must be an active, enrolled student, i.e. students are not eligible to use grants when taking a personal leave. 
• Approximately 10 awards of up to $2,000 will be awarded.
• Experiences that appear to have the greatest potential for high impact and cultural/geographic connection, regardless of length, are given preference.
• The primary objective is a theme or immersion in a different U.S. socio-geographic environment, not to "tour" broadly or superficially.
• Pairs are allowed to apply, but the maximum award ($2,000) does not increase. If you're planning on going as a couple or a group, make that clear in your application.
• Proposals to cover the living expenses for internships will not be considered.

Info Sessions

Attendance in one of the Weinstein Travel Grant Info Sessions is  required . The application will go live on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. The Info Sessions scheduled for Fall semester 2024 are scheduled for:

• Tuesday, September 24 during Common Hour (11 a.m. – 12 p.m.) in Wall 281 Creative Crossroads 
• Tuesday, October 1 during Common Hour (11 a.m. – 12 p.m.) in Wall 281 Creative Crossroads

Expenses and Presentations

• A log of all expenses, including receipts, is required.
• Any un-used funds above 10% of the original grant amount will be owed back to International Student Engagement.
• A written reflection and presentation are REQUIRED upon completion of the project.
• Receipt logs, written reflections, presentations, and unspent funds are due to International Student Engagement by the stated due date.

Non-Covered Expenses

• Durable goods that can be used beyond the time period of the project (such as a camera, laptop, voltage converter, etc.).

Application Process – Winter Break 2024

1. Attend one of the  required  Weinstein Travel Grant Info Sessions.

2.  Submit your Application in WildcatSync /Statement of Grant Purpose by the October 18th deadline. The Statement of Grant Purpose, this essay (not to exceed two pages) should outline the who, what, when, where, how, and why of your proposal. Make sure to highlight the following:

• Your interest in the area of U.S. culture you will be exploring.
• Your interest in the geographic location(s) you will be visiting.
• The significance and impact this proposal will have on your overall experience in the U.S.
• The goals of your proposed experience.
• A realistic estimate of the timeline and budget.  For Winter Break 2024 award amounts will be limited to a maximum of $2,000.  

Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Make sure to hit "submit" when your application in WildcatSync is complete, otherwise, it will remain in pending status and be considered incomplete. You will be notified on the status of your application by October 25. If your proposal is selected for funding, you will be required to prepare a detailed budget and itinerary.

In this section