Department Research Awards

Funding for Departmental Research Awards
 

As a rule, the Department considers research awards as a means of completing research for the Ph.D. dissertation. Funds may also be available, budget permitting, to permit scholarly publication costs, such as reproduction fees.
 

Proposals for Research Awards:
 

We encourage students to approach this process with rigor, specificity, and comprehensiveness. We ask that each application offer:

  • intellectual justification for the project or activity to be undertaken and a specific assessment of how this project fits into the larger program of the student's graduate education
  • a work schedule, accompanied by a specific timetable
  • evidence of the proposal's viability (acceptance of a paper, notice from a curator or archivist making materials available, etc).

Please email your proposal to Dr. Nathaniel Jones, nbjones@wustl.edu, Director of Graduate Studies. Deadline: April 3, 2023.
 

Students proposing travel for research should be aware:

  • Travel as above, reasonable lodging, photocopy costs, and museum entrance fees for research purposes are all permissible costs for research trips.
  • Any research proposal for a figure over $2000 for a Ph.D. student requires evidence of the student also applying to funding sources outside the university.
  • After using their research award, the student should provide a short written assessment of the completed activity for their file.
  • In the case of written work, departmental support of travel should be acknowledged. 
  • Students should submit receipts including boarding passes immediately to Brad Parton after their trip.  A travel advance is possible for prepaid airfare with receipts. If mileage reimbursement is requested, you must submit a map with mileage indicated, as well as providing an airfare quote to verify that mileage costs were less than the airfare. If renting a car domestically, extra insurance is not reimbursed. No reimbursement can be made for lost receipts.
  • Both domestic and international travel must now be registered before the trip with the university travel registry, or reimbursement may be blocked. To register, see https://global.wustl.edu/resources/travel-registry/
  • Washington University graduate students who are temporarily engaged in sponsored or approved research outside the U.S. should self-enroll in Geo Blue Student Blanket Accident and Sickness Insurance (see https://global.wustl.edu/resources/health-insurance/). These fees may be included in a budget proposal. 
  • Travel insurance is recommended, but will not be reimbursed by the university. Students are encouraged to consider purchasing it at their own expense.