SOURCES OF SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR GRADUATE RESEARCH [Revised August 2023]
In addition to research funding that may be available to graduate students from research grants awarded to their major advisor and/or to cross-disciplinary programs (LTER, SWAS, etc.), students are encouraged to seek out and submit research proposals to outside funding agencies. Helpful advice on writing grant and fellowship applications, including for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) can be found through the PhD-Plus program. The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS) maintains a list of funding competitions administered by the Graduate School and in partnership with other academic units at the University and links to further information and application processes.
Limited funding is also available from within the Department, as described below.
Research Awards of the Department of Environmental Sciences
The Graduate Academic Review Committee (GARC) is charged with administering the distribution of overhead and non-overhead funds that are awarded to graduate students in support of research. Instructions for application, selection criteria, amounts and due dates are published as part of the department’s web page. Specifically, the awards are:
- Exploratory research awards for graduate students. These are merit-based award for proposals from graduate students submitted prior to the defense of their research proposals. The awards are for financial support for exploratory research leading to a thesis or dissertation proposal and are limited to a one-time per degree amount usually not exceeding $1,500. Requests for proposals are sent will be sent to current graduate students toward the end of Fall semester.
- Travel grants for graduate students. Graduate students may apply no more than once per degree for assistance (up to $1,200 per request) to attend a regional or national meeting at which the student is presenting a paper on work conducted during the graduate tenure in the department.
- Research Awards: Graduate students who have successfully defended their research proposals may compete for additional research funding by applying for the Department Overhead and Fred H. Moore Research Awards. Awards are limited to a one-time per degree amount usually not exceeding $5,000. Requests for proposals are sent will be sent to current graduate students toward the end of Fall semester.
More information about these awards can be found on the Graduate Research Awards web page. These grants and awards must be spent while the student is enrolled - funds cannot be used by students who have received their degree. Students who have completed a Master’s degree and are enrolled in the doctoral program here remain eligible.