Graduate Student Research and Travel Grants
Western Kentucky University is a center of learning dedicated to opportunities for creative scholarship and pursuit of excellence in higher education. The University strives to provide a suitable range of undergraduate and graduate specialties within an academic climate designed to promote the constructive objectives of liberal education.
Creative scholarship implies research and the University recognizes that creative inquiry frequently leads to the necessity of acquiring essential materials and assistance not normally available. To encourage the extension of creative inquiry and contributions to knowledge, some limited monetary assistance has been made available for student research projects that conform to the general guidelines set forth below. This monetary assistance is to be treated as grant funding and the recipient will be held accountable for any misuse of funding.
The Graduate Council Research Committee (GCRC) reviews the student proposals and recommends funding to the Graduate Council. This committee consists of faculty members from the Graduate Council.
A graduate student interested in securing funds through the GCRC of the Graduate Council should have a logical and clearly defined project. To assist in the formulation and for purposes of grant consideration, the student is requested to complete a rather basic grant request application form and supporting proposal documentation. Students are encouraged to consult with their research mentor in the completion of application materials. Please use these guidelines to prepare your proposal.
|
Semester |
Application Due Date |
|
Fall 2024 |
October 4 |
|
Spring 2025
|
February 4 |
|
NOTE: Students are encouraged to apply for this grant by the earliest possible application due date, as funds may be depleted later in the cycle. |
|
Graduate Student Research Grants:
- The applicant (graduate student) completes the WKU Graduate Student Research Grant Application, which includes the Proposal Budget, Budget Narrative, and Proposal Narrative.
- The applicant then sends the application to the faculty mentor/ advisor. Faculty mentors/advisors should complete the one-page letter of support in the space provided. Mentor/advisors should sign the application indicating approval. Advisors/mentors should then send the completed application to the department chair for approval and signature. Once completed, department chairs should send to the college dean/college signatory for approval.
- Once all signatures have been obtained, the application for research grant funds should be submitted in full to gsresearchgrant@wku.edu. Only completed applications with all signatures will be reviewed.
Graduate Student Travel Grants:
- The applicant (graduate student) completes the WKU Graduate Student Travel Grant Application, which includes the Proposed Budget, Budget Justification, and Conference/Meeting Abstract. A screenshot of the acceptance notification should be included as an attachment if the proposal has already been accepted.
- The completed application and any attachments should be sent to your mentor/advisor for their signature indicating approval. Advisors/mentors should then send to the department chair for approval and signature. Once completed, department chairs should send to the college dean/college signatory for approval.
- Once all signatures have been obtained, the application for travel grant funds and any attachments should be submitted in full to gsresearchgrant@wku.edu. Only completed applications with all signatures will be reviewed.
See application forms for more specific instructions.
• Fundable Expenses:
- Clerical, subject participation payments, coding, and other assistance where
such is needed to carry out
the project;
- Special materials and equipment, if they are not of the type that the department
would be expected to
have or to acquire
- Travel where such is vital to conducting the research or creative activity
- Cost of procurement of information, documents, and media not otherwise available
(Evidence should
be presented ascertaining the availability of the materials in the off-campus
library or other site)
- Necessary stationery, supplies, and postage, including that needed for questionnaires
- Funding for registration fees, accommodation, and travel to conferences
• Non-Fundable Expenses:
- Funding for expenditures already incurred
- Publication costs
- Equipment the academic department could be expected to purchase for normal operations
or for
support of a thesis/specialist project/dissertation
- Books the library may be reasonably expected to acquire as part of its holdings
- Salary for the student
• The student project budget must meet the following criteria:
- The budget for the proposed research project must be itemized
- The budget must contain items directly related to and supported by the student's
research proposal
· Items with the intent of departmental use will not be approved.
- Any cost-share needs to be noted (college departmental, grants awarded to either
student or advisor)
- The student and faculty advisor are responsible for following the approved
research budget
· Any deviations from this budget will not be approved
· If an item(s) need(s) to be added or substituted, and provided the
total expenses do not
exceed the amount awarded, the student may submit a revised budget
for consideration
· If a student incurs costs on his/her index that are not itemized
on his/her budget he/she or the
department may be held liable.
posted deadline.
2. The student will receive an email notifying them of the decision regading their application.
3. Once funds have been awarded, the Graduate Studies contacts the Accounting Office to set up an
account for each student. This process typically takes approximately 2-3 weeks. Students will not be
able to access funds until the account is set up by the Accounting Office.
4. After the Graduate Studies receives the account information from the Accounting Office, the student
will be contacted immediately. Within this email, the students will be sent (a) Letter of Approval, (b)
Initial Contract, and (c) Final Contract.
a. Letter of Approval – includes instructions on accessing the funds, the amount awarded, and the
expiration date of the research account; copies will also be sent to the faculty advisor.
b. Initial Contract – MUST BE SUBMITTED PRIOR TO RECEIVING FUNDS This contract includes the
student’s account number. It is the student’s responsibility to know his/her account number. The
student and faculty advisor must sign and date this form. The contract should be returned to
Graduate Studies (gsresearchgrant@wku.edu).
i. Once the student returns the Initial Contract, funds will be transferred into the student’s account.
This transfer may take several days as several departments are involved in the process. When the
funds are in place, the student may begin purchasing items from the budget.
c. Final Contract – MUST BE SUBMITTED AFTER THE RESEARCH PROJECT IS COMPLETED
The student must fill in appropriate information and attach an itemized expenditure sheet. The
student and faculty advisor must sign and date this form. The contract and expenditure sheet should
be returned to Graduate Studies.
5. Once the student has completed his/her research project (or thesis) or expended all available funds
(whichever comes first within the one-year expiration period), s/he must submit a detailed expense
sheet.
a. This sheet must include all purchased items and their costs and total amount of used research funds,
and may be included in the final project report.
6. Student must submit all of the documents mentioned above to Graduate Studies at
gsresearchgrant@wku.edu.
• Students and faculty advisors should work with the department office associate (or
other knowledgeable staff) to submit requests for purchases. All purchases must be
made with the department’s procurement card, except for the following: travel, services rendered expenditures, payment of human
subjects with either gift cards or cash and University-available services.
- Students, faculty advisors, and departments will not be reimbursed for expenses
which do not adhere
to proper purchasing procedures.
- Under no circumstances will inter-account transfers or other vouchers (those
not listed above) be
approved for reimbursement.
• Students may need to pay for travel expenses or services rendered as approved by
the Committee. In this case, the student should complete a Travel Expense Voucher
or a Payment Authorization Sheet (for services rendered) and submit to Graduate Studies
for approval. The faculty advisor or department office associate should be able to
assist the student in completing these forms.
- Travel Expense Voucher – allows students to be reimbursed for travel expenditures
- Payment Authorization Sheet – allows the individual who renders services to
receive a paycheck from
the University
- Both forms can be found on the Office of the Controller’s website.
• Students paying human subjects with either gift cards or cash should refer to the Guidelines for paying human subjects and should have Human Subjects approval.
• GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE LIMITED TO $2000 FOR RESEARCH AND $500 FOR TRAVEL FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $2,500.
• According to the SOF, all purchases made for/by Graduate Student Research Grant, must follow the WKU Purchasing Policy.
• ALL MATERIALS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO gsresearchgrant@wku.edu.
• Incomplete applications will be returned. If applications are not submitted to the proper email address, the application will not be considered by the committee.
• Graduate students may apply for up to two research and two travel grants per degree. Students may not receive more than $2,500 in total for research and travel grants per degree.
• The Graduate Council Research Committee reviews research proposals typically once during the fall and spring semesters. Students conducting research in the summer months should submit the application materials early in the spring semester to allow adequate time for approvals.
• If a collaborative project is proposed, then the collaborators should either (1) stay within the announced funding limits and submit a single application or (2) submit separate applications that clearly describe the contribution made by each individual and the different unique attributes distinguishing one application from the other.
• Priority will be given to students who have not already received funding from this granting resource. Students should recognize that if they receive funding early in their graduate studies, they may be unlikely to receive additional funding later in their graduate studies.
• Proposals should clearly identify the research questions being answered by the proposed work.
• Expenses incurred prior to receiving the grant are ineligible for reimbursement.
• While publication is not the primary goal of the committee in granting financial assistance, proposals aimed toward publication or presentation at professional meetings are encouraged. Appropriate acknowledgment of support should appear in any resulting publications.
• Finally, please keep in mind that receiving a grant is a rather lengthy process. There are many offices and people involved in gaining access to the grant money once it is awarded through the proper channels. Be mindful that from the date you turn in your application for a grant, if approved, it will possibly be several months before you have access to the money, depending on when the review committee next meets. This includes the time needed to be approved by the Graduate Council Research Committee, be approved by Graduate Council, have a grant index established, have paperwork prepared for the grantee to sign and return, and for the money to be transferred to a usable index. Please be patient with the process and apply early!
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