Student Research Support

In 2007, the Department of Linguistics established the Student Research Fund to advance the professional development of its most promising students. The purpose of the fund is to support fieldwork, other data-collection efforts and the presentation of papers at linguistics scholarly conferences. Department faculty serve as the selection committee, and applications will be accepted only during the academic year (not during the summer). Any application involving travel must be made prior to the start of travel. Applicants should keep in mind that progress toward completion of the terminal degree will weigh heavily in award decisions.

Both data-collection and travel funding are now restricted to doctoral students, with one exception to be described in the following paragraph. The restriction is necessary because we must apply our limited funds to the most pressing need: funding dissertation research and conference travel for doctoral students, either while they are interviewing for academic positions or attempting to establish professional standing in the field. During their matriculation in the CU Linguistics doctoral program, doctoral students may apply for awards limited to either (a) one dissertation research award of up to $2000 and one conference award of up to $300 or (b) two conference awards of up to $300 each.

An exception to the aforementioned restriction may be made for MA students who are writing an MA thesis: such students may receive funds of up to $300 to support research leading to the MA thesis.

Eligibility

You must be a registered student in the graduate program in the Department of Linguistics at the time of application, and the research project or conference trip for which you are seeking funding must likewise occur during a semester in which you are registered. If the proposed activity will take place during the summer, you must be planning to register for the following fall semester. Graduating PhD students may petition for an exception to this deadline.

For fieldwork and data-collection support

• Deadline. Applications for fieldwork and data-collection support must be received by February 15.
• Application Process. Fill out the Graduate Student Fund Application form. This form requires you to provide an itemized budget for the proposed project. It also requires a 1-2 page, double-spaced description of your project, stating the goal, the scope, the method and the expected results. You must also explain how the fieldwork or data-collection effort relates to your dissertation or thesis topic. Finally, you must indicate whether you have been awarded or applied for funds for this project from another funding source. If so, indicate how much money you have requested or received from that source.
• Report Requirement. Recipients of research funds are expected to submit a 1-page report to the Department chair describing research outcomes within three months after use of the funds.

For presentation of a paper at a conference

• Deadline. Funds will be disbursed on a rolling basis in each academic year until the funding cap for that year has been reached.
• Application process. Fill out the Graduate Student Fund Application form. The form requires you to provide an itemized budget. It also requires a 1-2 page, double-spaced statement of purpose. In this statement, you must describe the conference, how participation will contribute to your professional development and the contents of your paper (stating the problem, your hypothesis and the paper’s contribution to the state of the art).
• Abstract. Attach the abstract of your paper.
• Confirmation of acceptance. Attach a copy of the letter or email confirming inclusion of your paper in the conference program.

Other sources of support

Students are urged to apply to other sources on campus for travel/research funds. Evidence that you have applied for or received matching funds from other sources strengthens your case for funding from the Linguistics department. Other funding sources include:

• The Institute of Cognitive Science. The Institute provides funding for students enrolled in the ICS certificate or joint PhD programs to travel to explicitly interdisciplinary conferences or to conduct cognition research. Students in any member department may apply for funds, whether the student is presenting at or simply attending an interdisciplinary conference.
• The Graduate School. The Graduate School offers partial funding for graduate students to present research findings at meetings or conferences outside Colorado. The Graduate School provides a travel grant of $300 for domestic conferences and $500 for international conferences. Funds are applied directly to your tuition account.
• United Government of Graduate Students (UGGS). The UGGS Travel Grant, with deadlines at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters, sponsors graduate students who are planning to attend an academic conference. Graduate students are only eligible to receive travel aid once in their tenure at CU.
• Center for Humanities and Arts (CHA). The Eaton Graduate Student Travel grant is a competitive grant that awards ten graduate students in humanities and arts $500 to support travel to conferences where they will present a paper.  Deadlines are at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.
• Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant. The Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grants are competitive awards sponsored by the Graduate School that support the research, scholarship and creative work of graduate students from all departments at CU-Boulder. All funding is provided by private donations, and the grants range from $100 to $1,000 per proposal.