Graduate Enrichment Awards


Purpose

The Taft Graduate Enrichment Awards support graduate students in Taft departments in research projects that will significantly advance their degree program. Individual or joint applications are accepted. Eligible projects include but are not limited to: 

• Travel to a library, archive or other source of primary research materials;
• Purchase of software or data sets;
• Payment for technical services such as video-taping, laboratory analysis, etc.;
• Expenses involved in conducting interviews or distributing surveys.

The Enrichment Awards do not provide funds for release time, nor for participation in conferences, as these are supported by the Taft Graduate Fellowships and Taft Graduate Travel Awards.


Eligibility

All students enrolled in a graduate degree program in a Taft department are eligible.


Award Amounts

A student may not receive more than $2,500 during a twenty-four month period.


Criteria

Applications will be evaluated for:

1. The quality or promise of quality of the applicant's work as a scholar or creative writer and teacher. 
2. The significance of the contribution that the proposed project will make to the applicant's degree program. 
3. The conception, definition, organization, and description of the proposed project. 
4. The current state of the research, the schedule to do the research, and the timeliness of the grant to ensuring the completion of the project. 
5. The likelihood that the applicant will complete the project. 
6. The manner in which the application fulfills the stated requirement

Application Process

Applications may be submitted quarterly, at the regularly scheduled deadlines. Each application must contain: 

1. A signed Cover Sheet.
2. A narrative of no more than five pages that includes:
   • a description of the project 
   • its role in the applicant's degree program 
   •  its current status and expected outcomes 
   • a discussion of the expenses requested and their significance to the completion of the project. 
3. A support letter from the student's advisor or project director. This letter should comment on the role of the project in the student's degree program, as well as the significance of the project and the student's ability to complete it. 
4. A detailed budget and schedule, indicating any other funding sources involved in the project. 
5. A transcript, vita or other records summarizing the applicant's graduate career. 

SIX COLLATED COPIES of the application packet should be submitted to the Taft secretary at ML 0369.

Terms

1. Travel grants may include non-local transportation (airfare or automobile, whichever is more economical) and $50 per day towards food and lodging. Project-specific expenses, such as admission fees, photocopying costs, etc. may also be requested. 
2. The total expenses claimed cannot be more than authorized, nor can line items be claimed that were not authorized. 
3.  Any transfer between line items on approved budgets must be approved by the Chair of the Taft Student Awards Committee. 

Reimbursement Procedures

The following procedures should be followed in order to insure reimbursement of travel and or research expenses:

• As you will be required to present receipts to obtain payment, please be sure to obtain receipts.  If you are using an e-ticket for air travel, please request a receipt from the airline which clearly indicates the travel points and dates, and the fare.  When in doubt, request a paper ticket.

Upon Return:  The grant recipient should complete an expense envelope (A113 for travel expenses) or Request for Payment (A114 for non-travel expenses). Relevant receipts should be enclosed. The envelope should be sent to the Taft secretary at ML 0369 no later than three months following your return. Please note that:

• Original receipts (including the boarding stub from your plane ticket) must be included in the envelope. ALL receipts for any expenses pre-paid by the university must be included.
• The total expenses claimed cannot be more than authorized, nor can line items be claimed that were not authorized.
• Any transfer between line items on approved budgets must be approved by the Chair of the Taft Faculty Executive Board.
• The expense envelope must be sent to the Taft secretary for processing and signature, even if other campus agencies are also funding the travel and or research. Department level processing to reimburse using department funds should be completed first and A113/A114 should then be sent to Taft.

Report

Upon the completion of the project, the student must submit a report of two or more pages to the Taft Student Awards Committee at ML 0369