Application Due Dates*:
 November 11, 2020 and April 28, 2021

*If due dates fall on a weekend or holiday, applications will be due the Following Business Day.

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Application Instructions and Budget Templates
Download the instructions and prepare your application prior to submitting the online application. If applying in April for the summer fellowship as well as this award, please indiciate in your application how the expenses relate to your summer fellowship. Click here to view an example of a successful application.

Application

Each application must be reviewed by the applicant's graduate committee chair and all requested expenditures approved prior to submission of the application. The applicant's graduate committee chair must include a letter of support certifying that the requested amounts are reasonable and justified.

If the applicant has received a prior fellowship from the SGSR for which a final report was required, a copy of the final report should be submitted with the application.

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Summary

The Graduate Student Research Support award is one of the competitive graduate student research fellowships offered by the School of Graduate Studies and Research. This award provides up to $1,000 for non-retroactive travel, supplies, services, equipment, and other materials for research projects or creative activities that contribute to a graduate student's thesis or project or portfolio review. All funds must be consumed within 12 months of notification of award and unused funds will revert back to the SGSR, unless otherwise specified.

If you applying for the both the $3,500 summer stipend fellowship AND  the research support award, (APRIL Deadline Only) please follow the instructions for the Graduate Students Research Support award that includes the buget and budget templates. Please do not apply for both awards separately, but do include a statement with your budget that details how the goods/services expenses align with the fellowship project. Only 1 letter of support from your Graduate Committee chair will be required.

Eligibility

Any CWU graduate student in good academic standing who is pursuing the thesis, project, or portfolio review option as partial fulfillment of master's degree requirements may apply for a research support award.To be eligible, applicants must have an approved ‘Graduate Committee and Option Approval Form’ on file with The SGSR prior to application for this award opportunity. Students who have chosen an exam option as their culminating experience are not eligible to apply. Please feel free to contact our office if you need to confirm that we have your approved form on file. Applications are to be endorsed by your graduate committee chair.

Award amount

The maximum amount of support is $1,000. Graduate students may qualify for this fellowship only once (unless they pursue a second master's in a different field and elect the thesis, project, or portfolio review option).

If your research involves humans or animals, you will have to submit a protocol for approval by the Human Subjects Review committee, HSR; or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, IACUC.

Expenditures

Payment of expenses for approved projects will be coordinated by the staff in the graduate office.

Funds may be used for:

• Basic and applied projects in all disciplines, including scholarly and artistic projects
• Maps, graphs, and other specialized graphics required for the thesis, project, or portfolio review
• Travel justified to conduct research for the project (the award will pay for ground or air travel or lodging expenses. Retroactive travel expenses will not be allowable. (IE: Travel which took place prior to the award deadlines). All CWU policies and procedures related to travel will apply. If you are traveling outside of the US, there are additional requirements including contacting the Office of International Studies and Programs before you travel
• Supplies, services, materials, and equipment needed to conduct research related to the thesis, project, or portfolio review

Funds may not be used for:

• Institutional research not related to direct fulfilment of your master’s degree requirements
• Travel to professional meetings or conferences
• Cannot be used to complete course assignments or projects
• Per Diem (meals during travel status)
• Page charges or other costs related to publication of research or thesis preparation
• Salaries, fees, catering or other types of monetary compensation or incentives
• Retroactive travel related expenses (Expenses incurred before the application is submitted)

All items (equipment, books, supplies, etc.) purchased by the fellowship funds become the property of the university. All purchased equipment must be placed on inventory and may be required to receive a CWU account number according to regular university procedures before it can be used on a project. The disposition of equipment after the completion of the project is negotiated by the department chair and school/college dean.

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General Guidelines

Applicants should not assume that the reviewers are familiar with the details of their scholarly work and should offer sufficient background information to assist the reviewers.

To be eligible, applicants must have filed an approved Graduate Committee and Option Approval Form with the graduate school prior to application for the fellowship. Please feel free to contact the School of Graduate Studies and Research if you need to confirm that we have your form on file. masters@cwu.edu / 509-963-3101

Deadlines

Deadlines for submitting applications will be November 11, 2020 and April 28, 2021. The committee will review the proposals and notification to applicants will generally occur within one month following each announced deadline date.

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Review and Evaluation of Applications

Review and Evaluation of Applications
The Faculty Development and Research Committee of the Graduate School will review each proposal and provide recommendation as to funding.

Recommendations on proposals are made by a vote of the committee. The committee may take one of four actions:
1. Not to fund
2. Request further information or clarification
3. Partially fund
4. Fund in full

All comments by the graduate committee chair and discussions of the applications are considered confidential. The text and approved budget of funded proposals are available to the public.

Notification of Decision
Following the Faculty Development and Research Committee review and recommendations, the applicant will be notified of the final outcome with copies to the Graduate Committee Chair.

If, for any reason, a research support award recipient is unable to complete the project within the proposed time frame, they must contact The Dean of School of Graduate Studies and Research immediately. If an extension is needed in order to complete the research or creative activity outlined in the original application, rationale for the extension must be provided in writing. The request will be reviewed by the committee and then the student and the Graduate Committee Chair will be notified of the decision.

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