phd grant writing

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The Importance of Preparation in Grant Writing for PhDs

Download the complete brief, introduction.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many doctoral programs have faced a dilemma between investing in extracurricular programming and maintaining sustainable budgets. Recent data show that, relative to other skills and attributes, grant writing is a skill that many PhD alumni across fields wish they had had acquired (Mitic & Okahana, 2021). Opportunities, such as grant writing experience, assist with curricular and co-curricular experiences by providing opportunities for additional fund- ing and increasing competence for the workforce (Nerad, 2015). Training in grant writing is beneficial to the education of the PhD as well. According to Conn et al. (2016), grant writing allows PhDs to enhance research intentionality, project articulation, and overall writing skills. Using survey data from the Council of Graduate Schools’ (CGS) PhD Career Pathway project, this brief provides insight to how PhD graduates view grant writing professional development opportunities.

Key Findings

Usefulness of Grant Writing . Within each broad PhD field of study, most PhD alumni found professional development in grant writing to be useful. Across fields of study and all job sectors, except for industry, the majority of PhDs report- ed that preparation in grant writing was useful ( Figure 1 ) . Figure 1 displays the percentage of participants by job type and discipline who indicated that grant writing skills were or were not useful in their current position.

Timing for Grant Writing Preparation . Survey results show that the percentage of PhDs with Engineering, Math, & Computer Science (41%) and Physical & Earth Science (36%) degree fields preferred grant writing preparation to occur during the latter stages of the program (e.g., dissertation process). The remaining fields indicated that this preparation should occur during the midpoint of their degree field (e.g. candidacy and comprehensive exams). Doctoral fellowships and research grant opportunities are typically available for PhD candidates. This interest in grant writing in the middle and later stages of the PhD coincides with students’ eligibility to apply for grants and fellowships to fund doctoral studies as well as independent and group research. In addition, by midpoint, PhDs have solidified their research topic. Furthermore, securing funding for research enhances a PhD’s opportunity to secure employment in a competitive job market ( Figure 2 ).

Barriers for Participation . Survey participants selected barriers that precluded them from participating in grant writing professional development opportunities during their degree program. Barriers included “Not Offered or Unaware,” “Competing Priorities,” “Timing,” “Monetary Cost” and “Lack of Interest”. Results were similar across all degree fields. “Not Offered or Unaware” had the highest percentage, at 71%, as one of the barriers to pursing grant writing. The remaining percentages include 15% for “Competing Priorities,” 6% for “Timing,” 1% for “Monetary Cost,” and 6% for “Lack of Interest.”

Postdoc Preparation for Communication and Grant Writing . Many PhDs choose to further their knowledge and experience in research and writing through postdoctoral work. Participants who had had postdoc experiences were asked how well their postdoctoral experiences prepared them in selected attributes and knowledge on a 5-point scale (1=Poorly to 5=extremely well). Across all fields of study, previous postdocs indicated that they were less prepared for grant writing through their postdoc experiences than they were in skills such as written and oral communication. Specifically, of the communication skills presented, survey respondents with postdoctoral experiences indicated that they felt more prepared by their experiences for written communication skills and small group/interpersonal communication skills than they did for grant writing ( Figure 3 ).

Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you write and revise grant proposals for research funding in all academic disciplines (sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts). It’s targeted primarily to graduate students and faculty, although it will also be helpful to undergraduate students who are seeking funding for research (e.g. for a senior thesis).

The grant writing process

A grant proposal or application is a document or set of documents that is submitted to an organization with the explicit intent of securing funding for a research project. Grant writing varies widely across the disciplines, and research intended for epistemological purposes (philosophy or the arts) rests on very different assumptions than research intended for practical applications (medicine or social policy research). Nonetheless, this handout attempts to provide a general introduction to grant writing across the disciplines.

Before you begin writing your proposal, you need to know what kind of research you will be doing and why. You may have a topic or experiment in mind, but taking the time to define what your ultimate purpose is can be essential to convincing others to fund that project. Although some scholars in the humanities and arts may not have thought about their projects in terms of research design, hypotheses, research questions, or results, reviewers and funding agencies expect you to frame your project in these terms. You may also find that thinking about your project in these terms reveals new aspects of it to you.

Writing successful grant applications is a long process that begins with an idea. Although many people think of grant writing as a linear process (from idea to proposal to award), it is a circular process. Many people start by defining their research question or questions. What knowledge or information will be gained as a direct result of your project? Why is undertaking your research important in a broader sense? You will need to explicitly communicate this purpose to the committee reviewing your application. This is easier when you know what you plan to achieve before you begin the writing process.

Diagram 1 below provides an overview of the grant writing process and may help you plan your proposal development.

Applicants must write grant proposals, submit them, receive notice of acceptance or rejection, and then revise their proposals. Unsuccessful grant applicants must revise and resubmit their proposals during the next funding cycle. Successful grant applications and the resulting research lead to ideas for further research and new grant proposals.

Cultivating an ongoing, positive relationship with funding agencies may lead to additional grants down the road. Thus, make sure you file progress reports and final reports in a timely and professional manner. Although some successful grant applicants may fear that funding agencies will reject future proposals because they’ve already received “enough” funding, the truth is that money follows money. Individuals or projects awarded grants in the past are more competitive and thus more likely to receive funding in the future.

Some general tips

• Begin early.
• Apply early and often.
• Don’t forget to include a cover letter with your application.
• Answer all questions. (Pre-empt all unstated questions.)
• If rejected, revise your proposal and apply again.
• Give them what they want. Follow the application guidelines exactly.
• Be explicit and specific.
• Be realistic in designing the project.
• Make explicit the connections between your research questions and objectives, your objectives and methods, your methods and results, and your results and dissemination plan.
• Follow the application guidelines exactly. (We have repeated this tip because it is very, very important.)

Before you start writing

Identify your needs and focus.

First, identify your needs. Answering the following questions may help you:

• Are you undertaking preliminary or pilot research in order to develop a full-blown research agenda?
• Are you seeking funding for dissertation research? Pre-dissertation research? Postdoctoral research? Archival research? Experimental research? Fieldwork?
• Are you seeking a stipend so that you can write a dissertation or book? Polish a manuscript?
• Do you want a fellowship in residence at an institution that will offer some programmatic support or other resources to enhance your project?
• Do you want funding for a large research project that will last for several years and involve multiple staff members?

Next, think about the focus of your research/project. Answering the following questions may help you narrow it down:

• What is the topic? Why is this topic important?
• What are the research questions that you’re trying to answer? What relevance do your research questions have?
• What are your hypotheses?
• What are your research methods?
• Why is your research/project important? What is its significance?
• Do you plan on using quantitative methods? Qualitative methods? Both?
• Will you be undertaking experimental research? Clinical research?

Once you have identified your needs and focus, you can begin looking for prospective grants and funding agencies.

Finding prospective grants and funding agencies

Whether your proposal receives funding will rely in large part on whether your purpose and goals closely match the priorities of granting agencies. Locating possible grantors is a time consuming task, but in the long run it will yield the greatest benefits. Even if you have the most appealing research proposal in the world, if you don’t send it to the right institutions, then you’re unlikely to receive funding.

There are many sources of information about granting agencies and grant programs. Most universities and many schools within universities have Offices of Research, whose primary purpose is to support faculty and students in grant-seeking endeavors. These offices usually have libraries or resource centers to help people find prospective grants.

At UNC, the Research at Carolina office coordinates research support.

The Funding Information Portal offers a collection of databases and proposal development guidance.

The UNC School of Medicine and School of Public Health each have their own Office of Research.

Writing your proposal

The majority of grant programs recruit academic reviewers with knowledge of the disciplines and/or program areas of the grant. Thus, when writing your grant proposals, assume that you are addressing a colleague who is knowledgeable in the general area, but who does not necessarily know the details about your research questions.

Remember that most readers are lazy and will not respond well to a poorly organized, poorly written, or confusing proposal. Be sure to give readers what they want. Follow all the guidelines for the particular grant you are applying for. This may require you to reframe your project in a different light or language. Reframing your project to fit a specific grant’s requirements is a legitimate and necessary part of the process unless it will fundamentally change your project’s goals or outcomes.

Final decisions about which proposals are funded often come down to whether the proposal convinces the reviewer that the research project is well planned and feasible and whether the investigators are well qualified to execute it. Throughout the proposal, be as explicit as possible. Predict the questions that the reviewer may have and answer them. Przeworski and Salomon (1995) note that reviewers read with three questions in mind:

• What are we going to learn as a result of the proposed project that we do not know now? (goals, aims, and outcomes)
• Why is it worth knowing? (significance)
• How will we know that the conclusions are valid? (criteria for success) (2)

Be sure to answer these questions in your proposal. Keep in mind that reviewers may not read every word of your proposal. Your reviewer may only read the abstract, the sections on research design and methodology, the vitae, and the budget. Make these sections as clear and straightforward as possible.

The way you write your grant will tell the reviewers a lot about you (Reif-Lehrer 82). From reading your proposal, the reviewers will form an idea of who you are as a scholar, a researcher, and a person. They will decide whether you are creative, logical, analytical, up-to-date in the relevant literature of the field, and, most importantly, capable of executing the proposed project. Allow your discipline and its conventions to determine the general style of your writing, but allow your own voice and personality to come through. Be sure to clarify your project’s theoretical orientation.

Develop a general proposal and budget

Because most proposal writers seek funding from several different agencies or granting programs, it is a good idea to begin by developing a general grant proposal and budget. This general proposal is sometimes called a “white paper.” Your general proposal should explain your project to a general academic audience. Before you submit proposals to different grant programs, you will tailor a specific proposal to their guidelines and priorities.

Organizing your proposal

Although each funding agency will have its own (usually very specific) requirements, there are several elements of a proposal that are fairly standard, and they often come in the following order:

• Introduction (statement of the problem, purpose of research or goals, and significance of research)

Literature review

• Project narrative (methods, procedures, objectives, outcomes or deliverables, evaluation, and dissemination)
• Budget and budget justification

Format the proposal so that it is easy to read. Use headings to break the proposal up into sections. If it is long, include a table of contents with page numbers.

The title page usually includes a brief yet explicit title for the research project, the names of the principal investigator(s), the institutional affiliation of the applicants (the department and university), name and address of the granting agency, project dates, amount of funding requested, and signatures of university personnel authorizing the proposal (when necessary). Most funding agencies have specific requirements for the title page; make sure to follow them.

The abstract provides readers with their first impression of your project. To remind themselves of your proposal, readers may glance at your abstract when making their final recommendations, so it may also serve as their last impression of your project. The abstract should explain the key elements of your research project in the future tense. Most abstracts state: (1) the general purpose, (2) specific goals, (3) research design, (4) methods, and (5) significance (contribution and rationale). Be as explicit as possible in your abstract. Use statements such as, “The objective of this study is to …”

Introduction

The introduction should cover the key elements of your proposal, including a statement of the problem, the purpose of research, research goals or objectives, and significance of the research. The statement of problem should provide a background and rationale for the project and establish the need and relevance of the research. How is your project different from previous research on the same topic? Will you be using new methodologies or covering new theoretical territory? The research goals or objectives should identify the anticipated outcomes of the research and should match up to the needs identified in the statement of problem. List only the principle goal(s) or objective(s) of your research and save sub-objectives for the project narrative.

Many proposals require a literature review. Reviewers want to know whether you’ve done the necessary preliminary research to undertake your project. Literature reviews should be selective and critical, not exhaustive. Reviewers want to see your evaluation of pertinent works. For more information, see our handout on literature reviews .

Project narrative

The project narrative provides the meat of your proposal and may require several subsections. The project narrative should supply all the details of the project, including a detailed statement of problem, research objectives or goals, hypotheses, methods, procedures, outcomes or deliverables, and evaluation and dissemination of the research.

For the project narrative, pre-empt and/or answer all of the reviewers’ questions. Don’t leave them wondering about anything. For example, if you propose to conduct unstructured interviews with open-ended questions, be sure you’ve explained why this methodology is best suited to the specific research questions in your proposal. Or, if you’re using item response theory rather than classical test theory to verify the validity of your survey instrument, explain the advantages of this innovative methodology. Or, if you need to travel to Valdez, Alaska to access historical archives at the Valdez Museum, make it clear what documents you hope to find and why they are relevant to your historical novel on the ’98ers in the Alaskan Gold Rush.

Clearly and explicitly state the connections between your research objectives, research questions, hypotheses, methodologies, and outcomes. As the requirements for a strong project narrative vary widely by discipline, consult a discipline-specific guide to grant writing for some additional advice.

Explain staffing requirements in detail and make sure that staffing makes sense. Be very explicit about the skill sets of the personnel already in place (you will probably include their Curriculum Vitae as part of the proposal). Explain the necessary skill sets and functions of personnel you will recruit. To minimize expenses, phase out personnel who are not relevant to later phases of a project.

The budget spells out project costs and usually consists of a spreadsheet or table with the budget detailed as line items and a budget narrative (also known as a budget justification) that explains the various expenses. Even when proposal guidelines do not specifically mention a narrative, be sure to include a one or two page explanation of the budget. To see a sample budget, turn to Example #1 at the end of this handout.

Consider including an exhaustive budget for your project, even if it exceeds the normal grant size of a particular funding organization. Simply make it clear that you are seeking additional funding from other sources. This technique will make it easier for you to combine awards down the road should you have the good fortune of receiving multiple grants.

Make sure that all budget items meet the funding agency’s requirements. For example, all U.S. government agencies have strict requirements for airline travel. Be sure the cost of the airline travel in your budget meets their requirements. If a line item falls outside an agency’s requirements (e.g. some organizations will not cover equipment purchases or other capital expenses), explain in the budget justification that other grant sources will pay for the item.

Many universities require that indirect costs (overhead) be added to grants that they administer. Check with the appropriate offices to find out what the standard (or required) rates are for overhead. Pass a draft budget by the university officer in charge of grant administration for assistance with indirect costs and costs not directly associated with research (e.g. facilities use charges).

Furthermore, make sure you factor in the estimated taxes applicable for your case. Depending on the categories of expenses and your particular circumstances (whether you are a foreign national, for example), estimated tax rates may differ. You can consult respective departmental staff or university services, as well as professional tax assistants. For information on taxes on scholarships and fellowships, see https://cashier.unc.edu/student-tax-information/scholarships-fellowships/ .

Explain the timeframe for the research project in some detail. When will you begin and complete each step? It may be helpful to reviewers if you present a visual version of your timeline. For less complicated research, a table summarizing the timeline for the project will help reviewers understand and evaluate the planning and feasibility. See Example #2 at the end of this handout.

For multi-year research proposals with numerous procedures and a large staff, a time line diagram can help clarify the feasibility and planning of the study. See Example #3 at the end of this handout.

Revising your proposal

Strong grant proposals take a long time to develop. Start the process early and leave time to get feedback from several readers on different drafts. Seek out a variety of readers, both specialists in your research area and non-specialist colleagues. You may also want to request assistance from knowledgeable readers on specific areas of your proposal. For example, you may want to schedule a meeting with a statistician to help revise your methodology section. Don’t hesitate to seek out specialized assistance from the relevant research offices on your campus. At UNC, the Odum Institute provides a variety of services to graduate students and faculty in the social sciences.

In your revision and editing, ask your readers to give careful consideration to whether you’ve made explicit the connections between your research objectives and methodology. Here are some example questions:

• Have you presented a compelling case?
• Have you made your hypotheses explicit?
• Does your project seem feasible? Is it overly ambitious? Does it have other weaknesses?
• Have you stated the means that grantors can use to evaluate the success of your project after you’ve executed it?

If a granting agency lists particular criteria used for rating and evaluating proposals, be sure to share these with your own reviewers.

Example #1. Sample Budget

Jet travel $6,100 This estimate is based on the commercial high season rate for jet economy travel on Sabena Belgian Airlines. No U.S. carriers fly to Kigali, Rwanda. Sabena has student fare tickets available which will be significantly less expensive (approximately $2,000).

Maintenance allowance $22,788 Based on the Fulbright-Hays Maintenance Allowances published in the grant application guide.

Research assistant/translator $4,800 The research assistant/translator will be a native (and primary) speaker of Kinya-rwanda with at least a four-year university degree. They will accompany the primary investigator during life history interviews to provide assistance in comprehension. In addition, they will provide commentary, explanations, and observations to facilitate the primary investigator’s participant observation. During the first phase of the project in Kigali, the research assistant will work forty hours a week and occasional overtime as needed. During phases two and three in rural Rwanda, the assistant will stay with the investigator overnight in the field when necessary. The salary of $400 per month is based on the average pay rate for individuals with similar qualifications working for international NGO’s in Rwanda.

Transportation within country, phase one $1,200 The primary investigator and research assistant will need regular transportation within Kigali by bus and taxi. The average taxi fare in Kigali is $6-8 and bus fare is $.15. This figure is based on an average of $10 per day in transportation costs during the first project phase.

Transportation within country, phases two and three $12,000 Project personnel will also require regular transportation between rural field sites. If it is not possible to remain overnight, daily trips will be necessary. The average rental rate for a 4×4 vehicle in Rwanda is $130 per day. This estimate is based on an average of $50 per day in transportation costs for the second and third project phases. These costs could be reduced if an arrangement could be made with either a government ministry or international aid agency for transportation assistance.

Email $720 The rate for email service from RwandaTel (the only service provider in Rwanda) is $60 per month. Email access is vital for receiving news reports on Rwanda and the region as well as for staying in contact with dissertation committee members and advisors in the United States.

Audiocassette tapes $400 Audiocassette tapes will be necessary for recording life history interviews, musical performances, community events, story telling, and other pertinent data.

Photographic & slide film $100 Photographic and slide film will be necessary to document visual data such as landscape, environment, marriages, funerals, community events, etc.

Laptop computer $2,895 A laptop computer will be necessary for recording observations, thoughts, and analysis during research project. Price listed is a special offer to UNC students through the Carolina Computing Initiative.

NUD*IST 4.0 software $373.00 NUD*IST, “Nonnumerical, Unstructured Data, Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing,” is necessary for cataloging, indexing, and managing field notes both during and following the field research phase. The program will assist in cataloging themes that emerge during the life history interviews.

Administrative fee $100 Fee set by Fulbright-Hays for the sponsoring institution.

Example #2: Project Timeline in Table Format

Example #3: Project Timeline in Chart Format

Some closing advice

Some of us may feel ashamed or embarrassed about asking for money or promoting ourselves. Often, these feelings have more to do with our own insecurities than with problems in the tone or style of our writing. If you’re having trouble because of these types of hang-ups, the most important thing to keep in mind is that it never hurts to ask. If you never ask for the money, they’ll never give you the money. Besides, the worst thing they can do is say no.

UNC resources for proposal writing

Research at Carolina http://research.unc.edu

The Odum Institute for Research in the Social Sciences https://odum.unc.edu/

UNC Medical School Office of Research https://www.med.unc.edu/oor

UNC School of Public Health Office of Research http://www.sph.unc.edu/research/

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Holloway, Brian R. 2003. Proposal Writing Across the Disciplines. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Levine, S. Joseph. “Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal.” http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/ .

Locke, Lawrence F., Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, and Stephen J. Silverman. 2014. Proposals That Work . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Przeworski, Adam, and Frank Salomon. 2012. “Some Candid Suggestions on the Art of Writing Proposals.” Social Science Research Council. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ssrc-cdn2/art-of-writing-proposals-dsd-e-56b50ef814f12.pdf .

Reif-Lehrer, Liane. 1989. Writing a Successful Grant Application . Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Wiggins, Beverly. 2002. “Funding and Proposal Writing for Social Science Faculty and Graduate Student Research.” Chapel Hill: Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science. 2 Feb. 2004. http://www2.irss.unc.edu/irss/shortcourses/wigginshandouts/granthandout.pdf.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Introduction to Grant Writing

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Introduction

Professional grant writers use clear, specific language to focus the reader’s attention, and to persuade the reader to fund their proposal. Learning to write successful grant proposals is no small task, but the writing process can become easier with practice and awareness of a few common missteps.

No doubt, the first step of successful grant writing is to plan the project, but the second step is following the directions of the granting organization (called, the grantmaker). In most cases, grantmakers require a(n): cover letter , executive summary , problem statements/need description , work schedule, budget, qualifications , conclusions , and appendices (or, supporting materials). Each section will have specific requirements and while keeping to a word limit is straightforward, being specific is less easy.

A Note on Following the Grantmaker’s Rules

Following directions helps the grantmaker read applications efficiently. Specificity of content will not only vary by grantmaker, but also by proposal sections. For example, a grantmaker may limit your application in general terms for background information on the contexts of your proposal:

“Please tell the grant committee in 2 to 3 pages about the support your institution or community will provide for your project if your proposal is granted the requested funds.”

Likewise, a grantmaker may explicitly limit your response to a section on the grant applicant’s qualifications by stating:

“In no more than 350 words, please summarize the grant applicant’s specific qualifications to manage the finances of the proposal. Discuss any financial experience (for example, certifications in accounting services), or other relevant office managerial duties that will help the applicant distribute funds and write regular quarterly financial reports.”

Keep in mind that many grantmakers will not read past the point of your departure from the application rules, no matter how worthy the project is or how neat and well designed the application package looks. So, while there is no guaranteed way to win a grantmaker’s funds, not following directions is a sure fire way of losing your chances at getting any funds. Ultimately, not following directions indicates carelessness—which is not a characteristic of a promising proposal.

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Overview on Grant Writing for Graduate Student Research

Diane smith.

Biomolecular Research Center, 1910 University Drive, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725

Abu Sayeed Chowdhury

Biomolecular Sciences Graduate Programs, 1910 University Drive, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725

Julia Thom Oxford

Grant writing is an important skill to develop during graduate school. This article provides an overview of grant writing for graduate students. Specific topics covered include understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management, understanding the priorities of the funding agency or organization, proposal organization and writing strategies, additional forms and letters of support that may be required, the editing and revising process, and submission of your grant proposal. Courses and workshops are an efficient and effective way to be guided through the grant proposal writing process with a greater potential for positive outcomes.

INTRODUCTION:

Effective communication is one of the most important skills for students pursuing a career in research to develop. Grant proposal writing is a skill that is essential to career success, and a skill that can be learned while in graduate school. While this skill is recognized as essential, the necessary training is not always available to students in graduate programs and students may struggle with crafting successful grant applications to support their research. To address this limitation, we provide an overview of grant writing for student research projects. Honing these skills while a student can set the stage for a successful postdoctoral fellowship and early career success as a young faculty member.

An overview of specific elements of successful grant proposal preparation include having a good understanding of the funding needs for the research that will be performed. Additionally, it is essential to identify the appropriate funding opportunity for the specific project and for the investigator at the specific career stage. Taking the necessary time to carefully read and analyze the guidelines for the specific proposal is critical for success. Planning for the proposal preparation and time management skills are among the most important aspects of a successful proposal. Graduate school is an ideal time to develop good writing habits, that include writing each day. To be successful, it is important to understand the priorities of the funding agency or organization so that the proposed research matches the funding priorities and what the agency wants to fund. Knowing this can help align the mission and goals of the investigator with those of the funding agency. While each funding agency will require unique and different sections to the proposal, there are some commonly requested elements that may include a brief abstract, specific aims or objectives, introduction, brief background information, a research plan or research strategy, a statement of significance, a statement describing the innovative qualities of the proposed research, broader impacts of the research, intellectual impact, a statement of the expected results or alternatively, potential pitfalls to the proposed approach and alternative strategies in the event that your plans do not work. Additionally, a timeline of the experiments with specific benchmarks can be included to clearly outline how the work will be accomplished during the funding period. In some cases, a brief summary or conclusion with future directions can be included to indicate where the work is headed in the long-term and to provide broader context for the specific work that is proposed. With every grant proposal, letters of support and other documents such as biosketches, budget, budget justification, may be required for submission, and it is important to allow enough time to prepare these accurately and carefully. Making time to share your proposal with peers or mentors before submission provides an opportunity to receive critical feedback. Pre-review will allow editing and revision of the proposal so that it can be understood by the target audience, the reviewers.

Grant proposal writing can be a daunting task for anyone, including students. Time-management can be especially challenging if one is trying to balance the demands of taking academic courses, working as a teaching assistant, tutoring, and other demands on a graduate student’s schedule with the expectations and deadlines of the new and unfamiliar experience of writing a grant proposal at the same time. One way for colleges to address this challenge and support their graduate students is to provide a course-based mentored cohort or a proposal writing course. A class conducted within a college term or semester with a syllabus and a schedule to outline deadlines for assignments that are individual components of the final proposal. Students are able to manage their time, make forward progress, stay on track, and complete the proposal in a timely manner.

Topics included in this overview are: understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management, understanding the priorities of the funding agency or organization, proposal organization and writing strategies, additional forms and letters of support that may be required, the editing and revising process, and submission of your grant proposal.

MAJOR TOPIC: (Guidelines for student grant writers)

The guidelines presented here are divided into nine key topics that serve as best practices for successful grant writing for student research projects.

Subtopic: (Understanding funding needs)

Financial support for graduate student research may address unique needs based on the stage of the graduate student career. Grants can provide funding to support research expenses and supplies or services that are needed to complete the dissertation research, such as those that might be provided by a core facility. A grant may also provide funds for travel to a conference where research results will be disseminated, and the graduate student can network with experts in the field. Grant funding can also provide stipend and funds for tuition and fees, thus allowing fulltime dedication to the research. Some grants are designed to support late-stage graduate students as they are writing up their research results for publication and finalizing their dissertation.

Subtopic: (Identifying appropriate grant opportunities)

Identifying appropriate grant opportunities can be challenging, especially if this is a new endeavor for a student. It is essential to check the eligibility requirements before starting so as not to waste time and energy. To find the best opportunities, talking to individuals with experience is a good practice. Faculty advisors and other students who have been successful with grant proposals can provide valuable advice. University Offices of Research or Graduate Colleges often have resources available for graduate students and can provide information on which internal and external funding opportunities may be best suited for a graduate student in a specific field of study. Eligibility may also be dependent upon national citizenship or underrepresented minority status. Information on extensive databases that include national and international funding opportunities are available through Offices of Research or Sponsored Programs at universities. Grants.gov , National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) are a few of the places one can find information about available federal research funding. Table 1 provides examples of graduate student grant opportunities including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31) from NIH, which is to enable promising predoctoral students to obtain mentored research training while conducting dissertation research in a health-related field relevant to the missions of the NIH, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) from NSF, which supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions, and the Grant-In-Aid-of-Research (GIAR) from Sigma Xi, a scientific research honor society, which supports undergraduate and graduate students to carryout mentored research in most areas of science and engineering. The NIH NRSA F31 is available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are enrolled in a research doctoral degree program. The NSF GRFP is available to U.S. citizens, U.S. national, or permanent residents who are at an early stage in their graduate career and have completed no more than one academic year of full-time graduate study.

Examples of Graduate Student Grant Opportunities

Subtopic: (Analyzing the guidelines for the proposal)

Gathering all information about specific grant funding opportunities and organizing into a spreadsheet is a good practice. Including essential information such as name of grant or fellowship program, the web address, the eligibility requirements, deadlines, requirements for letters of support, requirements of the written application, relevant forms, award amount, name and address of point of contact at the funding agency. Review and analyze the guidelines for the proposal thoroughly and carefully. Outline the proposal exactly as the guidelines indicate. Do not omit any requirements and do not rearrange sections. Analyze the instructions and organize the proposal accordingly. Be aware of page limits, margin and font size requirements, and line spacing restrictions.

Subtopic: (Understanding the priorities of the funding agency)

Most funding agencies and organizations provide publicly available information about their mission and funding priorities. It is important to understand the mission and goals of the funding agency, and how to address the mission and goals in the written proposal. Grant writers should be informed about who the proposal is written to. Know the audience and focus the writing on the needs of the funding agency. Write the proposal to demonstrate that the proposed work will solve the problem or serve a need.

Subtopic: (Time management and planning)

Time management is critical for a successful grant. You will need to plan for the following activities in your schedule;

• Read the existing literature to research the topic thoroughly
• Carry out a comprehensive, critical review of the current literature
• Dedicate three months to development and submission of proposal (this will help with balancing other obligations)
• Create a timeline and set weekly goals for the proposal writing process (set realistic writing and review schedules)
• Protect time on the calendar (1–2 hours per day) to allow a focused approach to writing each day
• Request letters of support one month before the deadline, provide a draft of the support letter so essential details are included
• Ask for colleagues to read prior to submission
• Allow for time to revise

Stick to your schedule and don’t get behind. This will reduce stress on both you and anyone you recruit to support you. This is also where the structure of a proposal writing class is very beneficial for both the student and for the faculty researcher.

Subtopic: (Proposal organization and writing strategies)

Writing strategies should incorporate a logical flow of information that is logical and easy to follow. It is important to understand what sections or components need to be included in the grant proposal as well as what purpose each section serves in the proposal. A general example of the order in which elements should be presented in a research narrative is shown in Figure 1 . However, each type of grant proposal and funding agency has unique and slightly different requirements. For example, the NIH F31 NRSA requires specific sections in a specific order that serve specific purposes in the proposal. The sections are as follows: Project summary, Project Narrative, Bibliography and references cited, Facilities and other resources, Equipment, Applicant’s background and goals, Research training plan, Specific aims, and Research strategy. Additional documents that are required for the NIH F31 include descriptions of the Respective contributions, Selection of sponsor and institution, Training in the responsible conduct of research, Sponsor and co-sponsor statements, Letters of support, Description of institutional environment and commitment to training, Budget section, and Vertebrate animals and Human subjects, if applicable. The NIH F31 begins with a Project summary, which is limited to 30 lines of text and includes a description of the key focus of the proposed research, the long-term goals, the relevance of the work to NIH’s mission, a brief description of the research design and methodology. The Project summary should be written in 3 rd person and should not describe past accomplishments. The Project narrative is approximately three sentences in length that should describe the relevance of the work to public health. The Project narrative should answer the question, ‘What will your research contribute to the field?” The Bibliography should include all references that are included in the Research strategy section. The Facilities and other resources section should describe how the research site will contribute to the probability for the successful completion of the proposed work. This section may include a description of institutional support provided for the project, a description of the physical resources available, and the intellectual environment and rapport with other investigators. The Equipment list should include major instruments that are available for the project, where they are and what the instruments can do for the project.

Order of information presented in the research narrative, also referred to as the Research strategy, Research Approach, or Proposed investigation, depending upon specific funding agency.

The Applicant’s background and goals section, should be organized to include the following subheadings: A. Doctoral dissertation and research experience, B. Training goals and objectives, C. Activities planned under this award, D. Research training plan. The Research Training plan should relate the research to your career goals, it should explain the relationship between the applicant’s research and the mentor’s ongoing research. Additionally, the plan should be tailored to the applicant’s experiences and career skills and goals. The Specific Aims page (a 1-page maximum) should identify the need or gap for the research, it should state the long-term goals, the hypothesis, and the specific aims that will be used to test the hypothesis or research question. The specific aims page should also include a statement of the expected outcomes and the impact of the results of the proposed work. The Research strategy section (6 pages maximum) is a narrative of the research that will be carried out. It should describe the significance of the work and the experimental approach that will be taken to accomplish the goals. Potential pitfalls or potential limitations should be acknowledged within the Research strategy, and alternative approaches may be included in the event that the original experimental plans are not feasible. A time line with benchmarks may be provided to demonstrate feasibility of the overall plan within the timeframe of the award.

The NSF GRFP is a shorter proposal and is comprised of the following sections: Personal information, Education, work and other experience, Transcripts, Proposed field of study, The Proposed graduate study and graduate school, the names and emails of at least three reference letter writers, the Personal, relevant background and future goals statement, which is limited to 3 pages in length, and the Graduate research plan statement, which is limited to 2 pages in length. The overall goal of the program is to support fellows who will become knowledge experts who will contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. Both the Personal, relevant background and future goals statement and the Graduate research plan statement must address NSF’s review criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. Each must be addressed individually under separate headings in both the Personal and Research Plan statements. The purpose of this requirement is to provide the reviewers with the information that is necessary to evaluate the applications. Reviewers will evaluate the applications based on what the applicant wants to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits may be realized if the research is successful. The Intellectual Merit statements should encompass the potential to advance knowledge and understanding within the field or across different fields, and the Broader Impacts statement should address the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific desired societal outcomes. The Intellectual Merit statements and the Broader Impacts statement should clearly explain to what extent the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, and transformative concepts. Reviewers of NSF GRFP applications will evaluate how well-reasoned and how well organized the plan for carrying out the proposed research is, and the extent to which it is based on sound rationale. Additionally, reviewers will evaluate the qualifications of the applicant and the resources that are available to the applicant to carry out the proposed research, so it is critical that grant writers communicate clearly and address all required elements using a comprehensive approach, giving a balanced consideration to all components of the application including educational and research record, leadership, outreach, service, future plans, and individual competencies.

The Sigma Xi GIAR is an even shorter proposal, limited to 500 words in length. GIAR may be used to support scientific research in any field. Within the 500-word limit, applicants must include the following sections: Background information, Goals, Hypothesis/research question, Specific objectives, Methods, and Significance of the research. Additional documents include a Budget and Budget justification. The Background information must be brief and be written in a concise manner. The statement of goals must also be concise, and limited to one or two sentences. The hypothesis or research question should be one sentence followed immediately by the Specific objectives/aims, which can be listed as a bulleted list. Methods should be briefly described under each of the specific aims. The statement of significance of the research should describe how the study contributes to the big picture of research in this field of study. If the proposed work is part of an ongoing project, clearly state how the project is integrated into the ongoing project yet represents a unique contribution to the field. The Budget is limited to items that are not routinely found in standard research laboratories and to reagents that are clearly project-specific. In the case of items for which applicants wish to provide justification, the Budget justification must demonstrate how the item relates to the methodology described in the Proposed investigation section. Applicants should include justification for expenses that may not normally receive funding. Three key elements are evaluated including the proposed investigations, the budget, and the recommendations from the research advisor.

While each type of grant proposal and funding agency has unique and slightly different requirements, there are common features and strategies that are generally applicable for most grant proposals. It is best to link one component to another in order to create a linear progression of logic, using a conceptual framework that allows readers to link details to the framework as they read. Summarize the current state of knowledge in the field. Identify a specific gap in knowledge or previously published work and explain why there is a critical need to address the problem and the necessity or rationale to solve the problem. State a central hypothesis. Clearly and concisely explain how the proposed research will fill the gap and solve the problem. Provide specific information about methods, materials, and any preliminary data that addresses the problem or gap. Try to come up with overall objectives/goals that are specific for the proposal. Then, work on the specific aims, which are those that are needed to pursue in order to attain the overall objectives/goals. The objectives/goals can be categorized as short-term (can be accomplished in one to three years) or long term (expected to be completed by the end of the grant). Provide a brief statement of the short-term impacts, benefits, or results that are anticipated from the proposed work. Add future research directions upon achieving the short-term goals/objectives. Provide a statement of broader impacts and benefits that are anticipated upon successful completion of the proposed work. Last but not least, explain how the work will result in a benefit to the larger research community or state who will most likely benefit from the new knowledge generated as a result of the proposed research.

Include a sentence of each following item’s in your proposal;

• A statement of critical need that your proposal will address early in the introductory paragraph
• A statement of long-term goal that describes the goals for the next ten years in the field as a whole
• Create a statement of overall objectives that are specific for the proposal; objectives that can be accomplished in one to three years and that you expect to complete by the end of the grant
• State the central hypothesis and the rationale for the project

Be sure your proposal answers the following questions;

• To attain the overall objectives, what specific aims will be pursued?
• At the completion of the proposed research what is the expected outcome?
• What positive impact do you expect to have?
• What is the significance of the proposed work?
• Finally, what is innovative about the proposal and the approach taken, and how will this contribute to the field of study?

Create a bulleted outline of your proposal that includes each of the components of the proposal. Refine as necessary. Seek constructive criticism of the bulleted outline from peers and mentors. Continue to work on the bulleted outline until each component meets its purpose, each is linked to the others and the progression of logic is linear. Format your proposal according to the guidelines. Expand the bulleted sections into complete sentences in such a way that reviewers will know why the information has been included. Edit and refine until it reads well and fits into the page or word limit.

Integrate your review of relevant literature into your proposal in the introduction or background section. Cite primary literature, not reviews. Use the most current references. If you include figures in the introduction section or as preliminary data, make sure that they are large enough to read (no smaller than 9 point) and that they will be understood if the document is converted to black and white. Use a succinct writing style and include only essential, meaningful detail. List the results that you expect from each proposed experiment. Identify potential problems and alternative strategies if problems were to arise. Create a timeline and benchmarks. Conclude with a future directions statement.

Subtopic: (Additional forms and letters of support)

Additional documents may be required as components of the proposal. These may include budget, budget justification, college transcript, description of research facilities available for the project, and letters of support. Start on these other components early. Request letters of support one month before the deadline, letting letter writers know of the deadline and provide a draft of the support letter so that the essential details are included. Share a draft of your proposal with them. Develop a title for your proposal and share it with your letter writers. The title should emphasize the payoff from the proposed research. Use your overall objective and the significance to inform your title. Make several candidates for your title. Ask colleagues to select the most informative, interesting title.

Budget development will follow the specific guidelines for the grant proposal and specific funding agency. It is important to know what the allowable costs are and what costs are not allowable on the grant. For most grant proposals, it is important to include a budget justification, which serves as a narrative that explains each component of the budget in terms of the proposed research. When writing a budget justification, the focus should be on how each component of the budget is required to meet the goals of the project and how each projected cost was calculated. For NIH F31 and NSF GFRP applications, where funds are made available for specific purposes only such as predoctoral stipend, institutional allowance, and tuition and fees, a detailed justification may not be required. Sigma Xi GIAR in contrast, allows the applicant to request funding for purchases of specific equipment necessary to undertake the proposed research project, travel to and from a research site, supplies that are specific to the project and that are not generally available in a research laboratory, and reimbursements for human subjects research in the case of psychological research. For Sigma Xi, a budget justification would be included to justify how the items in the budget are related to the methodology described in the proposed investigation section. For other grant proposals in which the funding agency guidelines list categories or criteria for allowable expenses in the budget, the budget justification may include the following main categories: Personnel (senior personnel, other personnel, other significant contributors), Consultants, Fringe benefits, Travel, Participant/trainee support, Other direct costs, and Facilities and administration costs.

In cases in which a budget justification is required, organize the budget justification to follow the same order as the budget. Include details to explain the costs included in the budget. Only include items that are allowable, reasonable, and allocable. Use subheadings to organize your budget justification to make it easy for reviewers to read. The writing style for the budget justification should be concise but complete, and all numbers presented in the budget justification should match those presented in the budget.

Subtopic: (Editing and revising)

Draft the proposal. Let it sit for a few days before returning to work on it. Read again and revise for clarity and conciseness. Edit any superfluous language that does not add to the proposal. Plan for a pre-submission review. Ask others to read the proposal, including faculty advisors, committee members, and graduate students who have had previous success with the specific funding agency. Plan to revise multiple times until all ambiguities are clarified, and logic is flawless. Make sure that the grant makes sense to others.

Subtopic: (Submission of your grant proposal)

Students should be aware of policies and procedures for submitting grant proposals through their university. It is important to know if the application will be submitted by the university or alternatively, directly by the student. It is important to know this well ahead of the deadline, as Offices of Sponsored Programs may have requirements for proposals to be submitted to them prior to the actual agency or organization deadline. Become familiar with the online submission system. Submitting early is always a good practice, as it provides the opportunity to catch potential errors that will be identified upon submission and correct them before the deadline.

CONCLUSION:

Key guidelines for proposal development can be summarized by the following points:

• Understand the mission and goals of the funding agency, and how the mission and goals will influence the focus of your proposal.
• Become familiar with the online submission system. Read all instructions for your application. Understand the formatting requirements for your proposal (font size, type line density, margin widths, lengths, etc.).
• Carry out a comprehensive, critical review of the current literature.
• Develop a one -three sentence statement describing your proposal idea. Share your ideas and seek constructive criticism of the idea with your colleagues. Refine your idea based on their input.
• Use a writing style that makes people want to read your proposal. Understand how to link one component to another in order to create a linear progression of logic. Use a succinct writing style and include only essential, meaningful detail.
• Protect your time on your calendar to write your grant proposal. Maximize the amount of quality time that you have for writing – balance your other obligations with your writing efforts. Identify the time of day when you have one to two hours of quality time working on your proposal every day. Protect that time in your calendar. Set realistic writing and review schedules. Stick to your schedule. Don’t allow yourself to get behind.
• Start your proposal with a section to provide a conceptual framework that allows readers to hang details on the framework as they read.
• Understand the structure and purpose of each section. Create a statement of critical need that your proposal will address. Create a statement of long-term goal. Create a statement of overall objectives of the proposal. State the central hypothesis. State the rationale for the project. To attain the overall objectives, what specific aims will be pursued? At the completion of the proposed research what is the expected outcome. What positive impact do you expect to have? What is the significance of the proposed work?
• Create a bulleted outline of your proposal that includes each of the components of the proposal. Refine as necessary. Seek constructive criticism of the bulleted outline. Continue to work on the bulleted outline until each component meets its purpose, each is linked to the others and the progression of logic is linear.
• Format your proposal according to guidelines. Expand the bulleted sections into complete sentences in such a way that reviewers will know why the information has been included.
• Edit and refine until it reads well and fits into the page or word limit.
• Know how to integrate your review of relevant literature into your proposal. Cite primary literature, not reviews. Use the most current references.
• If you include figures, make sure that they are large enough to read (no smaller than 9 point) and that they will be understood if the document is converted to black and white.
• List the results that you expect from each experiment, integrate them into a narrative.
• Identify potential problems and alternative strategies if problems were to arise.
• Create a timeline and benchmarks.
• Conclude with a future directions statement.
• Notify your letter writers of your deadline – share a draft with them.
• Budget development—know allowable costs and what costs are not allowable on the grant. Include a budget justification.
• Develop a title for your proposal that emphasizes the payoff from the proposed research. Use your overall objective and the significance to inform your title. Make several candidates for your title. Ask colleagues to select the most informative, interesting title.
• Plan for a pre-submission review.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

We acknowledge support from the Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grant P20GM109095. We also acknowledge support from The Biomolecular Research Center at Boise State, BSU-Biomolecular Research Center, RRID:SCR_019174.

Contributor Information

Diane Smith, Biomolecular Research Center, 1910 University Drive, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725.

Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, Biomolecular Sciences Graduate Programs, 1910 University Drive, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725.

Julia Thom Oxford, Biomolecular Research Center, 1910 University Drive, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, 83725.

LITERATURE CITED:

• Find. apply. succeed . (2022, June 10). GRANTS.GOV . https://www.grants.gov/
• Grants in aid of research. (2022, June 10). Sigma Xi . https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid-of-research
• National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin . (2022, June 10). NSF. https://www.nsf.gov/ [ Google Scholar ]
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Beta site for NSF - National Science Foundation . (2022, June 10). Beta site for NSF - National Science Foundation. https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-program-grfp [ Google Scholar ]
• Sigma xi news. (2022, June 10). Home . https://www.sigmaxi.org/home
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, Jun 10). National Institutes of Health . https://www.nih.gov/
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, Jun 10). Jointly sponsored Ruth L. Kirschstein national research service award individual national research service award (F31) . National Institutes of Health. https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/fellowships/F31 [ Google Scholar ]

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Write your next fundable grant.

It's easy to feel lost when you're writing grants. It doesn't have to be this way.  The Grant Writing Guide  (publisher: Princeton University Press) is an essential handbook for writing research grants. A step-by-step framework focuses on actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers. 

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The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars

A practical guide to effective grant writing for researchers at all stages of their academic careers

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Grant funding can be a major determinant of promotion and tenure at colleges and universities, yet many scholars receive no training in the crucial skill of grant writing. The Grant Writing Guide is an essential handbook for writing research grants, providing actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers. This easy-to-use guide features writing samples, examples of how researchers use skills, helpful tips, and exercises. Drawing on interviews with scores of grant writers, program officers, researchers, administrators, and writers, it lays out best practices, common questions, and pitfalls to avoid. Betty Lai focuses on skills that are universal to all grant writers, not just specific skills for one type of grant or funder. She explains how to craft phenomenal pitches and align them with your values, structure timelines and drafts, communicate clearly in prose and images, solicit feedback to strengthen your proposals, and much more. Ideal for course use, The Grant Writing Guide is an indispensable road map to writing fundable grants. This incisive book walks you through every step along the way, from generating ideas to finding the right funder, determining which grants help you create the career you want, and writing in a way that excites reviewers and funders.

Betty S. Lai on The Grant Writing Guide

"Historically marginalized scholars will particularly find [ The Grant Writing Guide ] indispensable; they will relish reading the comforting prose of Lai, who lucidly explains how to get an edge on the competitive genre of funding. . . . The book promises—and delivers—on keeping the reader abreast with all the technical details of funding. It provides the novice with a blueprint for navigating the complex funding process with vigor and rigor."—Abdulrahman Bindamnan, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

“Betty Lai shepherds readers through every logistical—and emotional—step of securing a major grant. This will undoubtedly become the go-to grant writing guidebook for scholars of every stage, from graduate student to full professor. It’s the book I wish I had twenty years ago when I started my career as an academic!”—Anthony Christian Ocampo, author of Brown and Gay in LA

“If you’ve ever wondered about how to develop a winning grant, this book is for you. From concept to submission, this highly engaging work offers useful advice informed by Lai’s own distinguished research career and numerous interviews with other successful grant writers. It’s a must-read for scholars at every career stage.”—Lori Peek, University of Colorado Boulder

“Betty Lai’s The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars translates the unspoken insider language that keeps access to resources in the hands of those who already have resources. Her book deftly supports an equity-driven narrative vision with an engineer’s analytic specificity.”—James L. Shulman, American Council of Learned Societies

“ The Grant Writing Guide recognizes that fundraising is not a solitary process. It shows researchers how to build networks of administrators, mentors, and peers who are supportive yet critical in helping to generate persuasive grant proposals. This book’s detailed and elegantly presented advice is much needed and long overdue.”—Donald J. Waters, former senior program officer, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

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• Keywords: Grant writing ; Institution ; Funding ; Principal investigator ; National Science Foundation ; Writing ; Adviser ; Action plan ; Grant (money) ; Red team ; Salary ; Finding ; Request for proposal ; Curriculum vitae ; Publishing ; Career ; Education policy ; Case study ; Mentorship ; Curriculum ; Manuscript ; Research fellow ; Programme (booklet) ; Funding of science ; Practicum ; Research Development ; Data management plan ; Guideline ; Research assistant ; Illustration ; Author ; Checklist ; Award ; Pension ; Reputation ; Development Workshop ; Proofreading ; Paragraph ; Proverb ; The Hidden Curriculum (book) ; Publication ; Institute of Education Sciences ; Learning ; Assistant professor ; Fundable ; Qualitative research ; Collaboration ; Project team ; Investment ; Teacher ; Institutional Fund ; Hewlett Foundation ; Writer ; Letter of intent ; Disaster ; Feeling ; Review article ; Gantt chart ; Handbook ; Op-ed ; Academic advising ; Newsletter ; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ; Payment ; Narrative ; Call to action (marketing) ; Social proof ; Research program ; InterViews ; Geographic information system
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Tips for Grads: Effective Grant Writing

Guest column by Laura Jessee Livingston, PhD student

Are you looking for research or project funding? Grant writing is an important skill for professional and academic development. UW–Madison has many great resources for grant writing!

To write a successful grant application:

• Begin by outlining your specific financial needs
• Use UW’s Grant Information Collection , GrantSpace , FoundationCenter , or other funding websites to search for foundational and federal funding opportunities
• Call your funder’s office or send a letter of inquiry – pre-proposal contact triples an applicant’s chances for funding!
• Identify previous grant recipients with similar projects and potentially contact them to ask further questions.
• When contacting grant offices and previous grantees, be prepared and keep the discussion brief and focused.
• Pull words or phrases directly from the potential funder’s website to use in your proposal
• Read the call for applications or proposals thoroughly and follow guidelines carefully
• Write passionately and imaginatively about your topic – convince others to be excited about your vision
• Get feedback and revise, revise, revise! Have people from other disciplines read your application for clarity. The UW–Madison Writing Center is a great resource for polishing proposals
• Submit applications early and to many sources (using different proposals!)
• Pay attention to deadlines! Applying for grants takes time

Adapted from Tips for the Application Process by UW–Madison Libraries

Tips for Grads is a professional and academic advice column written by graduate students for graduate students at UW­–Madison. It is published in the student newsletter, GradConnections Weekly.

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Obtaining and maintaining funding is critical in sustaining a research career. Whether your funding comes from a foundation or philanthropy, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), or another government agency, the tips within this section can support you. This resource provides strategies and tools to help you effectively navigate the process of  prewriting ,  writing , and  rewriting  your grant application to maximize your chances of success.

Set a Foundation 

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Write Your Specific Aims Page

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Format Your Grant

Pre-Review Your Grant Application

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Getting Started in Grant Writing: An Introduction for Graduate Students, Postdocs, and New Faculty

Learn more about grants, where to find them, and how to submit proposals.

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Across professions and academic levels, an understanding of grants and what it takes to find them and submit proposals are critical skills. This webinar will demystify the process of grant proposal writing. Following a high-level overview of the major phases of proposal development, the webinar will look more closely at the process of finding and selecting funding opportunities that are a good fit for your research or program priorities.

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Release Date: March 18, 2021

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Suggested Audiences: Faculty, Research Administrators, Students

Organizational Subscription Price: Included as part of an annual subscription to our All Access Webinar Package Independent Learner Price: $49 per person

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Presented by: Nancy L. Devino, PhD -  University of Texas

Learning Objectives:

• Identify major phases in grant proposal development.
• Locate relevant sources of information on funding opportunities.
• Summarize information found in a Request for Proposals.
• Outline the steps to go from proposal concept to proposal submission.

Recommended Use: Required ID (Language): 20395 (English)

Related Content

This course provides a step-by-step guide to help simplify the grant writing process.

A focused discussion for individuals who work with federally sponsored awards, PIs, and other members of the research team.

Privacy Overview

JHM Professional Development and Career Office Awareness. Preparation. Development.

Grant writing.

• Finding Funding
• Getting Started
• Writing Strategies
• Specific Aims

Grantwriting is a learned skill that differs fundamentally from writing an academic paper. While papers and grants must both be scientifically sound, novel, well-conceived, and well-written, grant proposals function to persuade the reader (funder) to fund a project based on the idea, scientific soundness, and originality. A grant proposal must sell both your research and your ability as a scientist to carry out the project.

We offer grant writing support for the NSF GRFP, NIH F series and NIH K series.

Nsf graduate research fellowship program.

The Johns Hopkins National Fellowship office will hold a workshop for first-year graduate students applying to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) . The workshops will focus on the personal statement. An online version of the workshop and accompanying handout can be found here. The Johns Hopkins National Fellowship Office will also review your personal statement.

NIH Career Development Awards (K) Grant Writing Workshops

Led by CareerVolt's Sheila Cherry, PhD and Jessica Lerch, PhD.

Overview of K Award

Links to pre-recorded sessions are below:

• Introduction and Overview of K Mechanisms (33 minutes)
• K Application Planning (18 minutes)
• Creating a Solid Research Plan (13 minutes)
• Q&A Panel Session with Reviewers and K recipients (31 minutes)
• Understanding Merit Review (39 minutes)

This workshop will be offered on August 18th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and December 7th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm as a recorded session with faculty attending to answer questions and provide comments in the chat box during the recording. Register on Handshake.

Advanced K Award Workshop

Each April, August, and December, the live Advanced K Award Workshop is offered to provide more in-depth discussion about the NIH K Award. This workshop is designed for postdoctoral research and clinical fellows who are planning to submit or resubmit a K award application in the upcoming cycle after the workshop .

Participants must have viewed the Overview of K Award workshop material AND submit a draft Specific AIMs page to participate. The next workshop will be held December 13th, 2023 .

To register for the Advanced K workshop:

• Email Dr. Doug Dluzen ( [email protected] ) and state your interest in attending.
• Submit a Draft Specific Aims page by December 1st, 2023, to Dr. Doug Dluzen ( [email protected] ).
• Copy your PI on your submitted aims to acknowledge their support of your submission.

Everyone participating in the Advanced K workshop must view a series of K Award overview videos that are available on demand. This insures everyone in the advanced course is at the same knowledge level. You can take the short quizzes to demonstrate knowledge instead of watching the videos. Please register for the course with your JHU email using this LINK and create a username and password . Your registration will be approved within one business day after you register. After registration approval (you will receive an email), on how to access the course. If you don't see course-related emails, please check your spam folder. If you have any additional questions, please email: [email protected]

Below are example recordings from the 2021 workshop:

• Review Psychology (41 minutes)
• Resubmission (5 minutes)
• Candidate Background (25 minutes)
• Tackling Specific Aims (34 minutes)
• The Career Development Plan (20 minutes)
• Finding a Study Section (6 minutes)

PDCO has example of successful and unsuccessful K awards that include reviewer critiques that are available upon request. Contact [email protected] .

NIH F award workshop

Led by Andrew Hollenbach, PhD, Professor of Genetics as LSU School of Medicine and author of A Practical Guide to Writing a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Grant , available online through the Welch Library. This workshop series aims to prepare trainees for writing and getting an F-series grant. Andrew has long-standing experience serving on NRSA fellowship study sections and leading this workshop including providing key suggestions and recommendations on how to best construct each section of the application. Answers to FAQ about submitting F awards including questions like "When should I submit an F" and "How to choose recommenders".

Overview and Review Process Slides | Recording Formatting and Applicant Slides | Recording Sponsor and Cosponsor Slides | Recording Research Training Plan Slides | Recording Institutional Environment and Resubmissions Slides | Recording

PDCO has example of successful and unsuccessful NRSA Fellowship proposals that include reviewer critiques that are available upon request. Contact [email protected] .

Virtual Grant Writing Series

May 31st through June 4th from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm each evening.

• Monday: Overview and Review Process
• Tuesday: Formatting and Applicant
• Wednesday: Sponsor and Co-sponsor
• Thursday: Research Training Plan
• Friday: Institutional Environment and Resubmissions

These sessions will be recorded and can be viewed at your convenience beginning June 15th, 2021. PDCO has example of successful and unsuccessful NRSA Fellowship proposals that include reviewer critiques that are available upon request. Contact [email protected] .

Grant Writing Resource

Grant writing is a skill and many say it is an art. The best way to perfect the skill is to practice the art of grant writing. View each section to learn more about the grant writing process, and check out this Nature Careers: Working Scientist podcast to get an insider’s perspective on the NIH grant review process .

Ten Grant Writing Tips

• Start early.
• Read the grant announcement carefully. Make sure you are a good fit for the award and your research fits their funding priorities. Contact the program officer to share information about you and your research idea to gain their insights and suggestions. Program officers can recommend the NIH Institute that best fits your aims.
• Obtain copies of funded and unfunded grant submissions that include the reviewer critiques. Review these grants for structure, organization and why they were or were not funded. A great learning activity is to review the grant yourself before reading the reviewer’s critiques and then see if your analysis aligns with the reviewers.
• Identify who will be submitting the grant on your behalf, the department’s grant administrator. Schedule a meeting with them to understand when they will need your grant AND how they can help you.
• Find three to five colleagues or mentors who will review your grant in addition to your PI. Provide dates when you will send drafts of your specific aims page or your research plan. Find people who will provide in depth feedback on the content and strategy and not just editorial comments.
• Spend half of your time on the Specific Aims page. This should be the first thing you write and rewrite and rewrite. Seek input on this page early and often. This may be the only page many reviewers read.
• Use figures and tables to illustrate ideas that make it easier for reviewers to grasp your research and ideas. Figures and tables can also save space.
• Make it easier for the reviewers to critique your grant. Tell them what is innovative. Limit yourself to three key messages and repeat these so they are clear. Present a focused research plan directly related to your aims.
• Show that you can succeed. Collaborate on the grant with a senior investigator who has successfully completed similar projects. If you include a co-investigator, demonstrate that the relationship is established and not just in name only.
• Use the actual review criterion to critically evaluate your own grant. Have you addressed every item the reviewer will be scoring? Review templates can be found here.

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Overview on Grant Writing for Graduate Student Research

Affiliations.

• 1 Biomolecular Research Center, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho.
• 2 Biomolecular Sciences Graduate Programs, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho.
• PMID: 36098616
• PMCID: PMC9475994
• DOI: 10.1002/cpz1.545

Grant writing is an important skill to develop during graduate school. This article provides an overview of grant writing for graduate students. Specific topics covered include understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management, understanding the priorities of the funding agency or organization, proposal organization and writing strategies, additional forms and letters of support that may be required, the editing and revising process, and submission of your grant proposal. Courses and workshops are an efficient and effective way to be guided through the grant proposal writing process with a greater potential for positive outcomes. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Keywords: National Institutes of Health; National Science Foundation; Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research; grant proposal; scientific writing; student research grants.

© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

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• Find. apply. succeed. (2022, June 10). GRANTS.GOV . https://www.grants.gov/
• Grants in aid of research. (2022, June 10). Sigma Xi. https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid-of-research
• National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin. (2022, June 10). NSF. https://www.nsf.gov/
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Beta site for NSF - National Science Foundation. (2022, June 10). Beta site for NSF - National Science Foundation. https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/nsf-graduate-research-fellows...
• Sigma xi news. (2022, June 10). Home. https://www.sigmaxi.org/home
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• Grant writing tips for PhDs and Post Doc ...

Grant writing tips for PhDs and Post Docs

Posted by ELISA Genie , on 30 May 2017

Like most things in life, research requires funding and scholarships. This becomes increasingly apparent as researchers progress through their career. At some point, everyone has to jump on the funding treadmill. For many researchers, the first experience of a grant application process may be applying for postgraduate scholarships for their masters/PhD. While I never pursued this option myself, as a postdoc, I now see it from the other side of the fence.

Writing a grant for your dream lab

It is a good opportunity for PIs to employ someone for 3-4 years at no cost. So if you’re an undergrad looking to apply for such a grant, expect pro forma replies from people only too happy to apply with you. If you already have funding, most PIs will happily host you even if your CV is hand written on the back of a napkin. If you are a young, clever, enthusiastic scientist make no mistake, you are a sought-after commodity so shop around.

Postdoctoral funding is a little different but the same general dynamics apply, particularly with regard to postdoctoral fellowships. What you need to be mindful of is that the application process may be a lot more gruelling and competitive. It is important that you gauge carefully what your chances of success are. Remember, a PI may agree to put their name on your application but the grant writing may be left entirely up to you. It can be a big commitment, particularly when you are in the midst of finishing up your PhD and writing your thesis.

This can be a particularly stressful and unnerving time as you don’t know what the future will hold. It can be difficult put together a competitive grant proposal under such conditions so it is not for the faint hearted. If you are lucky you might just get your dream fellowship and a flying start to your career. If you are less fortunate the PI you apply with, impressed by your efforts, might keep you in mind when they next secure funding. However, if you are unlucky, you get nothing but you learn from the experience always look at the positives.

Post-Doc and PhD student grant writing tips and advice

It is, admittedly, a lot easier to focus on writing a research proposal when you know where the next paycheque is coming from. For this reason, many choose to secure a postdoctoral position before pursuing fellowship funding – a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. This is probably a less stressful approach than applying for funding during the latter stages of your PhD. However, don’t forget that the clock is ticking from the moment you finish your viva – you will not be eligible for certain early stage’ fellowships after you clock up certain amount of experience e.g. Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships (ineligible after one year of postdoctoral experience).

My first postdoc was in the same lab where I did my PhD. In reality, this was more of a mop-up’ period for my doctoral work; several manuscripts were submitted, all of which were eventually published, so paper-wise it was a productive time. My advice to anyone considering this option is don’t do it for too long – identify short-term achievable goals and make sure you have an exit strategy. Unless there is something truly amazing happening in the lab, there are a number of reasons you should probably move on after your PhD. Firstly, moving to a different lab is a new experience and will force you outside of your comfort zone, to meet new people, learn new skills and develop fresh ideas. Secondly, if you want to apply for a fellowship, there are often mobility clauses written into fellowship grants which preclude staying in the same lab where you completed your PhD e.g. Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowships for career development (IEF).

Early stage researcher grants

Aside from fellowships, there are several other funding opportunities for postdoctoral researchers. These generally take the form of larger collaborative grants where you, as an early stage researcher, may not be the lead applicant. If successful, these grants may cover your costs for a number of years so success can buy you breathing room and time to focus on your research. These grants can effectively represent a fellowship from your perspective although their raison d’etre is likely to be delivery of a research goal rather than a postdoc’s career development.

After a six month stint, I waved goodbye to my old lab in 2011. As I was finishing up, finished my ELISAs I applied with my current PI for a postdoctoral fellowship but was unsuccessful. In spite of this I moved to this lab in 2012 as funding became available and so began my first postdoctoral post outside my alma mater. The first couple of months were given to setting up the lab – things like ordering equipment and organising paper work, getting to know people in the department/university, supervising undergrads and then (eventually) getting on with my experiments. However, aside from research, the main focus has been on grant writing.

Drafting scientific grants

I have written eight grants and am currently drafting my ninth; one was successful, another three are still under review and five were unsuccessful. It’s a learning process. There is no magic formula for writing grants and even if you write the best proposal imaginable, success can be decided by factors beyond your control. Nevertheless, to begin with, the guidelines and eligibility criteria need to be gone over with a fine-tooth comb. Read the notes from the funding bodies as carefully as possible and check out the success rates to see exactly what your chances are before you even begin writing. Make sure you know exactly who you are applying to and what their mandate is. You may need to tailor your research aims to fit the call but remember that if successful you’ll have to deliver, so your aims must be genuinely achievable. You might have to consider drafting in a collaborator who has a strong track record in a particular field to strengthen your proposal. I would also advise getting in contact with researchers who have written successful grant applications (sometimes they are listed online or you might know somebody who has been successful). If you want to see some examples of high quality proposals, check out the NIH website where you can download some successful R01 grant applications. These are high-quality applications and a good benchmark for any proposal.

Importantly, don’t forget that there are no marks for effort if you are unsuccessful. Aside from grant writing you need to be generating quality research and clocking up the publications. You can’t spend all your time writing grants it’s a question of balance. For what it’s worth, I suggest using grant writing as a vehicle to develop your ideas and plan your research. It’s amazing how great an idea can seem until you put it down on paper. Writing really helps crystallise your thoughts.

Successful grant applications

While grant applications may seem a lottery at times, don’t forget that chance favours only the prepared mind. This is as true of funding applications as it is of science. Although grant writing takes time and includes elements which are not purely scientific, it is probably the best chance you have of taking control of your career and driving your research in the direction you want.

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Graduate Grant-Writing

A structured, mentored and scaffolded process

Introduction

Following the PhD, early-career scholars may have difficulty in transitioning into the role of an independent researcher. In practical terms, this workshop equips post-doctoral researchers to develop a successful and substantial grant proposal. But the overarching aim is to transfer ownership and leadership of research and scholarship to the graduates and allow them to demonstrate independence. This curriculum guides you, as facilitator, not to teach in a directive manner but rather to engage participants in scaffolded writing assignments and peer-to-peer learning.

Download this curriculum in full.

CARTA designed these sessions to inspire participants to improve institutional systems and drive transformation to attain world-class research in African universities in particular, but the training is effective in research institutions anywhere in the world, as a one-week workshop or over time, for faculty and administrative staff.

Within a single institution or a group of several, the sessions create a forum for those who seldom collaborate collectively. Here, they discuss:

• How different functionaries can be more responsive to and supportive of research, research training and doctoral and postdoctoral participants.
• Ways in which they can strengthen the training of doctoral and postdoctoral participants and at the same time strengthen the capacity of the institutions.
• The rationale for a strong research agenda, including the positive linkages between good research and development.
• The important role of a supportive network of research administrators.
• Clear distinctions between different roles and functions.
• The need for funding and technology transfer, particularly in Africa.
• Knowledge management, defined as the process of creating and sharing information.
• The ethical use of social media as a platform capable of enhancing credible knowledge generation.
• Other relevant topics such as repository policies (especially in open access journals) and copyright issues.

By the end of a Graduate Grant-writing workshop, participants can:

• Write a successful proposal that addresses a research question that is in the participant’s area of expertise and that they want to answer.
• Understand how to structure and write the proposal, including literature review, methodology, methods including analysis plans and impact plans.
• Understand the process of developing a research proposal including identifying funding sources; Tailoring a proposal to funding sources; drawing on expertise; and developing a budget, management plan, and dissemination strategy.
• Seek and receive critique of research ideas and plans and integrate feedback into a proposal.
• Successfully work to a submission deadline.

Various modes of delivery are possible: in-person residential, virtual, blended, over a single week or over a longer period. However, CARTA recommends a core week of activity completed in an intensive residential model, because:

• Writing requires separation from other distractions and commitments.
• The on-site model allows for a more natural model of mentorship and consultation, which is often brief, graduate-initiated bursts of conversation. In the in-person mode, participants can connect with facilitators and each other without delay.
• For co-facilitators, on-site mode enables vicarious modelling and shared experience, as each facilitator gets to watch others struggle, find solutions, and gain confidence.
• On-site presents the greatest flexibility in modes of communication (presentation, body language of reaction, graphic and written presentations).
• On-site permits rapid shifts from full group to one-on-one or small break-out groups. The same modes may be achieved online, but require far more scripting and coordination.
• In person, there is greater sense of cohort camaraderie among participants and with facilitators who are also academic peers.
• In person, there is greater opportunity for contact to lead to collaboration between participants and between participants and facilitators both during and beyond the workshop.

The CARTA approach is problem-posing and participatory, acknowledging the skills, and experience that people bring into the workshop. Each session presents situations and poses problems. Participants work with each other and with inputs from the facilitator to find solutions. Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection along with action on reality (Freire, 2020). It is different from the transfer or transmission of knowledge or facts to the passive learner, where the trainer is seen as possessing all essential information, and trainees as ‘empty vessels’ needing to be filled with knowledge.

The choice of participatory method is deliberate: there is a coherence between values and the approach to sharing them. From the beginning, this curriculum recognizes all participants as thinking, creative people with the capacity for action. Each person is a contributor, bringing different perceptions based on their own experiences. This requires that you, as facilitator, make a conscious effort to use participatory methods to enable participants to grow in awareness.

Watch this video for more insight into CARTA’s approach.

Some people assume that facilitating a workshop will be an easy process, until they try doing it. The participatory method means that you and your co-facilitators guide the workshop while appreciating that the participants are in charge. Your responsibility is to create an enabling environment that allows participants to learn from each other, come to an understanding, and pool their collective wisdom in resolving issues.

A good co-facilitator works as an ally to help you ensure that meetings, seminars, planning sessions and workshops, deliver the intended and desired outcomes. It is very difficult to facilitate a meeting yourself, when you also want to participate in it as an equal. But not all facilitators are alike. Identify co-facilitators who have the personality and aptitude to understand the goals, objectives, and expected outcomes of this curriculum. CARTA recommends you look for co-facilitators with these attributes.

Sensitivity to individuals To create and maintain an atmosphere of trust and respect, you must be aware of how people are responding to the topics under discussion, and to the opinions and reactions of others. Most people will not articulate their discomfort, hurt feelings, or even anger; instead, they silently withdraw from the discussion and often from the group. Sensing how people are feeling and understanding how to respond to a particular situation is a critical skill of facilitation.

Sensitivity to the group In any group, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and group ‘chemistry’ generally reflects shared feelings: eagerness, restlessness, anger, boredom, enthusiasm, suspiciousness, or even silliness. Perceiving and responding to the group’s dynamic is essential to skilful facilitation.

Ability to listen One way you learn to sense the feelings of individuals is by listening carefully, noting body language along with both the explicit meaning of words, and their tone and implicit meaning. As a good facilitator, you practise ‘active listening’. You might repeat, sum up, or respond directly to what a speaker says to ensure that their meaning is correctly understood by the group.

Tact Sometimes, a facilitator must say difficult things for the good of the group. The ability to do so carefully and diplomatically is critical. Examples include a group discussion dominated by one person or a group of silent participants. Find a gentle, tactful way to engage the group so that everyone can participate and get the most out of the session. A capable facilitator knows how to diffuse awkward moments and maintain a productive atmosphere.

Commitment to collaboration Collaborative learning can occasionally seem frustrating and inefficient. At these moments, every facilitator feels tempted to take on the familiar role of the traditional teacher and to lead, rather than facilitate. However, genuine conviction about the empowering value of cooperative learning will help you resist a dominating role. Likewise, a good facilitator is willing to share facilitation with co-facilitators. The goal is always to conduct the best and most effective discussion. To that end, you need to adjust your role accordingly.

A sense of timing Any facilitator needs to develop a sixth sense for timing: when to bring a discussion to a close, when to change the topic, when to cut off someone who has talked too long, when to let the discussion run over the allotted time, and when to let the silence continue a little longer.

Resourcefulness and creativity Each group of participants presents different dynamics. Despite a well-planned agenda, discussions may not unfold as anticipated. You must be able to think on your feet. This may mean changing direction in mid-stream, using other creative approaches to engage the group, or welcoming ideas from the group on how to shift the agenda. Good facilitators always have tricks up their sleeves to move forward with an eye on the overall objective of the meeting.

A sense of humour As in most human endeavours, even the most serious, a sense of humour enhances the experience for everyone. A good facilitator appreciates life’s ironies and is able to laugh at themselves and share the laughter of others.

Lead coordinator/s Lead co-ordinator(s) of a Graduate Workshop must be accomplished academic leaders and demonstrate leadership abilities to:

• Ensure the recruitment of graduate participants is effective and equitable.
• Recruit and retain qualified and motivated facilitators.
• Recruit a large list of international external peer-reviewers from across a broad range of methodologies and subject areas reflecting the diversity of research areas of the participants.
• Work with administrative staff to ensure effective coordination.
• Evaluate the impact of the workshop on individual participants, on a graduate’s early-scientist career, and on the larger research community in Africa and globally.

Co-facilitators Recruit facilitators with:

• Experience with the peer-review process.
• Experience with student-centred teaching models including methods of active learning and delivery models designed to develop independence and critical thinking. Examples include case-based learning, dialogic teaching or other models.
• Flexibility to work with graduates across a range of specific research areas.
• Methodological training and ability to critically appraise research proposals.
• Availability and willingness to participate fully in the workshop, beyond their responsibility for specific sessions. Facilitators should prepare to engage in the workshop over multiple days allowing them to follow the progress of multiple participants over the course of the workshop.
• Commitment to the tasks of evaluating the impact of the workshop on individual participants at the end of the workshop, on a graduate’s early-scientist career, and on the larger research community in Africa and globally.

As a team, the facilitators must include a range of disciplines, areas of research, and methodological expertise (including qualitative, quantitative research and mixed methods; descriptive research and implementation sciences; and laboratory and basic sciences).

Participants Before you issue a call for participants to apply, decide if the workshop is to be:

• Open to any early-career researcher, or to a specific department, or somewhere in between.
• A mix of senior and junior PhD graduates, or close cohort.

For an open call, highlight the objectives of the workshop, mode of delivery (entirely face to face or blended), commitment required, eligibility criteria, instructions for making the applications, and timelines. You might decide to shortlist:

• Competitively (those showing more commitment, more support to dedicate time, better drafts).
• By topic (for instance, at least two working on each area, or groups who apply to write a collaborative grant).
• First-come-first-served, where everyone gets the same chance and those responding faster secure a spot if their application is complete.
• Share feedback on their applications with both successful and unsuccessful applicants.

For an invitation-only call:

• Define the inclusion criteria.
• Contact those who meet the criteria, highlighting the time, mode of delivery, and instructions for application if needed.

Two weeks before the workshop, send detailed information to participants on workshop logistics, the reason they were selected, the participatory workshop method, and what is expected of them as participants.

You might also consider sharing an online pre-workshop survey link to get the participants’ profiles and to give them an opportunity to state their expectations and describe what they are willing to contribute to ensure the successful running of the workshop. With your co-facilitators, you can then analyse the information and adapt the workshop programme, as much as possible, to suit participants’ expressed needs.

In plenty of time, identify and engage the co-facilitators and the different contributors. Hold planning meetings until the team members are on the same page. To prepare, advise facilitators to read and re-read this training manual until they feel comfortable and confident that they know what is expected for all the sessions.

Identify a location that will allow participants to move around easily, for example for role-plays. Make sure there are enough break-away rooms for small-group activities and adequate wall space for poster tours and other elements of the workshop methodology.

At least three weeks before the in-person workshop (or sessions), hold a series of conversations with the group of participants and ask them to complete some tasks and submit the results. This ensures that instructions are clear, that the graduates are able to identify opportunities for research funds and early career placements, and that the time for writing and revision will be is well spent.

Outcomes By the end of the pre-workshop activities, participants have:

• Identified one or more appropriate calls for funding or opportunities for research-focused post-doctoral fellowships or comparable early-career placements.
• Identified potential supervisors and locations for early research appointments.
• Familiarised themselves with eligibility requirements with respect to applicant, subject area, context of proposed work, and methods.
• Created a summary of the eligibility criteria and instructions to peer reviewers.
• Identified relevant methodology resources to refer to as they develop a research plan.
• Begun the literature review.

Preparation Establish a learning management platform for document delivery, uploading of tasks, online annotation and feedback, live webinar collaboration, and break-out rooms.

Assessment Review participants’ materials and provide feedback and support where necessary to complete the tasks.

Individual writing. Table-top work in small groups Flip-chart pin-up presentation with peer-to-peer comments and questions. Brief pop-up presentations by facilitators.

Training of Trainers

To implement this curriculum effectively, facilitators must be well prepared. This ToT workshop builds or refreshes the skills and background knowledge of your team.

Download the ToT workshop

CARTA Curricula Copyright © by The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Research Development & Grants

• School and Campus Centers

Broadly speaking, graduate training in the humanities has implicitly privileged the production of peer-reviewed research. With the PhD program culminating in the writing and defense of a dissertation that reflects original research, the expectation is that the PhD student will eventually publish this dissertation either as several peer-reviewed journal articles, or a monograph. Tied to this, a career trajectory in higher education will also include applying for grants and fellowships in order to fund one’s research. They may include grants for foreign language study, conference participation, dissertation writing, travel grants to do archival research or fieldwork, or being in residence at another institution. Such grants often reinforce the university as the locus of original humanistic research, as well as the professional goal of obtaining and maintaining a faculty position within a research university or 4-year college.

The Humanities Center at UCI supports graduate students’ research through external research (information sessions and workshops, grant-writing skills, and 1-on-1 feedback on application materials), internal research and community grants (supported by the Office of Research and the UC Humanities Network), and other opportunities.

Alongside such grants are other opportunities that allow for humanities scholars to participate in broader interdisciplinary conversations, communicate their research to broader audiences, and explore careers outside of faculty positions. The Humanities Center, in collaboration with the Humanities Dean's Office, has been able to fund a number of students to attend external research and professional development opportunities for the past few years. These include the Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop, HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory), the Colby Summer Institute for Environmental Humanities, the National Humanities Center Virtual Podcasting Institute, and Marxist Institute for Interdisciplinary Research. Students must be accepted to these programs prior to requesting funding through the Humanities Center.

Humanities Center Internal Grants

All Humanities Center internal grant and funding opportunities use InfoReady for applications. To access InfoReady, visit:  https://ucihumanities.infoready4.com/ .

If this is your first time using InfoReady, login with your UCI Net ID, and edit your profile (top right navigation bar) to include your primary department.

The following guidelines are for reference only.

Open grant calls and current application guidelines are available on the Humanities Center InfoReady website:  https://ucihumanities.infoready4.com/

Faculty and/or graduate collaborations may apply for up to $2,000. Centers and research clusters already supported by the Humanities Center may apply for up to $1,500.

The Humanities Center supports collaborations that foster vibrant intellectual communities. The new Building Intellectual Community grants provide funding for limited-term sets of activities that bring together colleagues on the UCI campus, in the Southern California region, or from elsewhere to engage in discussion and collaborative activities around a shared intellectual interest. These grants replace the previous Collaborative Conference grants by expanding the range of activities that can be funded and clarifying the purpose of the funding.

These collaborations should engage faculty and graduate students across disciplines. Building Intellectual Community grants may be used to support:

• academic conferences, symposia or colloquia;
• a series of events, such as speakers or film screenings, with a unifying theme during a quarter or the academic year;
• academic trainings (such as new methodologies across disciplines);
• work groups for fields that cross disciplines.

Building Intellectual Community grants may also be used for limited-term activities that bring humanities research to public spaces or community knowledge creation into academic research spaces.

Open grant calls and current application guidelines are available on the Humanities Center InfoReady website:  https://ucihumanities.infoready4.com/ .

Graduate students in the UCI School of Humanities who have achieved PhD candidacy are eligible to apply for Individual Research grants (max award $3,000) through the Humanities Center.  Graduate students may receive only ONE Individual Research during their graduate studies. 

Grant funds may be used for research travel, such as flights, ground transportation, and lodging; archival and copying fees; and other research expenses, such as translation or transcription.  Grant funds may not be used to pay for summer living expenses, language study, travel to a conference, food or per diem while traveling, or equipment.

Narrative Description  (two page maximum):

• Please provide a description of your dissertation project, what you plan to accomplish with the grant funds and how these activities are necessary to your dissertation project.

Project Budget  (one page maximum):

• Please provide a list of all project expenses, identifying which expenses will be paid by the grant and which expenses will be paid by other funds. 
• Please list other funds – both received and pending – that will be used for this project.

Letter of Support from Dissertation Advisor or Faculty Supervisor :

• In addition to your application, your dissertation advisor or chair must send a brief email to Anat Schwartz ([email protected]) indicating support for the application, including why these activities are necessary to complete your dissertation.

The UCI Humanities Center is sponsoring a workshop for graduate students in the arts, humanities, and qualitative social sciences on writing fellowship and grant applications. It will be led by Edward Dimendberg, Professor of Humanities, who has extensive experience in successfully applying for fellowships and grants and has served on numerous fellowship selection committees.

Professor Dimendberg has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Getty Research Institute and twice received Fulbright fellowships and grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Research in the Arts to support his research on architecture and urbanism. In addition, he has received fellowships from the American Academy in Berlin, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Getty Grant Program, the International Research Center for Cultural Studies, the Center for Creative Photography, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was a UC Presidential Fellow in the Humanities from 2008-2009. From 2005–2008 he served as chair of the jury that awards the Millard Meiss book prize of the College Art Association (CAA).  In 2008 he was co-director of the “Urban Visual Studies” Dissertation Proposal Development Fund Workshop sponsored by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). He later served on the Faculty Editorial Committee of the University of California Press, on the Publications Committee of the Modern Language Association, and as the inaugural Multimedia Editor of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. From 1990–1998 Dimendberg was Sponsoring Editor in Film, Philosophy, and the Humanities at the University of California Press, and during the course of his work there wrote numerous grants to support the more than 100 books he published as an editor.  

Meeting 1 (Thursday April 11, 12-2pm, HG 1002) will introduce the differences between grants and fellowships, types of funding entities, internal versus extramural support, principles of cost sharing, the timetable of the grant making cycle, the major sources of information about grants, and the principal grants and fellowships in the humanities and qualitative social sciences. Assignment due this session: Before this first meeting, students will identify possible sources of funding for their own research. Rather than simply study the guidelines of funding agencies, students will also conduct a review of recent past grant and fellowship recipients and identify those with projects similar to their own, both as a resource and as evidence of a plausible match.

Meeting 2 (Thursday May 9, 12-2pm, HG 1002) will review first drafts of application project statements. It also will address the elements of grant and fellowship applications: abstract, research timetable, and bibliography, and external letters of support. Special emphasis will be placed on the process of selecting referees and requesting letters. Assignment due this session: Students will complete a first draft of an application for a grant or fellowship.

One-on-one advising sessions (May 7-31, Zoom/TBD) will focus on review of applications and fine-tuning of project statements. Stress will be placed on the importance of clearly presenting a research problem, methodology, investigations to be conducted, and a schedule for completion of the research.

Meeting 3 (Thursday June 6, 12-2pm, HG 1002) will focus on reviewing each application by participants in the workshop.  We will discuss the obligations that come with receiving a grant or fellowship, how to establish a track record and credibility with funding agencies, how to learn from a rejected application, and how to parlay smaller grants and fellowships into larger ones.                             

Break––Summer 2024: Students will solicit feedback from their advisors and other specialists in their fields, and will incorporate their suggestions into their application revisions.

One-on-one advising sessions (September 2024, Zoom/TBD) will provide final review of applications before their submission, with feedback specific to the project of the student and the requirements of the funding entities to which each student is applying.

Throughout the workshop each student will receive individual written feedback and meet individually with Professor Dimendberg. He also will be available for consulting over summer 2024. Lunch will be available during each session, which will provide the opportunity for participants to become acquainted with each other in an informal setting. 

Students interested in participating in the workshop should send a brief email by March 15 to Anat Schwartz in the Humanities Center ([email protected]) explaining their interest. Enrollment in the workshop will be limited to 12 participants with preference given to graduate students in the School of Humanities.

The UCI Humanities Center is offering two opportunities for co-sponsorship in AY 2023-2024:

Care & Repair (annual theme through Spring 2024)

Humanities Center Co-Sponsorships

Additionally, the Social Sciences Dean has required that requests from Humanities faculty for Social Sciences co-sponsorship of Humanities-Social Science co-organized activities be directed to his office by the Humanities Center.

Each event/activity may apply for one Humanities Center (regular or annual theme) co-sponsorship of up to $500 for events and/or projects that are primarily organized by faculty and graduate students in the School of Humanities. These events must be intended for an audience beyond an individual department and have an appropriate audience building plan. You may request both a Humanities Center and a Social Sciences co-sponsorship for co-organized activities.

For instructions and to apply, visit:  https://ucihumanities.infoready4.com/#

UCI Humanities Center Funding Requests for External Professional Development Programs

The UCI Humanities Center will sponsor up to 5 Humanities PhD students per academic year for a professional development opportunity that provides training towards career diversity, public humanities, or incorporates approaches or methodologies beyond disciplinary bounds. It should also be an opportunity that is not already offered through UCI. Previous opportunities that have fallen in this category have included the LARB Publishing Workshop, HASTAC, the Colby Environmental Humanities Institute, and the Marxist Institute for Interdisciplinary Research. Up to $3000 can be requested and used towards travel, lodging, meals, tuition/registration, or other related expenses. Programs that are affiliated with academic associations (AHA, MLA, SCMS, AAR, AAAS) will only be considered if a separate application is required to be part of a cohort, or requires additional time before or after a conference as part of participation (e.g., MLA Public Humanities Incubator).

Guidelines for applying

For students:

1. Students must apply and be accepted to the external program, prior to making the funding request. Funding will supplement any funding received as part of the program (e.g., if the program offers housing, then the Humanities Center can provide funds toward travel and a small stipend).

2. After acceptance, the student can request for funding, providing the following information:

Student name, dept., and year in program

Dollar amount requested, with breakdown

Funding request deadline

Justification for funding (300-500 words)

Whether the student has applied for funding elsewhere

For external programs/organizations:

1. External programs or organizations can request funding for one student. Students must apply and be accepted through the program’s regular application process. They must provide the following information in their request:

Dollar amount requested, with breakdown of total cost

Whether the organization will be receiving funding from other sources

Funding request deadline, and whether funding is needed before or after the program

Review Process

The Humanities Center will review and fund requests on a rolling basis, up to a maximum of 5 fellowships per academic year. Students will be asked to share a reflection on their experiences either in person or writing during fall quarter of the following year. Organizations that have received funding approval should update the Humanities Center after student selection and acceptance.

Please send your funding requests and questions to SueJeanne Koh at [email protected].

After submission, your request will be reviewed and answered no later than two weeks after submission.

On occasion, the Humanities Center (or centers/clusters supported by the Humanities Center) may offer other grant or funding opportunities. Information regarding these opportunities will be sent out via the UCI humanities graduate student mailing list or the related-center's mailing list. 

External Grants and Finding Funding

The Humanities Center helps graduate students in the School of Humanities find and apply for external fellowships and grants to support their graduate studies. Our Ph.D. students have been awarded Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Abroad fellowships for China, Japan and Brazil; Fulbright Student awards for Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and India; the Luce/ACLS Fellowship in American Art; the American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship; and other national and international prestigious awards.

The Humanities Center does not maintain a grant database. However, we have collected several prominent External Dissertation Fellowships and Postdoctoral Opportunities . If you have a resource to add to this list, please email Anat Schwartz, Research Development Coordinator, at [email protected].

The Humanities Center holds a four-part grant-writing workshop series in the fall and spring quarters. The workshops include identifying and applying for external funding opportunities, how to write successful applications for grants and fellowships, and developing and communicating your research to different funders and reviewers. Graduate students in their first and second years, as well as advanced students, are encouraged to attend. Announcements are made through the humanities graduate student email listserv.

Below is a sample flyer from Fall 2023:

In partnership with UCI’s Graduate Division, the Humanities Center ran the Grant-Writing & Research Development Institute in 2022 and 2023 funded by a grant from the Council for Graduate Schools. The Grant-Writing & Research Development Institute was designed to expand PhD students’ capacities in grant-writing, research development, and project development. Grant-writing is a conceptual capacity and a collaborative practice, along with a set of skills. Whether in faculty, academic administration or nonprofit careers, grant-writing takes place in the broader context of staff team roles, project development, organizational goals, fundraising plans, and institutional partnerships. The institute approached grant-writing holistically with sessions that focused on technical skills, on understanding the collaborative process from a variety of perspectives, and on understanding the role of grant-writing in the broader process of research planning and project development.

Anat Schwartz, Humanities Center’s Research Development Coordinator, can assist with finding funding opportunities, planning when to apply for external funding, and preparing proposal materials. The Humanities Center also collects successful applications by previous grant recipients for reference. Contact Anat at [email protected] to set up an appointment.

UCI Grants for Humanities PhD Students

Grad Division Grants - Most grants require ABD status. Check the Funding Timeline PDF for their general deadlines. For questions about Grad Division grants, email Graduate Division Associate Dean Jaymi Smith ([email protected]).

* Please note these grants are internal to UCI but not managed by the Humanities Center

School of Humanities Grants - Conference travel, summer dissertation writing support, summer language study, and outstanding TA awards. For questions about SOH grants, email Geneva Lopez-Sandoval, Director, Office of Graduate Study ([email protected]).

The SoH Office of Graduate Study will sponsor one student to attend the Cornell University School of Criticism and Theory. For the call and further information, please reach out directly to Geneva Lopez-Sandoval.

Associated Graduate Students - AGS offers conference travel grants (by lottery), project event funding, and paid staff positions (may be announced via email). For questions, email Daniel C. Tracht, AGS Vice President of Administrative Affairs ([email protected]).

Previous External Professional Development Funding Recipients

Megan Cole (English)

Anna Pederneschi (Philosophy)

Natalia Affonso (Comparative Literature)

Sarah Hoenicke Flores (Comparative Literature)

Jose Maria Urdaneta (Spanish)

The next LARB Publishing Workshop will take place virtually from June 24- July 26, 2024. Information about applying to the workshop will become available in December 2023.

Karem Delgado (Spanish)

Wu Jun Ke (Comparative Literature)

Christine Mugnolo (Visual Studies)

Michelle Robertson (English)

Juan Rubio (History)

LaShonda Carter (Culture & Theory)

Kathie Foley-Meyer (Visual Studies)

Kristina Horn (East Asian Studies)

Rong Kong (History)

Ella Turenne (Visual Studies)

Isabelle Williams (Culture & Theory)

Anannya Mukherjee  (Comparative Literature)

Maria Carina Saiidi Padilla  (Spanish)

Serkan Ogul Tuna  (History)

Nikita Olegovich Prokhorov (Comparative Literature)

Aaron Katzeman (Visual Studies)

Sophie Mariko Wheeler (East Asian Studies)

Applications for the 2024 institute will open on November 17, 2023. More information can be found at their website .

Information about HASTAC can be found here .

Chenglin Lee (Comparative Literature)

Four students share their experiences of external professional development opportunities funded through the Humanities Center and Humanities Dean's Office: Megan Cole (PhD Candidate; English), Aaron Katzeman (PhD Candidate; Visual Studies), Jose Maria Urdaneta Azuero (PhD Candidate; Spanish), and Sophie Mariko Wheeler (PhD Student; East Asian Studies).

Contact Humanities Center

Humanities Gateway 1st Floor Irvine, CA 92697-3375

See the humanities in action

Copyright © 2023 UC Regents. All rights reserved.

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• Graduate Fellowships & Awards

Grant & Proposal-Writing Resources

Georgetown writing center resources.

• Video Tutorials on Clear and Fluid Writing
• Guides to Writing in Different Fields
• Resources for Grammar and Editing
• Resources for Second-Language Writers
• To Make an Appointment with a Writing Tutor

Grant-Writing Advice from Academic Institutions and Scholarly Organizations

• The Making of a Successful Proposal (University of Illinois)
• On the Art of Writing Proposals  – Adam Prezeworski and Frank Saloman (Social Science Research Council)
• Dissertation Proposal Resources (UC Berkeley’s Institute for International Studies)
• Proposal Writing Advice from Rutger’s GradFund, the Resource Center for Graduate Student External Support
• Notes from A Writer’s Desk: So You Want to Apply to a Research Fellowship Next Fall (Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
• Writing Proposals for ACLS Fellowship Competitions (American Council of Learned Societies)
• Grant Proposals (or Give Me the Money!) (UNC’s Writing Center)
• Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal (S.J. Levine, MSU)
• Advice on Writing Proposals to the National Science Foundation (Susan Finger, CMU)
• A Proposal Writer’s Guide (D. Thackrey, UMich)

Grant-Writing Advice from The Chronicle of Higher Education

• Grant-Writing Tips for Graduate Students
• How to Fail in Grant Writing
• Debunking Some Myths About Grant Writing  
• Some Frank Advice on Submitting an Individual Research Grant Proposal in the Humanities

Federal Agency & Professional Grant-Writing Advice

• The EPA’s Tips for a Successful Grant Application
• The NEA’s Our Town Proposals: Tips & Tricks for Success
• The NEH’s  How to get a Grant from NEH
• The NIH’s Grant-writing Guide  
• The NSF’s A  Guide for Proposal Writing
• The Foundation Center’s Proposal Writing Short Course
• Ten Ways to Write a Better Grant: Sure You Need a Good Idea, But it’s More than That  – Alison Snyder ( The Scientist )
• Turning your Research Idea into a Proposal Worth Funding –  Salman Kaanji ( Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy )
• An Evidence-Based Guide to Writing Grant Proposals for Clinical Research   –  Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, and David A. Fiellin, MD ( Annals of Internal Medicine )

Writing-Style Manuals

• The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University
• Style for Students Online (Joe Schall, PSU)
• Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (Chuck Guilford, Boise State)
• A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
• “They Say / I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing  – Kathy Birkenstein and Gerald Graff
• How to Write A lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing – Paul J. Silvia
• Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace  – Joseph M. Williams and Joseph Bizup
• Writing Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century – Steven Pinker

Other Resources for Writers

• Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing – Access LinkedIn Learning through Georgetown Lauinger Library website
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport
• How to Become a Straight-A Student  – Cal Newport 

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Grant Writing

Clres 2076: introduction to grant writing for postdoctoral trainees (1 credit).

Course Description Course Format Modules Course Directors Prerequisites Course Requirements Educational Benefits Deadlines Registration How to Apply Request to Consult with an Advisor

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Clear and precise writing is an essential part of effectively communicating scientific discoveries and successfully competing for external research training support. At the conclusion of this course, participants will have completed a draft of their own application. 

The objectives of this course include: 

• Learning the process of applying for external funding and the types of available federal and foundation funding mechanisms;
• Developing the skills necessary to effectively communicate research aims and hypotheses; and
• Acquiring the skills necessary to construct a competitive grant application. 

In addition, through active participation in the course, participants will complete a draft of their own application.

This course is targeted to post-graduate PhD- and MD-level scientists interested in applying for National Institutes of Health (NIH) F and K series grants (including K99/R00), other federal training grants (e.g., VA, DoD) or nonfederal foundation grants. In addition, this course will satisfy the professional development requirements of T32-supported trainees. Please note that: (1) US citizenship or permanent residency status is required to apply for NIH T and F series fellowship awards, (2) Only one NIH K award mechanism accepts applications from foreign nationals:  K99/R00 , and (3) Some foundation fellowships may accept applications from foreign nationals depending upon the sponsor.

Please note:

• US citizenship or permanent residency status is required to apply for NIH T and F series fellowship awards.
• Only one NIH K award mechanism accepts applications from foreign nationals:  K99/R00
• Some foundation fellowships may accept applications from foreign nationals depending upon the sponsor.

COURSE FORMAT

January – April 2024 In-Person, Rooms TBA (Note: a virtual participation option will not be offered this term) Mondays, 6:00-8:00pm (some class sessions will not take up full 2 hours)

COURSE DIRECTORS

Lauren M. Bylsma, PhD Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

J. Richard Chaillet, MD, PhD Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Scientist Administrator, Office of Research, Health Sciences University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

PREREQUISITES

(1) Faculty Mentor Support

Faculty mentors will be expected to provide guidance and constructive feedback on course assignments; therefore, a letter of support is required from your faculty mentor. You will need the support and encouragement of your faculty mentor to successfully compete for a research training award. Consequently, enrollment in this course will be limited to only those applicants who provide a letter of support from their faculty mentor that:

    (1) affirms your scientific readiness to compete for a research training grant,     (2) clearly articulates your faculty mentor’s understanding of the importance          for you to attend every session, and     (3) demonstrates your faculty mentor’s overall commitment to your          career success.

(2) English Language Proficiency

Postdoctoral associates, postdoctoral scholars, and research associates university-wide, who earned their doctoral degrees at English-speaking institutions, are eligible to apply for non-degree student admission.

Others must demonstrate:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT) score of at least 100
• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of at least Band 7
• Completion of University of Pittsburgh English as a Second Language Courses

Testing for the spring 2023 semester is open and will continue until the deadline for adding classes.

To register for the English Proficiency Test, send an email to  [email protected]  with the heading "English test," and include the following information: 1) your full name, 2) your PeopleSoft number found on your Pitt ID, 3) your date of birth, and 4) your University of Pittsburgh email address

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS

Participants will be expected to submit and bring to class drafts of sections of their application as they are covered in the course, beginning with Specific Aims in the second week of the course. Participants also will be expected to read and critique sections of grant applications of other participants as they are developed during the course and join in class discussions of these applications. At the conclusion of the course, participants will have produced a draft of their grant application.

This course will be pass/fail. Passing this course will be based on attendance of at least 75% of lectures, submitting drafts of application sections, and participating in peer review.

EDUCATION BENEFITS

Description of Postdoctoral Education Benefits:  View Benefits

Based upon IRS tax code, graduate tuition benefits above $5250 in a calendar year are considered taxable income and these taxes are withheld from your educational benefits. To avoid federal income tax liability:

• PA residents* should not enroll in more than 4 graduate credits per calendar year
• Out of state residents should not enroll in more than 2.5 graduate credits per calendar year

*US citizens and permanent residents can be considered PA residents after residing in PA for twelve consecutive months.

Financial responsibility for a 1-credit graduate course after tuition benefits are applied is explained here .

Postdocs are encouraged to ask their faculty mentors to reimburse their out-of-pocket expenses for graduate credit courses.

Postdoc Tuition Payment Instructions for Administrators

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Applications will be accepted through January 12, 2024.

HOW TO APPLY

Postdoctoral trainees at the University of Pittsburgh do not have to submit transcripts (due to already possessing a doctoral degree). Additionally, the graduate student application fee is waived for non-degree students. 

All new applicants must complete the online application before registering for courses.  Click here to access the application.

If you are an on-going student, you do not need to complete the online application process.

You will be able to upload your mentor's Letter of Support at the end of the application form. 

REGISTRATION

Registration for postdocs is by special permit only. New applicants will receive a link to register in a confirmation email upon acceptance of their application. 

For returning students,   complete the registration form here.

Financial responsibility is incurred upon registration.

REQUEST TO CONSULT WITH AN ADVISOR

If you have any questions, email  [email protected]  or call (412) 648-8486 to talk with an advisor.

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HSS Careers

• E-Learning & Instructional Design

Grant Writing

• Institutional Research
• K-12 Education
• Program Evaluation
• Research Administration
• Translation
• University Administration
• Writing & Editing

STEM Careers

• Biotechnology
• Conservation
• Data Science & Software Development
• Entrepreneurship
• Science and Medical Writing
• Science Outreach
• Science Policy
• Technology Commercialization

Helping nonprofits operate by attracting grant funding. The grant writer is a key member of the resource development team, preparing and submitting grant proposals, tracking past submissions, identifying new funders and reporting back to funders when funds are expended. Skills needed include prospect research and analysis, case-making using statistics and other factual information, organization and deadline management, relationship management and fast learning.

Starting points

Large nonprofit organizations (including universities!) have multiple grant writers on staff; look for positions like Grant Writer or Grants Associate. Smaller organizations may hire you as a Grant Writer, and the very small may accept your help as a volunteer or inexpensive consultant.

Advancement

From Grant Writing, one can progress to becoming Director of Development and ultimately Executive Director. With experience and a successful track record, one can establish a freelance practice, or move over to the grant-making side and become Program Officer at a private or corporate foundation. Interestingly, fundraising is a profession where women have a slight edge and can continue working their whole lives without fear of “aging out.”

Disciplines

Rhetoric and Composition is a great fit, but any humanities or social science discipline that requires you to do a lot of reading, writing and case-making would be good preparation.

Personality and outlook

Both introverts and extroverts can be happy as grant writers, but social skills are very important in key moments with VIPs (e.g. board members, major donors, foundation officers). Detail-consciousness and an entrepreneurial streak are essential; a pragmatic streak, too, to understand the practical impacts of the programs you are writing about. A tolerance for paperwork and ability to follow instructions correctly are very important.

Preparation

Take a grant writing class, on or off campus. Volunteer to write grants for anyone who will let you, and record your results. Identify causes you care about and learn which are the relevant nonprofit organizations addressing those issues. Join the Association of Fundraising Professionals and attend chapter meetings. Learn how to use foundation databases; practice identifying and qualifying prospective funders for a given organization.

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Professional development certificates designed for MIT PhDs and postdocs

Mit now offers 2 new professional development certificates to help graduate students and postdocs fast track and focus their growth in two essential areas: mentoring and grant writing..

Research Mentoring Certificate

This program provides an opportunity for PhDs and postdocs to develop their mentoring skills and grow their practice of productive and inclusive research mentoring.  Fundamental to the success of mentors and mentees alike, mentoring is also a transferable skill that is highly valued within multiple contexts. Each session will be led by facilitators trained by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER). 

During this program, students will explore key concepts in mentoring pedagogy, including:

• Maintaining effective communication
• Aligning expectations
• Addressing equity and inclusion
• Assessing understanding

Over the course of the program, students will develop a mentoring philosophy that they can use in their mentoring experiences.

 All PhDs and postdocs at  MIT who are interested in research mentoring are encouraged to apply for the program, which will take place in person during IAP and over the summer.  

Applications for the 2024-2025 program will open in the fall.

This certificate program is a collaboration between CAPD and the School of Engineering Communication Labs.

Grant Writing Training Certificate

Grant writing is an essential skill that grows in importance during the transitions from graduate student to postdoc and faculty member. This certificate program provides training in principles of grant writing and the grant submission process, and will be especially useful for PhD students and postdocs planning for a research-focused faculty career, or research-centered roles in industry.

The Grant Writing Training Certificate consists of 3 training sessions (and one additional session for those focusing on NIH grant proposals):

• Overview session featuring faculty expertise on the grant-writing process
• IAP 1-day intensive session facilitated by Dr. John Robertson, a noted expert in grant writing who facilitates trainings at institutions around the US and internationally. 
• Spring semester session focusing on the grant submission process, including MIT’s internal processes, requirements for submission of federal grant applications, and information on creating budget proposals. 
• Optional 4th session focusing on NIH proposals

Applications for the 2023-2024 cohort are now closed.

This certificate program is co-sponsored and produced by CAPD and the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Grant proposal writing - How to design and communicate your project convincingly

Short description

Succesful grant proposal writing offers you the opportunity to drive your career as a researcher, to fund your own research, to get you into independence early after obtaining your PhD and to grow your research group. Also, outside of academia it plays an important role for funding research and innovation activities.

There are plenty of national and international funding programmes with different funding schemes. Although there are differences between the funding schemes that influence what each winning proposal would look like, the process of how to turn your idea for a project into a proposal is the same.

Therefore, this workshop focuses on a) How to develop your idea for a project into a sound work programme; b) how to match it with the requirements of a particular funding programme; and c) how to facilitate communication with the reviewer by presenting your complex ideas in an easy-to-understand way.

Target group

This training is dedicated to researchers with little or no experience in grant proposal writing. 

At the end of the workshop, the participants will have:

• An overview of funding possibilities and helpful sources of information
• A list of contact points, websites and phone numbers which provide support and detailed answers to questions
• A set of tools for efficiently developing research ideas into research projects and designing them to a funding programme of interest
• Examples of proposal building blocks, as well as comments on these
• Concise building blocks for different parts of a proposal: Work plan, Pert-diagram, objective, innovative aspects, impact.

SESSION 1: Funding programmes and how to read the documents (3.5 hours) • The triangle of projects • Overview of funding opportunities • Background information on funding programmes and evaluation processes • How to read the official documents • The funding scheme fingerprint

SESSION 2: Developing your idea into a work plan (3.5 hours) • Elements and structure of a work plan • The Disney method • Developing your idea for a research project into a first work plan • Visualisation of the work plan

SESSION 3: Communicating your project convincingly (3.5 hours) • Matching your idea with the funding programme of choice • Communication with the reviewer • Objectives and how to get the details to make them SMART • Innovative aspects

SESSION 4: Impact and budget (3.5 hours) • Where to put which information in the proposal and how to write about it convincingly • The eagle’s perspective on research projects • Impact • Budget calculation • Coordination of the grant proposal writing process

Dr. Sabine Preusse decided to quit academia in 2006 after obtaining her PhD in Astrophysics and moved on to the project management of European Funded Research projects in the Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum. Besides writing grant proposals and being a project manager in the field of production technologies, she has also trained herself as a business economist (IWW) and a professional business trainer. With this she founded her own company RaumZeit e.K. Coaching Training Beratung in 2011 and is now (also as a professional business coach) supporting researchers from all levels and disciplines in grant proposal writing and the implementation of research projects, dissemination and exploitation of project results, as well as open educational resources.

Since 2011 Sabine Preusse has given more than 150 two-day workshops on grant proposal writing and more than 80 coaching sessions with respect to grant proposal writting, design of research projects and career-building for young researchers, postdocs and professors.

Instructor photo © Dean Vrakela; website photo © Sabine Preusse 

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	University of Delaware
	Jun 23, 2024   2024-2025 Graduate Catalog     2024-2025 Graduate Catalog EPID 964 - Grant Writing in Epidemiology How to structure your PhD thesis Organising your PhD thesis in a logical order is one of the crucial stages of your writing process. Here is a list of the individual components to include Shama Prasada Kabekkodu More on this topic Created in partnership with You may also like Popular resources .css-1txxx8u{overflow:hidden;max-height:81px;text-indent:0px;} The secrets to success as a provost Using non verbal cues to build rapport with students, emotionally challenging research and researcher well-being, augmenting the doctoral thesis in preparation for a viva, how hard can it be testing ai detection tools. The task of writing a PhD thesis is top of mind for many aspiring scholars. After all, completing one is no small task. And while these pieces of writing often share a standard format, this can differ slightly based on the requirements of your institution or subject. So what elements make up a PhD thesis? A doctoral thesis usually contains: A title page Declarations from the candidate and supervisor A certificate from the candidate and supervisor A plagiarism report Acknowledgements  A table of contents Abbreviations  An abstract Chapters typically cover: A general introduction  Literature review Analysis of the gap in research with aims and objectives Materials and methods Summary and conclusion References or bibliography.  You should also include a list of papers you have published and any relevant achievements at the end.  An explanation of each of the components of a PhD dissertation  Title page: a PhD thesis starts with a title page that contains the complete title of the research work, the submitting university, names of the candidate and supervisor, affiliation and month and year of submission. Abstract: this serves as a concise synopsis of the dissertation, covering the research context, purpose of the study or research questions, methodology, findings and conclusions. This section is usually one to two pages in length.  Table of contents: this page lists the thesis content and respective page numbers. General introduction and literature review: this component is usually 20 to 40 pages long. It presents the readers with the primary material and discusses relevant published data. It provides an overview of pertinent literature related to the thesis such as texts that critically assess the existing literature to identify the gap in research and explain the need behind the study.  Aims and objectives: this section of the thesis is typically one to two pages long and describes the aims and objectives of the study. Structure them as three to four bullet points describing specific points that you will investigate. Approach this by thinking about what readers should understand by the end of the thesis. Ensure you: Give a clear explanation of the purpose and goals of your study  Outline each aim concisely Explain how you will measure your objectives Ensure there is a clear connection between each aim Use verbs such as investigate, evaluate, explore, analyse and demonstrate. Materials and methods: this section briefly explains how you have conducted the study and should include all the materials you used and procedures you implemented. For example, if your research involves working with chemicals, list the chemicals and instruments used, along with their catalogue numbers and manufacturers’ names. This section should also explicitly explain the methodology you used, step-by-step. Use the past tense while writing this section and do not describe any results or findings of the study yet. Results: this section is sometimes called the “findings report” or “the experimental findings” (referring to data collection and analysis). Write the results concisely and in the past tense. Include text, figure and table infographics created with tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and BioRender to visualise your data .  Discussion: this is a chance to discuss the results and compare the findings of your study with the initial hypothesis and existing knowledge. Focus on discussing interpretations, implications, limitations and recommendations here. Resources on academic writing for higher education staff  Tips for writing a PhD dissertation: FAQs answered How to tackle the PhD dissertation Summary and conclusion: this section should be shorter than the discussion and summarise your key findings. The summary and conclusion should be brief and engaging, allowing the reader to easily understand the major findings of the research work. Provide clear answers to the research questions, generate new knowledge and clarify the need for the study.  Future perspective: this section of the thesis (which is often combined with a summary or conclusion) talks about the study's limitations, if any, and indicates the directions for future studies based on your findings.  References or bibliography: the last section should include the list of articles, websites and other resources cited in the thesis. Always remember that, depending on the department, university or field of study, you might have to follow specific guidelines on how to organise your PhD thesis. Ensure you consult your supervisor or academic department if you have any doubts. Shama Prasada Kabekkodu is a professor and head of cell and molecular biology at Manipal School of Life Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India. If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter . The secrets to success as a provost Emotions and learning: what role do emotions play in how and why students learn, the podcast: bringing an outsider’s eye to primary sources, a diy guide to starting your own journal, formative, summative or diagnostic assessment a guide, harnessing the power of data to drive student success. Register for free and unlock a host of features on the THE site Program Alum wins Grant from Rattlestick Theater Sunday, Jun 9, 2024 Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program alum Yunhye Park (Cycle 33) was chosen as one of the recipients of the Chay Yew Seed Grants for Immigrant Artists at Global Forms at Rattlestick Theater. Park won for TOMORROW, BY THE SEA written with fellow Cycle 33 member Alexander Ronneburg.  Global Forms was created in 2020 to meet the urgent, specific needs of immigrant artists during the pandemic. Since its inception, Global Forms has grown to a major annual event that has hired over 150 artists from 50+ countries.  For more info, click here Mobile Menu Overlay The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500 FACT SHEET: President   Biden Announces New Actions to Keep Families   Together Since his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to secure our border and address our broken immigration system. As Congressional Republicans have continued to put partisan politics ahead of national security – twice voting against the toughest and fairest set of reforms in decades – the President and his Administration have taken actions to secure the border, including: Implementing executive actions to bar migrants who cross our Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum when encounters are high; Deploying record numbers of law enforcement personnel, infrastructure, and technology to the Southern border; Seizing record amounts of fentanyl at our ports of entry; Revoking the visas of CEOs and government officials outside the U.S. who profit from migrants coming to the U.S. unlawfully; and Expanding efforts to dismantle human smuggling networks and prosecuting individuals who violate immigration laws. President Biden believes that securing the border is essential. He also believes in expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together, and that immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country. The Day One immigration reform plan that the President sent to Congress reflects both the need for a secure border and protections for the long-term undocumented. While Congress has failed to act on these reforms, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to strengthen our lawful immigration system. In addition to vigorously defending the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals) policy, the Administration has extended Affordable Care Act coverage to DACA recipients and streamlined, expanded, and instituted new reunification programs so that families can stay together while they complete the immigration process.  Still, there is more that we can do to bring peace of mind and stability to Americans living in mixed-status families as well as young people educated in this country, including Dreamers. That is why today, President Biden announced new actions for people who have been here many years to keep American families together and allow more young people to contribute to our economy.   Keeping American Families Together Today, President Biden is announcing that the Department of Homeland Security will take action to ensure that U.S. citizens with noncitizen spouses and children can keep their families together. This new process will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence – status that they are already eligible for – without leaving the country. These actions will promote family unity and strengthen our economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping U.S. citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together. In order to be eligible, noncitizens must – as of June 17, 2024 – have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a U.S. citizen, while satisfying all applicable legal requirements. On average, those who are eligible for this process have resided in the U.S. for 23 years. Those who are approved after DHS’s case-by-case assessment of their application will be afforded a three-year period to apply for permanent residency. They will be allowed to remain with their families in the United States and be eligible for work authorization for up to three years. This will apply to all married couples who are eligible.   This action will protect approximately half a million spouses of U.S. citizens, and approximately 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a U.S. citizen. Easing the Visa Process for U.S. College Graduates, Including Dreamers President Obama and then-Vice President Biden established the DACA policy to allow young people who were brought here as children to come out of the shadows and contribute to our country in significant ways. Twelve years later, DACA recipients who started as high school and college students are now building successful careers and establishing families of their own. Today’s announcement will allow individuals, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers, who have earned a degree at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education in the United States, and who have received an offer of employment from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree, to more quickly receive work visas. Recognizing that it is in our national interest to ensure that individuals who are educated in the U.S. are able to use their skills and education to benefit our country, the Administration is taking action to facilitate the employment visa process for those who have graduated from college and have a high-skilled job offer, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers.  Stay Connected We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better. Opt in to send and receive text messages from President Biden. MGSA Graduate Student Retreat held on May 31, 2024 The Microbiology Graduate Student Association held a retreat on May 31, 2024. This retreat was sponsored by the Department of Microbiology and the Graduate School Student Retention and Inclusion Grant. Many events were held throughout the day and included:. · Writing Workshop · Professional Headshots · 3-Minute Thesis Competition · Team Building Activities · Poster Contest The Full-Day retreat concluded with an award presentation followed by an evening social. Graduate Students and Microbiology Faculty attended the event and a great time was had by all. Below is the list of Retreat Award Winners: First place: Ashley Rogers Second place: Rochelle Yap People’s Choice: Hanna Roucka Poster competition First place: Amy Siceloff Second place: Jared Smith People’s Choice: Claire Reichardt Best design: Alyssia Gonzalez Most engaging: Rachel Dockman Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to MGSA for organizing the event. Support Microbiology at UGA The Department of Microbiology appreciates your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience. Click to read more .  Every dollar contributed to the department has a direct impact on our students and faculty. 378 IMAGES 38+ Grant Proposal Templates Writing a Successful Research Grant Proposal: Key Tips and FAQs Grant Writing Well-Written PhD Research Proposal Sample Writing a Winning PhD Research Grant Proposal What is the Grant Writing Process? [in 8 Steps] VIDEO DU PhD admission 2023-24 (Phase II), Notice/Bulletin of information/Seat matrix/Research proposal Fellowships for women from DST II WISE-KIRAN Scheme (Ph.D./Post-Doc/Project/WIDUSHI/CURIE) Grant Writing Workshop and Proposal Development Webinar! Get the DST WISE PhD Fellowship for Indian Women! Why do research proposals get rejected? Bootcamp Session 5: NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Updates COMMENTS The Importance of Preparation in Grant Writing for PhDs Training in grant writing is beneficial to the education of the PhD as well. According to Conn et al. (2016), grant writing allows PhDs to enhance research intentionality, project articulation, and overall writing skills. Using survey data from the Council of Graduate Schools' (CGS) PhD Career Pathway project, this brief provides insight to ... Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!) The grant writing process. A grant proposal or application is a document or set of documents that is submitted to an organization with the explicit intent of securing funding for a research project. Grant writing varies widely across the disciplines, and research intended for epistemological purposes (philosophy or the arts) rests on very ... Grant Writing While grant proposals are almost always overseen by a faculty member serving as the primary investigator (PI), this resource is intended primarily for graduate students and junior faculty seeking to learn more about grant writing in their fields. It is organized according to the following stages of the writing process: I) project planning; II ... Overview on Grant Writing for Graduate Student Research Abstract. Grant writing is an important skill to develop during graduate school. This article provides an overview of grant writing for graduate students. Specific topics covered include understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management ... How to Structure a Dissertation Research Grant Proposal As any GradFund advisor would surely caution, the exact structure of your grant proposal will depend on the grant for which you are applying and your discipline. However, many successful dissertation research grant proposals will contain similar components: an introduction; a background, methodology, and/or literature review; your previous ... The Grant Writing Guide The Grant Writing Guide (publisher: Princeton University Press) is an essential handbook for writing research grants. A step-by-step framework focuses on actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers. Tips for Grads: A guide to writing grant proposals Reframing our mindset from "this is something I have to do" to "this is something I get to do" is an essential step in writing a great grant proposal. Tips for Grads is a professional and academic advice column written by graduate students for graduate students at UW­-Madison. It is published in the student newsletter ... The Grant Writing Guide The Grant Writing Guide is an essential handbook for writing research grants, providing actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers. This easy-to-use guide features writing samples, examples of how researchers use skills, helpful tips, and exercises. The Grant Writing Guide The Grant Writing Guide is an essential handbook for writing research grants, providing actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers. This easy-to-use guide features writing samples, examples of how researchers use skills, helpful tips, and exercises. Drawing on interviews ... Tips for Grads: Effective Grant Writing UW-Madison has many great resources for grant writing! To write a successful grant application: Do your homework! Match your profile and financial needs to the interests and organizational profile of your funder. Call your funder's office or send a letter of inquiry - pre-proposal contact triples an applicant's chances for funding! Grant Writing Tips Provide a Cover Letter. Make an Impact. Write Your Specific Aims Page. Use Style Tips. Format Your Grant. Pre-Review Your Grant Application. Understand Proposal Flaws. Craft Your Response. Respond to a Summary Statement. Getting Started in Grant Writing Presented by: Nancy L. Devino, PhD- University of Texas. Learning Objectives: Identify major phases in grant proposal development. Locate relevant sources of information on funding opportunities. Summarize information found in a Request for Proposals. Outline the steps to go from proposal concept to proposal submission. Grant Writing Led by Andrew Hollenbach, PhD, Professor of Genetics as LSU School of Medicine and author of A Practical Guide to Writing a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Grant, available online through the Welch Library. This workshop series aims to prepare trainees for writing and getting an F-series grant. ... Grant writing is a skill and many say it is an art ... Overview on Grant Writing for Graduate Student Research Abstract. Grant writing is an important skill to develop during graduate school. This article provides an overview of grant writing for graduate students. Specific topics covered include understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management ... Grant writing tips for PhDs and Post Docs Post-Doc and PhD student grant writing tips and advice. It is, admittedly, a lot easier to focus on writing a research proposal when you know where the next paycheque is coming from. For this reason, many choose to secure a postdoctoral position before pursuing fellowship funding - a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Graduate Grant-Writing Graduate Grant-Writing A structured, mentored and scaffolded process. Introduction. Following the PhD, early-career scholars may have difficulty in transitioning into the role of an independent researcher. In practical terms, this workshop equips post-doctoral researchers to develop a successful and substantial grant proposal. But the ... Research Development & Grants The Grant-Writing & Research Development Institute was designed to expand PhD students' capacities in grant-writing, research development, and project development. Grant-writing is a conceptual capacity and a collaborative practice, along with a set of skills. Whether in faculty, academic administration or nonprofit careers, grant-writing ... Grant Writing Resources Grant-Writing Advice from Academic Institutions and Scholarly Organizations. The Making of a Successful Proposal (University of Illinois) On the Art of Writing Proposals - Adam Prezeworski and Frank Saloman (Social Science Research Council) Dissertation Proposal Resources (UC Berkeley's Institute for International Studies) Proposal Writing ... Grant Writing CLRES 2076: Introduction to Grant Writing for Postdoctoral Trainees ... This course is targeted to post-graduate PhD- and MD-level scientists interested in applying for National Institutes of Health (NIH) F and K series grants (including K99/R00), other federal training grants (e.g., VA, DoD) or nonfederal foundation grants. ... PDF Grant Writing for Nursing Science: Online Seminar and Application Course Jill Peltzer, PhD, APRN Cynthia Teel, PhD, RN, FAAN Grant Writing for Nursing Science: Online Seminar and Application Course Learning Objective •To describe the development and implementation of an innovative and dynamic grant writing didactic and application course combination as a required component of a revised nursing PhD curriculum. 1 2 Grant Writing The grant writer is a key member of the resource development team, preparing and submitting grant proposals, tracking past submissions, identifying new funders and reporting back to funders when funds are expended. Skills needed include prospect research and analysis, case-making using statistics and other factual information, organization and ... Professional development certificates designed for MIT PhDs and Grant writing is an essential skill that grows in importance during the transitions from graduate student to postdoc and faculty member. This certificate program provides training in principles of grant writing and the grant submission process, and will be especially useful for PhD students and postdocs planning for a research-focused faculty ... Grant Proposal Writing Short description. Succesful grant proposal writing offers you the opportunity to drive your career as a researcher, to fund your own research, to get you into independence early after obtaining your PhD and to grow your research group. Also, outside of academia it plays an important role for funding research and innovation activities. There ... EPID 964 GRANT WRITING IN EPIDEMIOLOGY Component: Lecture A hands-on approach to grant writing including development of skills in locating potential funding sources and the use of appropriate grant-writing style and technique. Students are guided through the development of a proposal for a U.S. governmental funding agency such as the NIH. How to structure your PhD thesis Tips for writing a PhD dissertation: FAQs answered; How to tackle the PhD dissertation; Summary and conclusion: this section should be shorter than the discussion and summarise your key findings. The summary and conclusion should be brief and engaging, allowing the reader to easily understand the major findings of the research work. Provide ... Program Alum wins Grant from Rattlestick Theater Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program alum Yunhye Park (Cycle 33) was chosen as one of the recipients of the Chay Yew Seed Grants for Immigrant Artists at Global Forms at Rattlestick Theater. Park won for TOMORROW, BY THE SEA written with fellow Cycle 33 member Alexander Ronneburg. FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Keep Families Since his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to secure our border and address our broken immigration system. As Congressional Republicans have continued to put partisan ... MGSA Graduate Student Retreat held on May 31, 2024 The Microbiology Graduate Student Association held a retreat on May 31, 2024. This retreat was sponsored by the Department of Microbiology and the Graduate School Student Retention and Inclusion Grant. Many events were held throughout the day and included: · Writing Workshop · Professional Headshots · 3-Minute Thesis Competition · Team Building Activities · Poster Contest assignment essay homework paper phd report resume review thesis