School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies

1. School of Languages and Comparative Cultural Studies Postgraduate Workshop Research Funding 7 April 2006

2. Research Funding Tips for writing a competitive funding application

3. LCCS Funding Environment • Increasingly competitive – especially for conference funding • Limited resources • upper limits of candidature (reviewed annually) • PhD $3000 • MPhil $2000 • Relevance to project completion • must be for research activities already noted in original proposal and/or confirmation document

4. New research directions/development? • you may be eligible for Graduate School Travel Award (GSRTA) funding – March & August • external funding sources • Have you met Jason? The Joint academic scholarship on-line network (JASON for short), is a program developed jointly by a number of universities. Its aim is to assist students wishing to pursue postgraduate studies (either within Australia or internationally) gain access to current information regarding funding opportunities through various scholarship programs run through universities, charitable foundations, government and private institutions.http://www.jason.edu.au/

5. SLCCS Funding • Two schemes • Research Support • Conference funding • research planning for the entire project vital • only one application round annually in late March/April • Eligible students (eg students enrolling after closing date for applications or students not yet confirmed) will be invited to apply in semester 2 on the recommendation of the post graduate coordinator

6. Research Support Scheme • All enrolled RHD students • Travel costs • $600 limit prior to confirmation • $1900 for international travel • $600 for travel within Australia • Other research needs - $500 limit • Materials • Editing • Publication needs

7. Conference Scheme • Confirmed students only • Only for travel in Australia • $600 limit • Funding for conferences will be available only if sufficient funds are available after research support requests have been considered

8. Research Support Form Item 6. Thesis Summary (max 100 words) • executive summary of your project • must encapsulate the essence of your thesis question, the place of your work in the broader field and your methodology • all within the100 word limit! • It must be intelligible to someone outside your field of study

9. Research Support Form (2) • Item 7 Progress of thesis • progress on the major stages of your thesis to date • what remains to be done The funding committee will check that the research funding request is appropriately timed in terms of the overall project

10. Research Support Form (3) Item 8. Ethical clearance • This item must be completed by every applicant. • No funding will be made available for projects for which ethical clearance, if required, has not been obtained. • It is your responsibility to ensure that you have allowed sufficient time to complete ethical clearance procedures before seeking funding.

11. Research Support Form (4) Item 9. Outcomes of previous LCCS grants. • provide measurable outcomes from previous LCCS grants: e.g. paper submitted to journal, chapter completed, required resources accessed. • If you have had previous School support he funding committee will check for a match between progress on the thesis and outcomes of funding received • Publications listed at Item 10 will strengthen your application

12. Research Support Form (5) Item 11 Project Outline • Provide here full details of the request for funding. These details should be specific to the funding application, but should be related to the overall thesis plan (1 page max). Use the following headings: • Aims • Relevance to thesis completion • Work plan • Expected outcomes/benefits (including contribution to progress of thesis and possibility of publications)

13. Research Support Form (6) • As is the case with most research funding schemes, those assessing your application are unlikely to be experts in your field. Therefore: • Your application must be accessible –clear, concise, easy to read • It must show: • what you are going to do • why it is important • how you will do it, and • that it is feasible in terms of the time and resources you have available to undertake the work

14. Research Support Form (7) Conference Support Application Instead of Item 11 Details of the Project, the conference application form asks for: Item 12: full conference details Item 13: abstract Item 14: justification for conference attendance, particularly its relevance to your thesis topic Your principal advisor must also confirm the direct relevance of the conference

15. Research Support Form (8) Budget • Separate budget spreadsheet • Designed to calculate totals • Costs and details should be justified separately, particularly any non travel-related costs

16. Assessment of Applications • RHD Funding Subcommittee of the LCCS Research Committee • Director of Research (Helen Creese), Postgraduate Coordinator (Rosie Roberts), John McNair (Research Committee staff member) • Applications close 13 April, 3 pm • No late applications • Results: by 26 April

17. Assessment Criteria Research Support Scheme applications will be ranked against the following criteria: • the essential nature of research costs identified at enrolment/confirmation • level of support already provided by SLCCS • progress on the thesis, including publications • availability of support from other sources

18. Assessment Criteria Conference Scheme Applications will be ranked against the following criteria: • levels of support already provided by LCCS • progress on the thesis, including publications • outcomes of previous conference travel/attendance • availability of support from other sources

19. How to submit your application • Applications must be submitted by 3 pm Thursday 13 April, 2006 to Jill Reid in the LCCS School Office. • Brisbane-based students must provide three hard copies. • Remote students may submit applications electronically by first sending their application to their supervisor. Supervisors should then forward the application to Jill Reid (j.reid@uq.edu.au) by the closing date/time. • For electronic submissions, please save the file as YOUR NAME Funding.doc. • Late applications cannot be accepted. • Funding results are expected to be announced by Wednesday 26 April.

20. Feedback The new postgraduate support scheme is a work-in-progress. Your comments and feedback on the schemes, and the new forms and guidelines are welcome. Please send any comments to: Helen Creese: h.creese@uq.edu.au or Rosie Roberts: posgrad.slccs@uq.edu.au