Christy Desmet, Department of English
Writing Grants (Especially for the Humanities)
Graduate Student Association
May 16, 1996

I. Some things to Consider When Applying for Grants:

1. Know what you want
   • Is your project oriented toward research?
   • Is your project oriented toward pedagogy
2. Know where to find it
   • The Chronicle of Higher Education
   • Leading journals in your field
   • Your major professor
   • Announcements in your department
   • Information from professional organizations
   • Information from listserves
3. Examine your project with an objective eye
   • What is the scope of your project?
   • What is the argument or goal of your project?
   • What are the divisions of your project?
   • What is your timetable?
   • How much of the work has been done?
   • What portion of the work will the granting agency be supporting?
   • How long will it take you to complete the portion of the work supported by the granting agency and the larger project as a whole?
4. What do you want from the granting agency?
   • Money for time to write?
   • Money to take you to particular places to see particular materials?
   • Money to develop class materials? Be specific!
5. How much money do you want?
   • Be specific. Research the cost of travel, housing, food, and materials.
6. What will be the products of your project?
7. What will be the impact of of your project?
   • Offer a coherent narrative of how your intellectual interests fit together.
   • Describe presentations that you will make at institutional, local and national meetings.
   • Plan ahead to develop new grants and new projects.
8. Who will you ask to support your grant with letters of recommendation?
   • Choose your recommenders (if any) carefully and with extreme courtesy.
   • Assertively seek out opportunities to present the results of your grant.

II. Some specific grants

Discussion of this presentation can be found at http://virtual.park.uga.edu/~cdesmet/grantwri.htm Visit the web site to see specific examples of:

• a research grant for a book on Shakespeare.
• a research grant for an article on Shakespeare.
• a pedagogical grant for using technology in the classroom.

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