Christy Desmet, Department of English
Graduate Student Association
May 16, 1997
The answer to the first two questions will guide your
search for possible grants. The best starting point that I know
of for pedagogical grants is The Chronicle of Higher
Education. This wide-ranging and compendious journal will not
only steer you toward specific granting agencies, but it will
also help you to understand what issues are currently under
discussion in higher education.
If your project is oriented toward scholarly research, then know where to find information about research in your field. PMLA is the central source for this information for students of English literature, for instance. Ask your major professor where to go. Consult the principal journals in your field. Look for announcements of grants within your department, whether on a listserve or a bulletin board. Join one or two professional organizations central to your research interests. Join listserves relevant to your research or pedagogical interests.
Finally, be always on the lookout for grants that are specific to your discipline, your scholarly orientation, or your personal profile. For instance, there exist dissertation grants for students of certain ethnicities, of certain ages, etc. There are also grants for people working on certain kinds of projects.
Is this a dissertation or an article? Make the granting agency understand what the size and scope of your final project will be.
This is the toughest part of your proposal. Unless you apply for grants for work that is well under way in order to subsidize work that is only just begun--and some people recommend this course of action!--then you must lie in good faith about your project. You must make the best effort you can be complete and specific about a project whose end, in all likelihood, you cannot as of yet see or even imagine. For research projects, be specific about your thesis. If it turns out that in its final form your project has a different thesis than the one you proposed to the granting agency, that is fine. No one will arrive at your door in five years and demand their money back. In terms of pedagogical projects, also be specific. Tell what class you are working on, what theoretical position you are beginning from, and what your hope to accomplish. In either case, do not be vague and do not promise either too little or too much. For instance, if you are asking for funds to cover a week-long trip to a rare- book library, ask your major professor to estimate how many materials can be covered in that time.
If your project (like a dissertation) is divided into chapters, give the name of each chapter and a short (3-5 sentence) description of the chapter. For a pedagogical project, list and briefly describe the units or materials that you will put together for this particular grant.
This is a very important part of your grant. You need to tell the granting agency what work you have already done, what work remains to be done, and how long all of it will take. This is equally true of research and pedagogical grants. I myself tend to be overenthusiastic about timetables, but then I know that I cannot apply for a new grant until the work I have promised to do is completed. This is probably a character flaw on my part.
This is also important. For a pedagogical project
(especially one involving technological equipment) you either
must know what you are doing or consult the relevant expert in
your department. For the web project that got me my new computer
from OID, I would have been sunk without the help of Drs. David
Gants and Payne in my department. I know a fair amount about
pedagogy and a lot about Renaissance literature, but very little
about computer hardware!
For research projects, know whether you want:
(This is useful to people with projects that are well under way.)
(Do you need to go to a particular collection or rare book library? What do you need to see or read? Consult the catalogues of libraries and collections. Take the time to go to the Reference Room at our wonderful Main Library to look at the catalogues of libraries that you want to visit. Do not be afraid to list particular materials and call numbers of books and manuscripts.)
You need to be both specific and convincing here. Call your travel agent and get an accurate assessment of air fares. If traveling by car, know exactly how many miles. If you are going to a library and need accommodations, call the library and ask for a reference to a hotel or guest house. Call and find out how much a night they charge. Estimate your meals according to the UGA guidelines.
Tell the granting agency what you will produce, whether that product is an article, a book, a dissertation, a class or a piece of a class. Tell them where you plan to submit your scholarly work, and when you plan to test our your newly- designed courses. In the case of pedagogical products, tell the agency how you will assess your project (through surveys of students, through formal studies of classes, etc.)
What further projects will this project spawn? It helps immensely if you can provide a coherent (and enthusiastic) narrative of your intellectual and pedagogical trajectory. Know where you have been and where you are going. Plan ahead and imagine new projects that your current interests can feed. Finally, look ahead to new grants that you might want to apply for.