Let’s say you’re a film student who needs to rent a video camera for a major project, a history student whose thesis hinges on gaining access to a fee-based archive, or a social work student who needs custom software to analyze data for a study you’re conducting.

Each of you would be eligible to apply for grants under a new program supporting research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Administered by the Graduate Student Senate (GSS), with funding from the Graduate College and the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), the program offers grants up to $1,000 to assist qualifying applicants with humanities and social science research and work in the creative, visual, and performing arts that’s conducted in academic year 2018-2019. The deadline to apply for spring 2019 funding is Nov. 29.

“Research, scholarship, and creative work sometimes requires access to specialized equipment, materials, and other resources that would otherwise come out of graduate students’ own pockets” said John Keller, dean of the Graduate College and interim Vice President for Research. “This program is a wonderful collaboration with GSS and will help students make progress on their academic work without having to worry where funding will come from.”

While funding isn’t restricted to dissertation or thesis projects, proposals must outline a carefully crafted and feasible research plan. Funding is eligible for archive usage, equipment, supplies, software, research-related interviews, on-location filming or performance, and similar expenses.

Some activities that do not qualify for funding are paper and poster presentations, research or degree-related travel, internship travel, job interviews, and computers, although alternative resources exist for some of those, including GSS/Graduate College Presentation Travel Funds and the university’s crowdfunding platform, GOLDrush.

Applicants must be enrolled as a student in a graduate program at the UI at the time of application and at the time of the award payment, and be in good academic standing. The proposed research, scholarship or creative activity must be completed prior to graduation.

Grant recipients have six months to use the awarded funds and are not eligible for other GSS/GSPG award opportunities during the project period of the grant. A graduate student may receive this award once throughout a given graduate program degree.

The spring deadline for summer and/or fall 2019 expenses is April 12.

To apply, or for more information, visit https://gss.grad.uiowa.edu/content/gssgraduate-collegeovpr-research-grants-for-the-arts-humanities-and-social-sciences-not-for.