Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship

Eligibility

Post-candidacy doctoral or terminal research degree candidates are eligible to apply. A terminal research degree program is defined as a degree program that:

• Requires a minimum of 60 graduate credit hours, and
• Is designed to take three or more years to complete, and
• Produces original research or scholarly work that culminates in a dissertation or dissertation-level work

Funding must be for work that is essential to the dissertation or thesis. Students receiving stipends from associateship, fellowship, or traineeship appointments may apply for AGGRS funding. Previous AGGRS awardees are not eligible for a second award.

Applicants requesting to use AGGRS funds to compensate human research participants must have received full IRB approval before programs can use disbursed AGGRS funds from the Graduate School to compensate human research participants.

Recipients are expected to abide by these guidelines, the Graduate School Handbook, and the Professional Codes of Ethics and Responsibilities of the university and those commonly accepted in the recipient’s field of study, including, but not limited to, the Graduate Student Code of Research and Scholarly Conduct, Code of Student Conduct and Codes of Academic Misconduct.

Review Process and Criteria

The Graduate School Awards Committee is comprised of graduate faculty from across the disciplines. After reviewing AGGRS applications, the committee makes award recommendations to Graduate School leadership for final decisions. Awards are based on merit, according to the following criteria:

1. quality of the project;
2. qualifications of the applicant;
3. the evaluation of the candidate and the project by the advisor; and
4. budget and need. Need is defined as having no other source of funding for work that is required for completion of a dissertation or thesis.

Budget

The budget request must be $5,000 or less. Most grants will be at the $2,000 to $3,000 level.  The submitted budget must be rounded to the nearest $100 increment. The student’s graduate program must ensure that all use of AGGRS funds comply with Ohio State spending guidelines and those established by the Graduate School for the AGGRS competition. Any requested items that are not allowed will be removed from the proposed budget, and the award will be reduced by that amount.

Expenses incurred before the notices of award may be reimbursed if:

• Expenses are incurred after passing the candidacy examination
• Expenditures are listed in a budget approved by the AGGRS Award Committee
• Original, dated receipts are provided

The student assumes the risk in making any expenditure prior to notification of an award. If the proposal is not funded, expenses incurred will not be reimbursed.

Allowable budget request items:

• Essential materials and supplies not available from student’s graduate program
• Photocopies of required materials (e.g., of surveys, forms, etc.)
• Travel to another state or country. 
  • With rare exceptions, all travel must be necessary for collection of data for research. Support for travel within the state of Ohio must be relevant to research and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Travel within Franklin County will not be reimbursed.
  • If local funds for presenting dissertation research at meetings, conferences, symposia, etc., have been exhausted, requests for these funds will be considered. 
  • All approved travel should follow travel procedure and protocol as outlined by the Travel Office. For more information about the most up to date travel procedures and protocols please reference the Travel Office’s website. 
• Equipment essential to the research. 
  If equipment is requested, the student must provide a written justification from the department fiscal officer indicating why the requested equipment is not available through the department and cannot be purchased by the department. Equipment and non-disposable materials obtained with AGGRS funds are university property and must be retained by the department after use by the AGGRS award recipient.
• Payments to human research participants, if justified.
  • Applicants requesting to utilize AGGRS funds to compensate human research participants must receive full IRB approval before the program can utilize AGGRS funds disbursed from the Graduate School to the awardee’s Workday assignee number for this purpose.  The program is responsible for confirming IRB approval before using disbursed AGGRS funds from the Graduate School for this purpose.
• Payments for services essential to the successful conduct of research. 
  • Such budget items must be justified by the applicant and will be reviewed by the selection committee. Appropriate items may include foreign language transcription, statistical analysis assistance, or technical assistance.

Prohibited budget request items:

• Expenses that are typically covered under a faculty member’s research grant (for students funded as graduate research associates)
• Repair and maintenance of equipment
• Direct financial support of applicant
• Phone costs
• Routine office materials and general supplies
• Standard lab materials, chemicals, and glassware

Institutional Review Boards

All projects involving human subjects and/or laboratory animals must be approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board before graduate student’s research begins. For more information, see the Office of Responsible Research Practices.  Applicants who wish to use AGGRS funds to compensate human research participants must receive full IRB approval before the program can utilize AGGRS funds disbursed from the Graduate School to the awardee’s Workday assignee number for this purpose.  The program is responsible for confirming IRB approval before using disbursed AGGRS funds from the Graduate School for this purpose.

Application Packet Requirements

Applications that do not contain all of the following parts in the order specified will not be considered.

Please use 12pt font and 1-inch margins for the description of your project.

Letters of recommendation may be uploaded with the application or submitted separately via email to Fellowship Services by the posted deadline on the Fellowship Calendar, at 5:00pm Eastern Time.  All parts of your submission, including the letter of recommendation, must be received by the deadline to be considered.

Description of Proposed Project

Five or fewer double-spaced pages and written in language that can be understood by a faculty selection committee that represents a wide range of fields. Include the following six sections: 1. hypotheses and/or objectives, 2. significance to the field, 3. methodology and rationale for that methodology, 4. expected outcomes, 5. timetable for project, including how it fits into your expected graduation date, and 6. relevant bibliography*.

*If the relevant bibliography makes the description of the proposed project section longer than five pages, that is permitted. The remaining other five sections should be contained to five or fewer double-spaced pages and written in language that can be understood by a faculty selection committee that represents a wide range of fields.

Budget

Detailed line-item budget that provides estimated costs for each item.  Please include relevant categories for each line item (e.g. Essential Materials and Supplies, Photocopies of Required Materials, Travel for Data Collection, Equipment Essential to Research, Payments to Human Participants, Payments for Services Essential to Research, etc.)

IRB Status

Nominees who plan to use AGGRS funds to compensate human research participants are encouraged to submit a copy of their IRB application and/or approval letter.  If the applicant has not yet applied for IRB approval, the student may still apply for AGGRS funds, but the program is responsible for confirming IRB approval before using disbursed AGGRS funds from the Graduate School to compensate human research participants.

Curriculum Vitae

Two-page maximum including degrees received, professional employment, types of financial support received, publications, presentations, juried exhibits, or performances; awards received; membership in honor societies and professional organizations.

Letter of Recommendation

One letter from your advisor that addresses the significance of your project, the relevance of your project to the field of study, your unique/original contribution to the field, an evaluation of your plan of work and timetable, and an explanation of why funding is needed. Letters of recommendation may be submitted separately (if preferred) via email attachment to Fellowship Services.  All letters must be received by the application deadline.  If more than one recommendation letter is received, only the first letter will be included for the award committee’s review. 

Application Submission

Final application materials must be submitted as one single combined PDF document*.  The final packet may be uploaded by your Program Coordinator to the GradAwards Nomination System, or the packet may be emailed directly to grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu by the deadline listed on the Fellowship Calendar at 5:00pm Eastern Time.  Any submission received after the deadline or containing multiple files will not be considered.  By submitting your application packet for the AGGRS award to your Program Coordinator or grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu, you are signifying that the packet is complete and acknowledge that no changes can be made to the packet after the posted deadline.

*The GradAwards system is not able to load a PDF in portfolio PDF format.  Combining files converts all files to PDF format.  Submissions must be in a combined PDF format.

Award Disbursement Process

1. Awardees are notified of award through email and GradAwards. 
2. Fellowship Services sends awardees and program coordinators the AGGRS award verification form. 
3. Programs and awardees work together to complete the AGGRS award verification form and submit the completed form to grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu no later than December 1 of the competition year.
4. The Graduate School utilizes the completed AGGRS award verification form to journal funds to the designated awardee assignee number within the program.
5. The program monitors expenditures to the disbursed awarded AGGRS funds and ensures that all relevant OSU research and travel policies are followed. 
6. The student has 24 months to utilize AGGRS funds.
7. Awardees and programs must work collaboratively to complete the AGGRS award verification form and submit the completed form to grad-schoolfellowships@osu.edu no later than December 1 of the competition year. 
   1. Programs must provide fiscal officer contact information and assignee worktags from Workday for AGGRS awardees in order for funds to be disbursed.
8. Funds must be disbursed to the program by the end of the calendar year (December 31). 
9. The program is responsible for monitoring disbursed AGGRS funds and ensuring that they are spent in accordance to the proposed project and all associated OSU research and travel policies.
   1. Full IRB approval must be conferred before the program can utilize disbursed AGGRS funds for payment of human research participants.
10. Unspent funds after 24 months are to be returned to the Graduate School. 
11. Equipment and non-disposable materials obtained with AGGRS funds are university property and must be retained by the department after use by the AGGRS award recipient.