ENWL Student Funding Opportunities

**Beginner Friendly Grant Application Process**

Purpose: To provide grant funding for scholarly and creative activities that contribute to the
academic progress of AHSS undergraduate and graduate students.

Application: (Use as a checklist!) 

1) a 1-page, maximum 500 word description of the scholarly or creative activity, including the purpose, rationale, dates, and destination.

TIP: Start your brief project narrative with a clear statement about how much money you are requesting and define your project explicitly:

"I am asking for $250.00 from the College of AHSS to partially fund my travel to the Oneida Nation’s Shako:wi Cultural Center museum in upstate New York on November 6th, 2021" (Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut's Fall 2021 Funding Proposal, entitled, Indigenous Studies Conference Presentation Registration and Museum Travel). 

2) detailed budget. This included as a chart, which is easier for readers to digest and understand. 

• Name the expense. Example: "Museum Admission Fee"
• State or estimate the cost. You should factor in taxes and fees when applicable. Example: "$10.00." 
• Provide a short description, definition, or explanation of why its a necessary expense. Example: "Student discounted tickets save the university 25% on regular museum admission fees."

3) a 1-page support letter from the academic advisor(s) or the faculty member(s) overseeing the scholarly or creative activity. Remember to give your faculty advisor(s) enough time to write your letter and meet the application deadline! 

• Worried about asking for a letter of support? Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut wrote a blog post with advice on how to do it, entitled "How to Ask Faculty for Support Letters" (2022). Read it here. 

4) Timeline. This is NOT a required component of the proposal (like 1-3 above), but it is a great tool to include to ensure your readers understand exactly what your project will look like if they fund it. It also avoids being overly wordy and boring. 

Deadlines: Fall and Spring semester deadlines TBA each academic year. The Fall Semester deadline will support applicants using the funding in the fall and winter. The Spring Semester deadline will support applicants using the funding in the spring and summer. Remember students may only be awarded this grant once per academic year. 

Approval: Grants will be allocated by the Dean based on the recommendation of the AHSS Fellowship Committee. Email your proposals to the AHSS Dean's office directly or through your faculty advisor(s). 

Reimbursement grants mean you will need to pay up-front for your expenses and apply for refunds through your department, the Dean's Office, and Accounting using Direct Payment forms, Travel Request forms (before travel), and Travel Expense forms (after travel). Save your receipts! Accounting will not pay you back for any expense you cannot prove, excluding mileage costs. 

Tip: As of 2022, the university will reimburse students who travel using their personal cars at a rate of $0.56/mile. Attach a map showing how many miles to your destination(s). Similarly, the university has a cost breakdown for high-cost and low-cost hotel expenses. Visit Accounting's Travel Information page for more information. Using resources like this in your Budget help your chances of being funded because it demonstrates responsibility and organization. 

**Beginner Friendly Grant Application Process**

Purpose: Generally, the Noonan committee fund proposals that correlate to classroom instruction,
Funding does not cover food or lodging expenses. However, it is very useful for transportation costs, conference registration fees, museum or performance ticket costs, etc. For both undergraduate and graduate students. 

Types of programs qualifying for consideration:

• Field trips 
• Participation in conferences
• Off‐campus research, performances, and competitions
• Bringing speakers, artistic ensembles, and other performances to the university

Preference is given for activities that involve more than one student, but individual projects are considered as well. Here is the Noonan's list for preference when considering applications:

• Active student participation such as individual performances or other presentations at regional, national, or state conferences and competitions
• Special Opportunities "that may be limited in terms of dates available and/or proximity of locations"
• Activities that benefit more than one student
• Activities that are multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse 

Application: (Use as a checklist!) 

1) Project Narrative - limited to three double spaced pages (12 pt. font). The  narrative MUST include these two clearly marked sections: "Description of Activity" and "Contribution to Professional Development or Instructional Program." Focus on how this project relates to your current curricular studies, naming classes and past work directly in the proposal. 

TIP: Start your brief project narrative with a clear statement about how much money you are requesting and define your project explicitly:

"I am asking for $500.00 from the Noonan Endowment to partially fund my research, attendance, and presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association’s conference (MAPACA) in November, as well as my attendance and “book talk” participation at the Association on American Indian Affairs’ conference (AAIA) also in November." (Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut's Fall 2021 Funding Proposal, Indigenous Studies Conference Presentation Registration and Research Materials).

2) Budget Justification. This does not need to be in narrative form, instead, successful applicants might consider using a chart or another more visually appealing methods of conveying how you will spend the funding. 

Below is an excerpt for example of Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut's partially successful Noonan application for Fall 2021: 

3) Support Documentation, which can include conference acceptance letters or registration confirmations if you have them. They aren't necessary but any clarifications or proof is helpful for the committee to better understand your project and what you will gain. 

Apply Here

More Info Here

Deadline: Fall and Spring semester deadlines TBA each academic year. Fall deadlines are usually in early October. Spring deadlines are usually mid February. Students may be awarded the Noonan grant twice an academic year, once per semester. This grant is facilitated by the Office of Research, Sponsored Programs & Research who will compile and send all applications to the committee. 

Reimbursement grants mean you will need to pay up-front for your expenses and apply for refunds through Sponsored Programs and Accounting using Direct Payment forms, Travel Request forms (before travel), and Travel Expense forms (after travel). Save your receipts! Accounting will not pay you back for any expense you cannot prove, excluding mileage costs. 

Tip: As of 2022, the university will reimburse students who travel using their personal cars at a rate of $0.56/mile. Attach a map showing how many miles to your destination(s). Similarly, the university has a cost breakdown for high-cost and low-cost hotel expenses. Visit Accounting's Travel Information page for more information. Using resources like this in your Budget help your chances of being funded because it demonstrates responsibility and organization. 

Made in Millersville: If you receive this grant, you will be required to register for Made in Millersville on campus and present your project. The conference is usually held in mid-April with registration ending in early March. Talk to your professors for guidance. 

**Intermediate Grant Application Process** This grant is geared more toward students in the science, so you will need to focus your proposal on discussing your project's outcomes, supporting theories, and research methodologies more explicitly than in the other grants listed on this website. 

Purpose: Typically SGRCA funds research-related travel, materials, and supplies, research experiments and data collection, books, and equipment, and other research needs. Unlike the Noonan, SGRCA will fund hotel expenses (but not meal costs). Grants will be made up to a maximum award of $500 for undergraduate students and a maximum of $1,000 to graduate students.

Application:

1) Project Abstract. 1,000 character limit. No technical language. 

2) Project Narrative, limited to 3 double-spaced pages in 12 point font, must be worded clearly and use non-technical language because the SGRCA committee is comprised of faculty and staff from various disciplines on campus. This means a science and math professor must be able to understand the basics of your project. It also must include the following sections:

For more research-based proposals, clearly present:

• Project Background
• Objectives
• Hypotheses
• Methods
• Timeline

For more artistic or creative proposals, clearly present:

• Project inspiration and background
• Project purpose and/or related research
• Learning objectives 
• Timeline
• Exhibit or performance opportunities you may pursue and their relation to the project
• How the grant experience will impact your career and you as a performer and artist

3) Budget Justification. This does not need to be in narrative form, instead, successful applicants might consider using a chart or another more visually appealing methods of conveying how you will spend the funding. 

Below is an excerpt for example of Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut's successful SGRCA application for a trip to see the World Premiere of an all-Native musical in Spring 2022: 

4) Faculty Support Letter from the academic advisor(s) overseeing the scholarly or creative activity. Remember to give your faculty advisor(s) enough time to write your letter and meet the application deadline! Be sure to ask them to discuss the theory and methods supporting your work and how it will contribute to the contemporary discourse of your field of studies. 

• Worried about asking for a letter of support? Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut wrote a blog post with advice on how to do it, entitled "How to Ask Faculty for Support Letters" (2022). Read it here. 

5) Supporting Documentation which can include conference acceptance letters, registration confirmations, art mock-ups, etc. 

Apply Here

More Info Here

Deadline: Fall and Spring semester deadlines TBA each academic year. Fall deadlines are usually in early October. Spring deadlines are usually early-to-mid February. Students may be awarded the SGRCA grant twice an academic year, once per semester. This grant is facilitated by the Office of Research, Sponsored Programs & Research who will compile and send all applications to the committee. 

Reimbursement grants mean you will need to pay up-front for your expenses and apply for refunds through Sponsored Programs and Accounting using Direct Payment forms, Travel Request forms (before travel), and Travel Expense forms (after travel). Save your receipts! Accounting will not pay you back for any expense you cannot prove, excluding mileage costs. 

Tip: As of 2022, the university will reimburse students who travel using their personal cars at a rate of $0.56/mile. Attach a map showing how many miles to your destination(s). Similarly, the university has a cost breakdown for high-cost and low-cost hotel expenses. Visit Accounting's Travel Information page for more information. Using resources like this in your Budget help your chances of being funded because it demonstrates responsibility and organization. 

Made in Millersville: If you receive this grant, you will be required to register for Made in Millersville on campus and present your project. The conference is usually held in mid-April with registration ending in early March. Talk to your professors for guidance. 

**Advanced Grant Application Process**

Purpose: Awards will be made to both undergraduate and graduate students. This grant is more open to all expenses accrued by student awardees during their project. ENWL students have received money for transportation, materials, hotel costs, meal stipends, study abroad, etc. 

• Priority going to proposals requesting non-tuition support such as, but not limited to: creative research or art projects, field trips, conference attendance or participation, national or international student study abroad, student instrument rental or purchase fees, student art supplies. 
• Second preference will be given to students requesting tuition support. These funds, awarded as scholarships, will go to students majoring in the arts with demonstrated financial need. 

Application: (Use as a checklist!) The Wickersham-Burrowes, unlike most other university student grant applications, prefers students to articulate their projects' significance and lasting impact on their educational and professional future, their field of study and department, and the world in a series of essays. 

1) Written Budget Narrative, meaning you should explain your expenses in paragraph-form and not use a chart. (However, you could include a budget spread sheet in part 3 of the application, additional document upload.) 

2) Project Information essays (from the 2021-2022 application, may change annually): 

• In narrative form, describe your arts project, initiative, or need. (1,000 words or less)

Get creative here. Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut, awarded $4,000.00 for her 2021-2022 project, titled On the World Stage: How Indigenous Stories Survive Through Music around the Globe, started this essay with quote from a favorite author to explain how important international and non-traditional educational experiences are. However, it's very important to clearly state how much money you are asking for, what your project entails in detail, and your expected outcomes or goals. 

• How will this impact your studies and/or career? (500 words or less)

This one should be something you considered during the development stages of your project. If not, there is no time like the present! Use these questions as a guide to transport your project from an idea into a solid plan. What stepping stone will this experience be in your journey as a student and eventual professional? What are the connective threads linking what you are learning in classes now and what you hope to gain through this project? 

• How will you present your project at Made in Millersville? (500 words or less)

Most university grants want to know how your work will impact more than just one student (you). They want to invest in students who will turn around and invest back into the school, their department, and campus. Discuss how you can contribute to, influence, or change the current discourse in your field of study. Feel free to go beyond MIM if you were accepted into regional, national, or international conferences or performances as well. 

• Describe how your interest in this art form, and how your funded project will make a difference in the community.

Dig deep for this essay. Consider what it means to be a scholar-activist. This is where your English and World Languages major will give you an advance. Showcase your creative writing talents in this portion of the application. Express yourself, making others share in your passion for your project! Need inspiration? Check out the permanent Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Red Dress exhibit Graduate Assistant Jordan Traut created using what she learned during her Wickersham-Burrowed funded project on the ENWL website here. The dress is displayed outside the Dean's Office in McComsey Hall indefinitely. Your scholarship can become activism! (These are the most competitive projects that are most likely to get funded.) 

3) Additional document upload

• Attach any supporting materials you think help make your case for why your project is worthy of funding. Examples might include: letter of support from faculty, acceptance letter into a conference, cost worksheets from the Office of International Programs and Services proving how much your trip will cost, budget spread sheet (in addition to the written narrative), timeline for longer projects, etc. 

Deadlines: As of 2021-2022, the Wickersham Burrowes application closes for review on December 31st of the academic year. It is no longer evaluated on a rolling-basis. Be aware that not all resources on the Millersville website have been updated to reflect this new change. Unsure? Ask. 

Apply HERE

More Info HERE

Approval: This grant is facilitated by the Office of Research, Sponsored Programs & Research who will compile and send all applications to The Director of the Office of Visual and Performing Arts, at the Ware Center, who will serve as chair and assemble a committee of MU arts faculty to evaluate the proposals and make awards. The committee will make funding recommendations to the chair, who will have final authority in making awards. 

Tip: Do you have a question about if your creative idea is worthy of this grant opportunity? Do you have a question about an aspect of the application? Email the Director of the Ware Center or Sponsored Programs and ask for guidance and advice! These faculty members are here to help you create the best education pathway for yourself during your time at Millersville. Students who are active and advocating for themselves are more likely to receive funding. 

Reimbursement grants mean you will need to pay up-front for your expenses and apply for refunds through your department, the Dean's Office, and Accounting using Direct Payment forms, Travel Request forms (before travel), and Travel Expense forms (after travel). Save your receipts! Accounting will not pay you back for any expense you cannot prove, excluding mileage costs. 

Tip: As of 2022, the university will reimburse students who travel using their personal cars at a rate of $0.56/mile. Attach a map showing how many miles to your destination(s). Similarly, the university has a cost breakdown for high-cost and low-cost hotel expenses. Visit Accounting's Travel Information page for more information. Using resources like this in your Budget help your chances of being funded because it demonstrates responsibility and organization. 

Made in Millersville: If you receive this grant, you may be required to register for Made in Millersville on campus and present your project. The conference is usually held in mid-April with registration ending in early March. Talk to your professors for guidance.