Frequently Asked Questions

The application deadline is always the 15^th of the month for both research and professional development grants. At the latest, you must apply at least one month ahead of your travel date if you are travelling. Please note the table above and check the “grant usage” for when you intend to travel. Each grant usage period is 3 months with one month overlap between periods. This is so that if your application is not approved one period, you still have time to resubmit your application to be scored for the next application period. Apply as early as you can!

You should apply for a Professional Development grant which covers costs related to attending conferences, symposiums, and other professional development events. Your application will be rejected if you apply for Research grant with the intention to cover conference expenses! Read over the application descriptions carefully!

You can start applying for travel in April during grant period 9, which spans December 16 through January 15. The applications submitted between December 16 – January 15 cover travel time for February, March, and April. If you submit the application by January 15^th to travel in April, you will know the results during the first week of February. If your application is rejected due to a low score or other reasons, you will have chance to resubmit it for review by February 15^th and by March 15^th (2 more times!). However, if you submit your application by March 15^th to travel in April, your application will have only one chance for approval. Please read the deadlines and grant usage dates over carefully and submit your application as early as you can!

No, your application would be considered late and therefore rejected. You must apply by the appropriate deadline to be considered for the month you want to travel in. If you want to travel in September, you can see that you should have submitted your application by the August 15^th deadline at the latest. You can apply for a professional development grant up to 3 months ahead of your travel date and at the latest, one month ahead of your travel date. Please take this into account as you make your travel plans.

After the application deadline on the 15^th of each month, the Grants Review Panel will need time to score the applications and meet to finalize the awardees. Typically, this will happen between the last 2 weeks of the month and awardees are then notified by the Treasurer or the GRP Chair within 5 business days.

Applications most-likely to be funded describe the background of their work in 2-5 sentences and define how the funds, if awarded, will be spent. Applications that are most-likely NOT to be funded are verbose, have poor grammar, and are vague on details. Please do all that you can to concisely explain your answers!

If your application is denied and you want to know more information about why, please reach out to the GRP Chair. You may have applied for the wrong type of grant or you may have submitted your application late (i.e.: after you have already traveled). Such submissions will be denied. If your correctly filled out application was denied, however, and you still want to remain in the applicant pool for the next grant period, let the GRP Chair know when you get your email. You could request that your application be re-scored or you could resubmit your application altogether to better explain your need for funding. A big tip is to make sure you apply early enough to ensure that you will have enough time to get your application reconsidered.

No, a research grant must finance your final thesis/dissertation project. This can include buying supplies that aren’t available on campus, compensating research participants, or anything else directly related to you collecting your own data for your thesis/dissertation. More details on the research grant application page.

For a professional development grant, you must complete your reimbursement documentation via DocuSign within 10 days of returning from your travel. For a research grant, you will have up to 6 months to use your funding and can submit your paperwork within that time-frame as you complete your research. If you have any questions regarding submitting your paperwork please email: gsagrants@umbc.edu