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ESDRI Graduate Student Research Award

Not currently accepting proposals

Eligibility: ¾Ã¾ÃÎçÒ¹ÐßÐßÓ°ÔºÃâ·Ñ¹Û¿´ graduate students advised by an ESDRI-affiliated faculty member from any campus are eligible. You may apply once during your degree program, but not during your final semester.

Program Goals: The ESDRI Graduate Student Research Award is meant to facilitate new research projects that benefit both the student and faculty advisor, with the ability to lead to publications, extramural funding, or development of innovative products. 

Proposal expectations: Project proposals are welcome from all disciplines, but must be clearly related to one or more of the Environmental Science and Design Research Institute’s areas of focus: Water resources, hydrology, and biogeochemistry; Planning, urban design, landscape design, built ecologies, and settlement patterns; Architecture, product design, fashion, and the environment; The environment, sustainability, human health, and well-being; Socioeconomic systems and the environment; Ecology and the evolution of biological diversity, management of ecological systems; or Biodesign.

Proposals that seek to use funds to complete projects that are significantly progressed will be less competitive. If there are questions about the scope of proposals funded by ESDRI, students are encouraged to discuss potential topics with ESDRI leadership.

Budget Details: Funds requested should be appropriate to the scope of the project, up to a maximum of $3,000.  
Allowable costs include support for undergraduate research assistants and technicians; materials, supplies, and equipment; travel expenses for field work, research collaboration, conference attendance, or visits to funding agencies/sponsors; and personal stipend (if you are not funded by other means). Budget allocated towards travel and hiring of personnel must comply with . Proposals submitted solely to fund post-research activities, such as conference presentations, will not be considered.   

Awarding of Funds: Proposals will be funded on a competitive basis, and subject to availability of funds and scholarly merit. If awarded funding, in coordination with your advisor, funds will be paid via one lump sum to a designated index in your department on your behalf.

Duration: Funds must be expended within one calendar year of award.

Project Products: Projects should result in tangible outcomes that provide evidence of scholarly success, such as peer-reviewed publications or installations, academic reviews, or new internal or external collaborations (e.g., across colleges or with industry, government, non-profits, or museums). 

Reporting: Recipients must provide a report at the end of one year detailing what was accomplished and any next steps (1-2 pages). Recipients should also expect to work with ESDRI staff to disseminate findings/products to the public via news stories or speaking engagements.

Submission Mechanism and Deadline: Proposals are accepted bi-annually, in September and March. Please follow format guidelines below and submit your proposal as a single PDF via email to esdri@kent.edu by the last business day in September or February at 5 PM.

Review Process: Proposals will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee. The evaluation sheet is provided below.    

Questions? Contact us at esdri@kent.edu

Proposal Format

1. Cover sheet: Proposal title, investigator names and affiliations (at minimum, self and advisor), and amount requested.
2. Project description and work plan (up to 3 pages): Describe the area of research, and proposed study goals and design.
3. Timeline of project details (no limit but typically one page).
4. Description of anticipated outcomes, including products/deliverables (up to half of one page).
5. Professional development (up to half of one page): Describe how this will be beneficial for your degree program and/or career development.
6. Budget (up to $3,000), including budget justification.
7. References cited
8. CV
9. Letter of support from advisor. Please detail benefit to student and to advisor’s scholarly output.

Evaluation sheet for ESDRI Graduate Student Research Proposals

Student Name: 
Faculty Advisor:

Total score (out of 20):

Background and motivation. Is the scholarly context (i.e. literature review) described for the project detailed, current, and appropriate? Is it clear how this context helps motivate the project? Is this a new line of study, or a new branch of a former/existing project?

Score (1 to 5):

Comments:

Feasibility and budget. Has enough detail (including timeline) been given to provide convincing evidence that the project can be successfully completed? Do the student and advisor possess the experience and access to resources to complete the project? Is the budget well justified? Does the budget detail what other funding sources are being used (if any) to complete the project and how these funds will fill the gap?

Score (1 to 5):

Comments:

Professional development. Does the proposal explain why the student requires these funds to complete the project (i.e. complete graduation requirements, further career goals, produce a product)? Does the advisor identify how this proposal benefits the student’s professional development and advances their own research or scholarly activity?

Score (1 to 5):

Comments:

Aligned with ESDRI mission. Is the project within areas of research that is aligned with one of ESDRI’s disciplinary foci? Does the project foster interdisciplinarity? Is the advisor an ESDRI-affiliated faculty member?

Score (1 to 5):

Comments: