Limited Funding Opportunity: Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) Program, Round 2 (Applications Due February 2, 2024)

In partnership with the Graduate Student Association and the Office of Graduate Studies, the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship (ORCS) is soliciting proposals to support Graduate Research Assistants to work with and be mentored by a faculty member for the Spring 2024 semester. In the event the full GRA funding pool is not awarded following the conclusion of the Fall application cycle, a second, smaller application cycle is held at the beginning of the Spring semester. Applicants for the second cycle cannot be Fall GRA recipients.

The intent is to extend the student’s classroom learning, expose them to current challenges in their discipline, build analytical skills, and provide a meaningful work experience that will also benefit faculty in the development of their research and scholarship agenda. Through this program, we also hope to encourage faculty to submit external grant applications that include graduate research assistants.

Funds are available to support a very limited number of GRA positions for the spring semester. If you are interested in mentoring a GRA, please submit a completed proposal, using the Round 2 GRA Application Form, by February 2, 2024.

Note: Proposals that do not use the required Google Form application will not be reviewed.

Deadlines
The application deadline for the Spring 2024 GRA grant will be on February 2, 2024.

Upcoming Grant Period
Grants awarded in Spring 2024 must be conducted between February 12, 2024 and June 15, 2024.

GRA Funding
The maximum award will be $2,000 per student, though amounts awarded are dependent on the number of applications received and availability of funding. The funds can be used to hire a graduate student assistant at a recommended hourly rate of $15.25. Additionally, a portion of the amount requested (inclusive of the $2,000 maximum) may be allocated to the costs associated with a mentored GRA attending a relevant academic or professional conference.

Proposals need to include a clear and concise description of the project, the expected outcomes, and how the work will be evaluated and/or disseminated. Applicants should outline how this work benefits their discipline, their professional research/scholarship agenda, and the student. Applicants should include a short job description for the Graduate Research Assistant position, including responsibilities, required skills, and any other pertinent aspects that will be used when the open position gets posted on the Student Employment website. If the application includes funds for conference travel, the applicant must identify the conference, its location and dates, and explain how it will enhance the student’s learning and academic growth.

Eligibility
FOR FACULTY: Full-time term and tenured/tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. Current GRA recipients from the Fall application cycle are not eligible. 

FOR STUDENTS: Students must be enrolled in Emerson graduate courses during the academic year, and not be employed by the College as a teacher or affiliated faculty member.

Eligible Projects
Examples of Eligible Projects:

• Support for a student to assist in research, literature review for a book or other project
• Support for a student to assist in development or curating of curricular or scholarly materials
• Support for a student to assist in data collection, cataloging, and analysis
• Support for a student as a film or production assistant
• Support for the student to attend an academic or scholarly conference related to their field of study (alongside student wages)

Ineligible Projects Examples of Ineligible Projects:

• Support for a student to provide general clerical and administrative assistance for regular academic and teaching duties
• Projects that do not clearly demonstrate a meaningful work and learning experience for students
• Compensation or support for regular curricular, credit-bearing activities, such as coursework, theses, or directed studies
• Requests for travel/conference funds that do not also include student wages

Criteria & Considerations Proposals must include:

• A clear and concise description of the project
• The expected outcomes of the project or research
• How the work will be evaluated
• Outline how this work benefits your discipline, your professional research/scholarship agenda, and the student
• Include a short job description for the Graduate Research Assistant position, including responsibilities, required skills, and any other pertinent aspects that will be used when the open position gets posted in Workday
• If the application includes funds for conference travel, applicants must identify
  1. The name of the conference
  2. The dates and location of the conference
  3. An explanation of how the conference will enhance the student’s learning and academic growth

The maximum award will be $2,000 per student at a recommended hourly rate of $15.25/hour.

GRA Application Form
Eligible faculty members can access the FY2024 GRA Application Form here.  Applicants can fill out the application and make changes to the form until the deadline date of February 2, 2024.

Spring 2024 Calendar

• January 16, 2024: GRA Application cycle opens
• February 2, 2024: Applications are due via Google Forms
• February 2 through February 10, 2024: Review and selection of applications
• February 12, 2024: Applicants notified of funding decisions
• February 12 through June 15, 2024: Approved projects conducted

Review and Selection of Applications
ORCS will review the applications and make recommendations for selection to the Office of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Student Association.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to direct them  to eric_asetta@emerson.edu.