Graduate Programs
Research & Travel Grants
In order to contribute to advancing the work of the next generation of professors and public scholars, the Kinder Institute Grants Committee will consider graduate student requests for funding to support research on an ad hoc basis during the academic year (September 1 – April 15).
Designed for M.A. and Ph.D. students with unmet funding needs, awards range from $500-$2,000 and can be applied to: travel to conferences at which a student is presenting their work, archival research and data collection, and hiring undergraduate research assistants. Note that the set award for conference travel is $500 and that, due to limited funds, not all applications can be funded, and even those that do receive committee support may not be funded in full.
See the “Application Requirements and Instructions” section below for details on submitting funding requests.
Eligibility
Graduate research and travel grants are open to M.A. and Ph.D. students in all graduate departments in the College of Arts & Science whose thesis or dissertation work demonstrates strong connections to the Kinder Institute’s scholarly focus on the history, theory, and institutions of constitutional democracy around the globe. As the “Application Requirements and Instructions” section notes, students will need to make these connections clear in their grant proposal to receive funding.
Application Requirements and Instructions
All requests for funding can be sent to Dr. Thomas Kane, KaneTC@missouri.edu, and should contain the following components:
—An abstract (1-2 pages) outlining the research project for which the applicant is pursuing funding and its clear connections to the Kinder Institute’s scholarly mission. For students seeking funding to attend a conference, an abstract for the paper they are presenting and its relevance to the study of constitutional democracy will suffice;
—A detailed description of how the requested funds will be used to advance students’ research;
—A letter of support, sent separately by the applicant’s thesis, dissertation, or program advisor.
Timeline and Policies
Grant applications can be submitted at any point during the academic year (September 1 – April 15), and students can expect to hear back within 2-3 weeks of submission. Funds to support summer research are available, but all applications for summer funding must be received during the open submission period noted above. All applicants should likewise note the following policies:
—Award recipients must coordinate with the fiscal officer in their home departments and Caroline Spalding (cspalding@missouri.edu) to return any unused funds to the Kinder Institute within a month of their designated grant period’s end date.
—Additionally, award recipients may be contacted to complete a grant report after the award has expired and/or to submit or present research completed during the grant period.
—The Grant Committee will consider only one request for funding at a time, and any student with an active award cannot apply for additional funding.