The Proposal Project

Grant-writing workshops will be held to providing training and enable students to identify potential funding sources, to prepare competitive proposals, and to navigate the submission process. Students must watch and submit a survey for at least one Grant Writing workshop to qualify for the Proposal Project.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

The LOI (limited to one page) must include the following elements:

• Student’s name, degree program, and school
• Name of student’s advisor/committee chair
• Proposed title of the project
• Brief description of the project
• Brief project budget description (*must include stipend support*)
• Name of agency to which the proposal will be submitted (include URL)
• Deadline for submission of the proposal

Purpose of the LOI:

The LOI will be used to pre-screen intended proposals for student eligibility, adherence to expectations for funding source and budget, and quality of the project.

LOI’s will be ranked by a committee representing all colleges, and the student will be informed of the ranking the LOI receives. Those receiving top five rankings will be eligible for the cash award following submission of the approved proposal. If a top 5-ranked student fails to submit an approved proposal, the next person in line will be eligible for the award.

Requirements:

• The proposal must be submitted to an external funding agency (government, private agency/foundation, or business/industry) or fellowship program.
• The proposal must comply with all relevant university, state, and federal policies and regulations, and it must meet all requirements of the funding agency.
• The proposal must be reviewed and approved by the major advisor/committee chair and submitted according to the normal submission process for the discipline.  (For example, most proposals require pre-submission consultation with an Office of Research Administration (ORA) administrator for guidance on budget development, agency’s forms, and internal approval).

Minimum expectations of the proposed budget:

• The fellowship/traineeship will provide full stipend support at or above the USM base level plus fringe benefits for one or more terms; or
• The fellowship/traineeship will provide full-time tuition plus fees for one or more terms; or
• The traineeship will provide full support for a writer's/artist's residency or similar program

Following final submission of the approved proposal, the student’s major advisor or committee chair must provide a letter to the Dean of the Graduate School affirming support of the project, acknowledging review and approval of the submitted proposal, and confirming submission of the proposal.

A $500 check will be mailed (or direct deposited) to the student upon receipt of the letter of verification.