Funds for the award, when available, will be set aside on an annual basis at the discretion of the department Chair. Awards must be pre-approved by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) prior to incurring. The maximum amount that can be requested per award cycle may vary from year to year. There is no minimum award. For various reasons students may not always be awarded funding or the full amount requested. Alternate funding sources (should be sought before requesting department funding.

No student will be approved for more than $1800 in the fiscal year, and it is not expected that any student will receive funding every year, nor that every student will receive that amount in a given year. This is not a per-student allocation. If multiple requests are received by the deadlines listed below, award amounts will be determined by the department according to perceived value of the expenditure. This funding is merit based and students must be in Good Standing to apply for or receive an award. To assist in department budgeting of the funds available, notice of intent to apply for funding should be made at the same time as an application to present is made to a conference. See below for more details.

Academic activities that may be funded by the award include:

• Travel or research expenses associated with an approved dissertation project
• Travel to present work at an academic conference, symposium, or workshop; students are expected to first exhaust funding sources available elsewhere at Brown
• Travel for archaeological fieldwork or museum research; normally students will be funded for one such trip for experience, professional development, etc., but for subsequent trips their work should be directly related to a dissertation project and/or planned publication
• Fees for publishing academic work (photography, etc.)

Activities not supported include but are not limited to:

• Attending a conference, symposium, or workshop at which the student is not presenting academic work
• Membership dues (unless required for presenting work at an academic conference)
• Books, equipment
• Alcoholic beverages or personal items
• Any activity that is not pre-approved

Students may not apply for an award retroactively.

Eligibility

Only doctoral students in one of the department’s three tracks are eligible for this award. Students must be in years 1–6 in good academic standing and must have “Good” status with respect to academic progress. In extraordinary circumstances students may apply for funds in year 7, but such funds are not guaranteed. Students are not eligible to apply for more than one award per cycle (see below) but may apply for multiple awards in a given academic year.

Procedure

Applications must be submitted to the DGS, with a copy to the department manager and the students' advisor, via email and include all of the following information:

1. Student Name
2. Amount Requested
3. Description of the Proposed Activity: event name/dates/location/student role, including name of presentation if applicable
4. Detailed Budget and Rationale. 
5. List of additional funding applied for.
6. Filing for reimbursement: Submit Excel spreadsheet listing costs by category: registration/travel/hotel/food/misc. Include title of presentation and scan of itemized (not summary signature) receipts.

The concise description (one page or less) of the proposed academic activity must include the date(s), location(s), and academic purpose and goals of the activity. The detailed, research-based budget should provide the rationale for the proposed expenditures and reflect that the student has looked into ways to minimize costs.

Any publications or public presentations that result from funded research must expressly acknowledge departmental support.

Awards are made by the DGS in consultation with the faculty, when necessary. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Priority will be given to:

• Students applying for matching funds (e.g., Brown’s Doctoral Research Travel Grant)
• Students applying to fund approved dissertation research
• First-time applicants

An award can be received in one of three cycles:

Funds not allocated in one cycle are generally incorporated into the pool of available funds in subsequent cycles for the remainder of the fiscal year; likewise, allocated funds that are not spent may be carried over past the award end date until the end of the fiscal year. However, funds cannot be carried over into the new fiscal year. If a proposed project does not fit neatly into one cycle, every effort will be made to be flexible; in such cases students should plan ahead and consult with their advisor and the DGS about how to proceed. Awards are normally processed as reimbursements. Students are required to submit hard copies of original receipts to the Department Manager within two weeks of completing the funded activity.