To anyone who
would like to plan their international research trip, I’ll go ahead and state
the obvious: money matters. If you read
my last post, you know that I was driving myself up a wall waiting to hear back
from funders. Well, fortunately, I was
notified that I received an internal fellowship to fund my dissertation
research in the Dominican Republic!
While I am incredibly relieved, I am also very aware that I am a student
at an institution that has funding opportunities. Not all graduate students are
in this position. If you are in a
program at an institution with limited funding, there are multiple avenues you
can pursue as you search for funding. It
worked well for me to create a spreadsheet of funding sources in my first year
of graduate school. I have a tab for
each year of my graduate school career and I regularly update information on
due dates, application requirements, and award amounts.
1. External
Fellowships: The U.S. Student Fulbright Program, National Science Foundation
Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (NSF-DDRIG), and the Social
Science Research Council are a few of the big name funding sources. Notably, the Fulbright has extra allowances for
dependents in some countries. NSF-DDRIG is
for research expenses and not living expenses, but if you know you’re
interested in international research in your first couple of years of graduate
school, you should apply for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (it
would cover living expenses). The
application process for each of these funding sources is extensive. I started 6 months or more before the
deadlines. If your school has an Office
of Research Support, connect with them.
2. Internal
Fellowships/Other Departments: Your institution may have funding sources
for research on certain areas. Think
about your topic and decide how it might fit into different categories (i.e.
global health, women/gender studies, a specific method, a particular ethnic
group, a focus on a particular language or area). You may be able to piece together a modest
funding package.
3. Foundations
and National Organizations: Your discipline may have a national
organization that funds dissertation research.
If your topic has a specific focus, find organizations that share your
focus (i.e. human rights, gender, politics, language, law, etc.) even if they
are outside your discipline. If you are not sure whether your research fits
with the mission of a funder, email your abstract to the program officers and
ask what they think (an excellent tip from a colleague who has been very
successful seeking outside funding!).
4. Your
personal income: This is less than ideal, but some researchers take out
student loans to conduct their dissertation research. If you have an employed partner, her/his income
could support your family. Some
researchers have aggressively saved the year before the research trip.
5. Get
Creative: If your funding is tied to a research assistantship, can you do the
work while you’re abroad? If your funding is tied to a teaching assistantship,
can you grade assignments online and send feedback digitally? When you get to your host country, can you
teach a course at a local university to earn extra money?
6. Procrastinate
Productively: If you feel like a distraction from other work you could be
doing, search for funding opportunities!
