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Current Students

Doctoral Student Research Grant

 

Eligibility Selection Criteria Deadline Award Description Application Procedures

The HCDE Doctoral Student Research Grant is designed to support HCDE PhD students who need assistance to carry out research that advances their progress toward their degree.

The grant is intended to defray costs of conducting clearly defined research projects including:

  • Research related expenses (e.g., participant fees, access to specialized data sets, purchase of archival materials or images, laboratory supplies that will be consumed in the course of the project)
  • Temporary research assistants or transcribers (NOTE: Requests for this type of expense must include a compelling explanation of why the student cannot perform the work on their own or why a DRG is not a preferred way to conduct this work.)
  • Research-based travel not associated with a course or conference travel (e.g., off-campus data collection, access to libraries, archives or historical sites)
  • Purchasing laboratory equipment, field work equipment, or specialized computer software (NOTE: This type of expense should not be used to purchase general-use lab or office equipment.)
  • Off-campus study of specialized methodologies or techniques needed for research 
  • Open access fees

Eligibility

HCDE doctoral students are eligible to apply if they are in good academic standing in HCDE.

A doctoral student is eligible to receive no more than one research grant per academic year (1 June - 31 May).

Selection Criteria

Criteria for funding will include:

  • Clarity and coherence of the rationale for the project
  • Significance of the research question being addressed
  • Value of the project for the student's graduate school and career goals, including but not limited to the student's dissertation research
  • Preparedness of the student(s) to carry out the proposed research
  • Relevance and reasonableness of the budget request for the activities proposed
  • Likelihood of leading to additional funding (e.g., what other fellowship applications or grant applications could funding the proposed work support? Not required, but could lead to a proposal being prioritized)

You should prepare your application materials to stand alone, assuming reviewers have no knowledge of your research trajectory beyond the submitted materials. 

Additionally, while a student may receive up to one award per academic year, the selection process will consider how recently a student has received funding, prioritizing those who have not received a doctoral research grant recently.

Deadline

Applications are accepted two times per academic year:

  • 15 October
  • 15 April

To apply, please email all materials (as a PDF) to the PhD Program Director and Director of Academic Services by 11:59pm Seattle time on the deadline.

Please allow 2-4 weeks for a decision. Once approved, the HCDE Fiscal office will work with you on the best way to access funds.

If funds remain after the April review cycle, the selection committee may, at their discretion, continue accepting and reviewing proposals until funds are exhausted or the committee must disband (i.e., reach the end of the academic year). 

Award Description

In AY24-25, we anticipate having a total of $5000-6000 available, as approximately $2500-3000 in two cycles. We anticipate awards being in the $500-1000 range per award. Smaller awards are more likely to be awarded than larger awards.

Application Procedures

Students must submit a:

  • research proposal (including a title), 
  • budget, 
  • budget justification, 
  • current CV (for each applicant), and
  • faculty contact(s)

The research proposal is typically 1,000 words, no more than 1,500 words, and should provide an overview of the research goals, the methods, and the significance of the work. Please be sure to include selected citations to relevant literature that will be helpful in understanding how your proposal fits into the scholarly literature. If the proposed work is intended as pilot data for future external funding proposals, describe.

The research budget should match the activities described in the proposal. The justification should explain in detail the costs associated with each of the activities. If the anticipated costs are greater than the amount requested, explain what other resources are already available to support the remaining expenses. If funding is being requested from multiple sources, list those sources. 

Faculty contacts could include faculty who will mentor the student(s) in the research and/or advisers who could contextualize the role of the proposed research in the student’s overall trajectory. The selection committee may reach out to contacts.

Applications are reviewed only after they have been submitted. The student will receive an email notifying them of the award decision. If a grant is awarded, procedures for using funds will be outlined at that time.

Ineligible expenses include:

  • Personal emergency situations—see HCDE Student Emergency Fund
  • Attending a conference when making a presentation (e.g., fees, travel costs)—see the HCDE PhD student Travel Grant program
  • Attending a conference without making a presentation (e.g., fees, travel costs) —see the HCDE PhD student Travel Grant program
  • Research unrelated to the graduate program or conducted following the completion of degree requirements
  • Research that has already been completed, with research expenses incurred before the submission date
  • University of Washington tuition or fees
  • Normal living expenses such as rent, car repairs, child care, and utilities
  • Materials to prepare for program requirement or milestones (e.g., courses, preliminary examinations, general examinations, dissertation proposal or dissertation)
  • Books that are available through the University of Washington library or interlibrary loan
  • Computers, computer equipment, cameras, or camera equipment
  • Copying, binding, publication costs, or presentations associated with a thesis or dissertation

Generally, this program will not fund travel or other research expenses associated with a course or a course related project taken for academic credit, but we recognize that the boundaries between courses and research can be porous, especially when students bring research into a course or a research project develops from course discussions or assignments. 

Award Stipulations

Effective from the 15 April 2023 cycle onward, students receiving doctoral research grants are required to share the work with the HCDE Research Seminar (HCDE 547). This could be sharing the study design (potentially even before applying), in-progress analysis, completed work. Sharing at prelims also meets this requirement. Students will not be eligible for future awards until they have presented the previously funded work in the research seminar. We strongly encourage awardees to participate regularly to give other presenters feedback and connect beyond your lab or cohort. 

Recipients should acknowledge support from this program in any papers or presentations resulting from this funding. For example, “This research was supported by a doctoral research grant from the University of Washington’s Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering.” Some awards may be funded by endowed funds; if so, this will be indicated in your funding letter and should be specifically acknowledged.