Research Funding for Students

The Center for the Education of Women currently has three programs that provide funds to University of Michigan students engaged in gender-focused research.

Menakka and Essel Bailey Graduate Fellowship
Robin Wright Graduate Fellowship
CEW Student Research Grant
Riecker Undergraduate Research Fund

Menakka and Essel Bailey Graduate Fellowship

The Menakka and Essel Bailey Graduate Fellowship offers up to 2 grants of $2,000 – $5000 each for Rackham graduate students who are U.S. citizens pursuing research, field work, cultural experience, or other study relevant to their graduate degree, preferably in the areas of public health, health care, or environmental work in South or Southeast Asia (excluding China or Japan). Preference given to students seeking funds in addition to this source.

Deadline for application is March 15, 2012.

To apply, please submit four copies of a packet that contains the following:

A proposal of not more than 1500 words describing the applicant’s reasons for planning to study or conduct research in South or Southeast Asia (excluding China and Japan) as well as the objectives and methods of any planned research project
A project budget, itemizing all costs and showing how the Bailey funds would fit into the budget and how additional costs, if any, would be covered
Two letters of recommendation, both of which should come from faculty in the applicant’s discipline(s). Access the form for the letter. The letters may be submitted directly by recommenders separately from the application.
An updated curriculum vitae
A transcript
An indication via the transcript or other means of having studied the language of the country the applicant intends to visit
Proof of IRB approval for the project (if relevant for the nature of the research)

Applicants may mail, email or deliver their application packets to:
Center for the Education of Women
Attention: Susan Kaufmann / Associate Director for Advocacy
330 E. Liberty Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2274
Telephone: 734.764.7640 Fax: 734.998.6203
kaufmann@umich.edu

Robin Wright Graduate Fellowship

The Center for the Education of Women announces the Robin Wright Graduate Fellowship with a grant of up to $4,000. The fund will support research by a graduate student from the Islamic World or Africa enrolled in the Rackham Graduate School. Review a list of majority-Muslim countries considered for this purpose to comprise the Islamic World. Read about the first Robin Wright Graduate Fellowship Recipient.

Preference will be given to graduate students pursuing research in international and global issues in the contemporary period, with a focus on political, economic or societal change as well as new solutions to issues arising from the spread of globalization. Particular attention will be given to research abroad. Also, in order to ensure that as broad a range of people as possible is able to do research on international topics, women graduate students and students intending to return to their home countries to contribute their scholarly and professional skills are particularly encouraged to apply.

Deadline for application is March 15, 2012.

To apply, please submit four copies of a packet that contains the following:

A proposal of not more than 1500 words describing the objectives and methods of the planned research project
A project budget, itemizing all costs and showing how the Wright funds would fit into the budget and how additional costs, if any, would be covered
Two letters of recommendation, both of which should come from faculty in the applicant’s discipline(s). Access the form for the letter. The letters may be submitted directly by recommenders separately from the application.
An updated curriculum vitae
A transcript
Proof of IRB approval for the project (if relevant for the nature of the research)

CEW Student Research Grants

The Center for the Education of Women announces the availability of CEW Student Research Grants of up to $1,000 for student-designed, student-conducted academic research on topics related to CEW's mission. These awards are intended for University of Michigan—Ann Arbor graduate students and upper division undergraduate students who are doing degree-required dissertation or thesis research.

Acceptable research topics have a gender focus, in such areas as--

leadership
education and careers
growth and development
health and well-being
political and social status and
similar areas of gender-based interest.

We cannot award grants to support travel for conference attendance and presentations. Nor can we support travel and activities that are primarily for experiential learning, service learning, internships, study abroad programs, or similar enrichment programs not specifically tied to degree-required, student-designed research.

To apply, please submit a packet that contains the following:

An approximately two-page proposal that describes the objectives and methods of the planned research project
A project budget, itemizing all costs and showing how the CEW funds would fit into the budget and how the rest of the costs would be covered
A letter of support from a faculty advisor. Access the form for the letter.
A vita
Proof of IRB approval for the research project (if relevant for the nature of the research)

Student Research Grants will be awarded on an on-going basis until the amount of funding available each year has been expended. Students will be eligible for a research grant only once during the course of any degree program. Receipt of a grant does not preclude eligibility for other forms of CEW financial support.

Riecker Undergraduate Research Fund

The Center for the Education of Women announces the Riecker Undergraduate Research Fund. The intent of this fund is to enable faculty members from any discipline to involve undergraduate University of Michigan-Ann Arbor students in research projects pertaining to gender issues.

A faculty member may apply for up to $2,000 to pay the wages of an undergraduate student as part of his/her research team. To do so, the faculty member sends a one- to two-page memo to CEW Associate Director Sue Kaufmann (kaufmann@umich.edu), briefly describing:

The nature of the research project and its gender focus
The project time period
The role the undergraduate student would play in the project
The ways in which the faculty member would mentor the student 
The number of hours the student will work, the rate per hour, and the total amount of money being requested
A project budget, itemizing all costs and showing how the Riecker funds would fit into the budget and how additional costs, if any, would be covered

There is no deadline for applications. Simply send the memo, or inquiries about the fund, to Sue Kaufmann kaufmann@umich.edu or 734.764.7640

Applicants may mail, email, or deliver their application packets to CEW for either grant, in care of:
Sue Kaufmann
Center for the Education of Women 
330 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2274
kaufmann@umich.edu
734.764-6575