Student Research Circles

Deadline: ongoing

Program Purpose:
In order to enrich the flow of research ideas among students, the Center for Global Initiatives is pleased to fund Student Research Circles.  These circles receive funding for an academic year to support activities such as speaker series, brown bags, workshops, publications, film screenings, and service-learning projects. In addition to promoting the research of students, the goal of these Student Research Circles is also to deepen the Center for Global Initiatives’ work on current research themes. 

Eligibility and Restrictions:
Any enrolled graduate or undergraduate student is eligible to propose a Student Research Circle.

We require that the circle’s core members represent at least 4 different departments or schools, and we prefer the circles to be a mix of graduate and undergraduate students.

We are only funding circles that are working on specific themes of interest to the Center. These are:
1) Peace and Conflict Resolution
2) Global Health
3) Migration, Citizenship and Identity
4) the Globalization of the American South

Available Funding:
Research circles receive $2,000, of which a maximum of $250 may be used for food.

Application:
To apply for funding please submit the following materials via the online application:

• A narrative of 1,000 words describing your Research Circle. This narrative should describe your project through the lens of the evaluation rubric described below.
• A brief curriculum vitae
• A budget that outlines expenses.

Narratives and other required documents can only be uploaded into our online application in PDF format. If you do not have access to Adobe Acrobat and you are unable to convert documents to PDF format, visit http://www.freepdfconvert.com/ or http://www.bullzip.com/ for examples of free software.

Please note that page three of the online application is not applicable to this award.

Evaluation of Applicants:
Reviewers assign points to each application based on the following rubric:

• Feasibility and Planning (max. 5 points)
  Are the plans for this Circle adequate and appropriate to achieve its short- and long-term goals?
  Is the proposal specific and well-written?
• Need and Importance (max. 5 points)
  Is there a clear need for the applicants to receive this award in order to conduct this work?
  What is the nature and importance of the proposed Circle to the field?
  
• Impact (max. 5 points)
  Will the Circle provide academic and professional development for its members?
  What is the interdisciplinary nature of the Circle's members?
  
• Budget (max. 5 points)
  Is the budget clear, adequate, reasonable, and justified?

Notification of Award:
Applicants will receive award or rejection notices via email 1-2 weeks after submitting an application. Please do not contact the Center for Global Initiatives to inquire about the status of your application during this time frame. However, if you have not received a notice 3 weeks after you submit your application, please inform us.

Reporting Requirements:
If you receive this award, you will be required to submit a final report at the conclusion of the project using the Center for Global Initiatives' Online Reporting System. This system collects narratives and data about funded projects to enable the Center to determine whether its programmatic purposes are being met.

To apply for this award, please fill out the Center for Global Initiatives' Online Application.

Contact Information:
Niklaus Steiner
Director, Center for Global Initiatives
nsteiner@unc.edu