Graduate Student Organization

The Graduate Student Professional Development Fund is a competitive funding source. Awards are NOT guaranteed they are based entirely on merit and the applicant’s ability to present, in writing, the requirements for the funding opportunity. Following the guidelines does not guarantee an award.

Due Dates:

Fall 2024 Deadlines – September 16, 2024 by 5 pm EST and November 15, 2024 by 5 pm EST
Spring 2025 Deadlines – February 17, 2024 by 5 pm EST and April 1, 2025 by 5 pm EST*

Apply Now!

The application portal will  open two weeks prior to the submission deadline. Only applications submitted in this period will be graded by the council. Please allow ten business days for decisions to be made about submitted proposals. Do NOT email any grant materials to the GSO. 

*This is the final deadline for the academic year. All requests for summer funding must be received by this date.

GRANT FAQ’s

The Graduate Student Professional Development Fund (GSPDF) is a competitive funding opportunity for graduate students at Georgia Southern University (GS) managed by the Graduate Student Organization (GSO). This grant is designed to financially support students in travel to program-related events and in thesis or dissertation-related research while attending GS. Funding is awarded first and foremost on merit. Applicants must demonstrate, in writing, how the opportunity will further growth in their chosen discipline and as a professional in their field. Funding for this opportunity comes from the GSO operating budget for the fiscal year (July-June). Limited funds are available and are awarded in two categories: Research and Travel.

There are two funding deadlines per semester in the academic year: September 17th, November 15th, February 15th, and April 8th. All funding submissions end at 5:00 PM EST the day of the deadline. Only one award per student per semester will be made. In an academic year, a student may only be awarded one research and one travel grant. Separate proposals must be submitted for research and travel grants. Submissions may be made by individuals only; no group submissions are accepted. All submitted grants must be novel and entirely separate from any other grants prior or present.

Items Funded (including but not limited to): Research related materials, supplies, travel (e.g., mileage to and from research site), etc. Maximum award: $850.00 (Masters candidates) or $1000.00 (Doctoral and Specialist candidates). Research grant proposals should be written to highlight the merits of the proposed research with respect to the student, the discipline, the university, and society.

Application for travel grants must be submitted no earlier than the semester before or no later than the semester after the travel event. If travel occurs during the summer, applications will be accepted during the spring and fall for the same year that travel occurs. Items Funded (including but not limited to): Travel related expenses to conferences or other program related events (e.g. mileage, airfare, conference fees). Maximum award: $625.00 (Masters candidates) or $850.00 (Doctoral and Specialist candidates). Travel grant proposals should be written to highlight the merits of the proposed travel with respect to the student, the discipline, the university, and society.

Eligible GSPDF applicants are:

1. Currently enrolled students in a degree-seeking program

The Graduate Student Professional Development Fund is a competitive funding source. Awards are NOT guaranteed they are based entirely on merit and the applicant’s ability to present, in writing, the requirements for the funding opportunity. Following the guidelines does not guarantee an award.

Due Dates:

Fall 2024 Deadlines – September 16, 2024 by 5 pm EST and November 15, 2024 by 5 pm EST
Spring 2025 Deadlines – February 17, 2025 by 5 pm EST and April 1, 2025 by 5 pm EST*

Apply Now!

The application portal will  open two weeks prior to the submission deadline. Only applications submitted in this period will be graded by the council. Please allow ten business days for decisions to be made about submitted proposals. Please email gso@georgiasouthern.edu with any questions. Do NOT email any grant materials to the GSO. 

Application Package Guidelines

The GSO must receive the completed online application package by the posted submission deadline. Please be sure to select your campus on the application.  Each submission should be written and edited at a graduate level. Students should work closely with their advisor or major professor to devise a project budget and prepare materials for submission. Students must submit independent and unique proposals even if attending the same conference or doing the same research as another student or colleague. Any proposal containing plagiarized material, including submissions of previous proposals, will be automatically rejected and will result in the student’s inability to be considered for any future GSPDF grants.  Applicants may only submit one travel grant and/or one research grant for each round of funding. Applicants who submit two or more travel grants, or two or more research grants, will not be considered for funding.

For more details on how the council grades based on the guidelines listed below, view this presentation here.

Proposal Components

1. Online GSPDF Application
2. One PDF or Word document that includes Narrative, Budget Justification, and References (4.0 MB or less).
3. Budget Worksheet – One Excel file 4.0 MB or less
4. Supplies, Minor Equipment, Instrumentation, and Facilities (if applicable) – include in narrative
5. Student Request for Authority to Travel Form (if applicable)
6. Human Subjects and Animal Use Form (if applicable)

Marking Proprietary Information

To the extent permitted by law, the University will not release properly identified and marked technical or proprietary data. If the proposal contains proprietary information, clearly mark this information within the proposal with an asterisk at the beginning and end of the proprietary paragraph. Utilize a legend if necessary. An entire proposal should not be marked proprietary. 

Item 1. Online GSPDF Application

Students should use their my.georgiasouthern.edu username and password to gain access. The narrative, budget justification, and references; supplies form; and budget worksheet should be uploaded into the corresponding sections of the GSPDF application. This form will contain all of your required materials and will be submitted electronically to finalize the process.

Item 2. Narrative, Budget Justification, and References (One Word or PDF document)

Failure to follow directions and formatting guidelines will result in an automatic rejection of your grant proposal submission.

1. Applicants should NOT include personal identifying information in their application (this includes references to your program director, faculty advisor, program faculty, etc.). All submissions are subject to blind review by the council.

2. Narrative may not exceed 800 words or 4.0 MB.  The narrative includes the summary, purpose/objectives, intellectual merit/significance, and procedures/methods.  The table with the schedule is not included in the word count.

3. 12-point readable font.

4. Include the following sections, as applicable, with the appropriate content within each section. Include the headings (listed below) for each section.

• SUMMARY
  Provide a summary of your research project or travel. Include all pertinent background information to properly introduce the travel event or research topic. Reminder: Your audience comes from a diverse group of graduate students, please write accordingly.
• PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
  Provide the goal(s) of the proposed research or travel, personal goals, hypotheses (if presenting or conducting research), and your expectations of the research or travel when applicable. If you are presenting during your travel, please give a brief description of your presentation.
• INTELLECTUAL MERIT/SIGNIFICANCE
  State why this research or travel is important to the greater community and how it contributes a deeper understanding of the proposed subject matter.
• PROCEDURES/METHODS (Research Proposals ONLY)
  Briefly outline the methodology and/or techniques that will be used to successfully conduct your research. Include supplies, minor equipment, instrumentation, and facilities information.
• SCHEDULE (Not included in 800 word limit.)
  Include a schedule in table format outlining key components of your research or travel.

Research: Include expected landmark dates, time frames, and goals.
Travel: Include a link to the entire conference itinerary and a provisional personal schedule of events to be attended. If no schedule is presently available at the time of your application, state that one is not available and include your departure and return dates.

Budget Justification

Provide rationale in paragraph form for all items outlined within the budget. Explain in detail the need for each item in order to attain the project or travel objective(s) and reflect the current cost of each item (these costs should match your budget worksheet). If traveling to a conference, reference the conference website for associated costs. If requesting per diem (e.g. meals, lodging, mileage) reference the official per diem reimbursement rates from the U.S. General Services Administration website.

Budgets must be contained within a single fiscal year and expenditures must be made within the fiscal year (July-June). Research funds can be used over the course of the fiscal year awarded. A final travel report must be received within 14 business days after the requested travel dates (see below). All budgets and transactions must comply with Georgia Southern University expenditure policies. Reimbursement will be limited to the items on the original accepted budget. Any modifications to the original budget must be submitted to and approved by the GSPDF Committee. Please keep in mind that the Maximum Research award is $850.00 (Masters candidates) or $1000.00 (Doctoral and Specialist candidates); and the Maximum Travel award is $625.00 (Masters candidates) or $850.00 (Doctoral and Specialist candidates).  

For help understanding how to calculate the correct GSA per diem rates, use this “Per Diem Tool.” Information about in-state travel can be found on the State Accounting Office’s website. 

Allowable Costs (including but not limited to):

• Meals and Lodging – Grant recipient’s name must be included on the hotel reservation. These cost of meals will be determined by the national per diem rate found U.S. General Services Administration website (GSA).
• Airfare – Only coach class will be reimbursed.
• Mileage – This will be reimbursed based on the current, state-approved mileage reimbursement rate. Only the person owning the vehicle will be awarded funds. The appropriate GSA per diem travel rates can be found here. Please note that travel costs are different if you are driving a personally owned vehicle or a government owned vehicle. DO NOT submit the cost of gas, only submit the GSA per diem mileage rates.
• Parking and Tolls – Use only low-cost long-term parking.
• Car Rental –This will only be approved if commercial transportation is not available or is more expensive.
• Conference Registration Fees
• Stationary, Supplies, and Duplicating Services

Unallowable Costs (including but not limited to):

• Hotel services – Such as laundry, valet services, safes, etc.
• Association Membership fees
• Personal telephone calls
• Entertainment
• Alcohol
• Electronics
• Gasoline reimbursement

References

Provide a comprehensive listing of relevant references for research and travel grant proposals. All borrowed material included in the proposal should contain a citation to the source. Please ensure all content in your proposal is cited in text and within the Reference section of the application. Plagiarized material will be automatically rejected and will result in the student’s inability to be considered for any future GSPDF grants.

Item 3. Budget Worksheet

Complete the itemized budget request form located here.  Upload as 1 Excel file.  Do not include any identifying information in your worksheet. Do not save your the budget worksheet file with your name on it. 

Item 4. Supplies, Minor Equipment, Instrumentation, and Facilities (if applicable)

Funding to support research costs may be requested when costs are not already budgeted and accounted for within other funding sources, such as departmental budget or external grants/contracts of the faculty advisor. In most cases, limited funding precludes the purchase of computers or basic computer equipment or software. For requests involving instrumentation and equipment, provide a description that specifies the availability and location of existing equipment, instrumentation, and physical facilities necessary to complete the research and provide a justification for why current University facilities are inadequate.

Requests must justify the need for equipment and instrumentation in reaching the objective/goals of the student’s project and how it is essential in meeting the student’s research agenda. If research equipment is requested, please provide an instrument manufacture quote, as well as estimates for the continuing costs to operate and maintain the equipment and how these costs are to be covered. All equipment will remain property of Georgia Southern. Upload as 1 Word or PDF document.

Item 5. Human Subjects and Animal Use Form (if applicable)

If you need human subject approval, via the Institutional Review Board (IRB), or animal use approval, via the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), you must include documentation. If IRB or IACUC approval has not been received at the time of submission, there must be a plan for such approval described within the proposal. If the proposal is funded, approval must be secured before funds are disbursed to the awardee.

IRB forms are located here, and IACUC forms can be found here.

Submission Instructions

All submissions are electronic. The applicant should ensure that they have completed, to the specifications laid out above, their application package. Once the application is complete the student must log on to the GSO website in order to submit a GSPDF proposal. Students should use their mygs username and password to gain access. The completion of the online form will require the input/upload of all application materials. Finalize your submission by selecting the submit button.

Review Criteria

Proposals are forwarded to the GSPDF Committee for review if they meet proposal preparation requirements as described above. Failure to adhere to the formatting outlined in the guidelines will result in a rejected proposal. Each proposal meeting all guideline criteria is reviewed by the committee and scored according to a grading rubric. The GSPDF Committee may recommend full funding or no funding. All submitted grant proposals must be novel and entirely separate from any other proposal. Reviewer comments will be provided for applicants following the determination of award. We encourage those with rejected proposals to resubmit to future funding rounds.

Award Administration

Awards are given in two formats: lump sum and reimbursements. Travel awards are given as a lump sum. Research awards may be given as a reimbursement for purchases or students may elect to work with the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies to make purchases. In either case, all purchases must be vetted and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies prior to purchases being made and all funds must be spent by May 1st so that they are allocated in the current fiscal year. Failure to spend requested funds will result in a loss of those funds. A one-page narrative of the experience must be scanned and submitted to the College of Graduate Studies no later than 14 business days after the travel or research has been completed (based on the submitted timeline).  Email to gso@georgiasouthern.edu.

Notification of the Award

Applicants will be notified of an award or denial via a formal letter via email from the GSO. Every effort is made to notify applicants of award decisions within 10 business days of the submission deadline.

Award Conditions

Students awarded a GSPDF award must submit a comprehensive final report (minimum of 1 page) within 14 business days of the conclusion of the travel or research. The final report should provide information on activities and findings and the effects on the student’s educational and professional life. Failure to submit this report will result in the inability to receive reimbursements or future funding.  Email to gso@georgiasouthern.edu.

Only budgeted and allowable costs may be incurred. Requests to alter the scope of work or to re-budget costs are strongly discouraged and must be presented in writing to the GSPDF committee. There is no guarantee that awardee requests for alterations in scope of work or budgets will be allowed.

For students traveling with GSPDF funding, the final travel report is due no later than 14 business days after the conclusion of travel.

For students conducting research with GSPDF funding, all purchases must spent prior to May 15 to comply with end-of-year fiscal deadlines. Any funding not used in the fiscal year in which it was awarded will be forfeited. Any and all supplies, consumables, equipment or other goods purchased under the GSPDF remain the property of Georgia Southern University to be retained and inventoried by the student’s home department.

GSPDF awarded presentations and publications should have the funding source acknowledged.

If you receive a grant related to international travel, you must complete the request for Authority to Travel form located here. No awarded funds will be dispersed until this form is received by the College of Graduate Studies. Research proposals that are requesting funds to travel should submit this form as well. Please secure all signatures and submit the Authority to Travel form to COGS.

If you have ANY questions about your grant proposal, kindly send a message to the Graduate Student Organization at gso@georgiasouthern.edu. Please enter your campus in the subject line of your email. We as a council do not have formal office hours, but arrangements can be made if necessary.