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Non-Departmental Sources of Funding

Fellowship Support

• National Science Foundation Fellowships: available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, including students completing their 1st year in a Ph.D. program. Deadline is in early November. For information, and to apply on-line, go to www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/.
• Northwestern University Presidential Fellowships. This is Northwestern's most prestigious award, and covers tuition and stipend for two years. Typically, applicants will be in their fourth year. For information and an application form, go to The Graduate School's Web Site. Deadline is in late November. However, nominations are made by the Department. The Department can nominate a maximum of two candidates, so students need to get their materials to the Department by mid October.
• Northwestern University Transportation Center Dissertation Year Fellowships offer a stipend plus 503 tuition award to eligible students who are in the final twelve months of their thesis research. Research in the area of transportation, broadly defined, and public utilities is eligible. For information see Diana Marek at the Transportation Center, 600 Foster Street, Third Floor. Deadline is the end of March.

Funding for Research-Related Expenses

Graduate Research Grants are provided by The Graduate School to support research activities, including acquisition of data and travel. Maximum one-time grant: $3,000. Applications must be received by the Director of Graduate Studies, and not sent directly to The Graduate School, by October 10, January 10 and April 10. Awards will be announced 6 weeks after receipt of applications. For information and an application form, go to The Graduate School's Web Site.

Funding for Research-Related Travel

Students frequently find it necessary to undertake travel related to their research, to gather data or to present their work at conferences. Northwestern has several resources available to assist students who must finance such trips.

• The first step students should take after learning that they need to finance a trip is to contact their dissertation advisor. The purpose of this contact is two-fold: (1) advisors often have discretionary funds at their disposal that can be used to underwrite some of the costs associated with student travel, and this possibility should be explored before proceeding further in search of funds; and (2) subsequent steps in the process of acquiring funds require the endorsement of the student's advisor. If a student in need of funds for travel has not yet acquired a dissertation advisor, the very first step in acquiring such funds should be acquiring a dissertation advisor.
• If the advisor's resources are insufficient to defray the full cost of the trip, the student should apply for a Graduate Research Grant from The Graduate School. These are one-time grants of up to $3,000, and are awarded three times each year. More information and the necessary forms are provided above. The application requires the endorsement of both the advisor and the Department. Completed forms should be forwarded to the Director of Graduate Studies and not sent directly to The Graduate School.
• The Graduate School also has funds available for attending conferences. For information and an application form, go to The Graduate School's Web Site. Deadline is two months before the conference. Students may apply once a year. The maximum grant is $700. The application requires the endorsement of both the advisor and the Department. Completed forms should be forwarded to the Director of Graduate Studies and not sent directly to The Graduate School.
• In cases where the combined resources of the advisor and the Graduate School are insufficient, the Department may provide additional resources, with the following restrictions: (1) departmental funds can be used only for domestic travel; (2) the student must have entered candidacy by the time the application to the department is made; and (3) the student must have applied for funds from his/her advisor and from The Graduate School.