Scholarships & Field Studies Awards
There are a number of opportunities in the department to apply for a Scholarship or Field Studies Award. These are two distinctly different things. Scholarships are funds that help defray from the costs of education and living expenses. Field studies awards are funds that help you pay for your research (extra study at external facilities, lab analysis, sample processing, equipment, travel, conference presentations, etc.).
Each year these awards are given to students who apply through the Scholarship Finder program on MNSU’s website. BEFORE you apply for any of these, you need to discuss with your application or intent to apply with your advisor. They will need to be aware of what you intend to apply for and why. This is because they will be your advocate to support you in trying to get these awards. The faculty in the Department of Geography will convene in the spring semester to decide on who gets these awards based on the quality, need presented, and merit of each proposal/application. If you do not have a faculty member with knowledge of your application for these awards, someone who can advocate for you and your application, than you will likely not receive the award. Again, please discuss your application and intent with your advisor.
To apply for these awards, please do the following:
1) Be sure to be very, very clear in your application about whether you are applying for a Scholarship or a Field Studies Award.
2) If you are applying for a Scholarship, make sure you follow the guidelines and requirements asked for in each award. These will be visible in the Scholarship Finder page for these awards.
3) If you are applying of a Field Studies Award, make sure you follow the guidelines and requirements asked for in each award. These will be visible in the Scholarship Finder page for these awards.
a) In addition, make sure you include a budget. This should be in table format that lists the expenses you will have (things you need money for) in the first column, the costs for each of those things in the second column, and whether these costs are DIRECT or DEPARTMENT SUPPORT costs in the third column (details on these costs below).
i. Your budget should clearly designate what costs you will personally pay for. Please label these as DIRECT COSTS in your budget. These DIRECT COSTS include personal vehicle mileage, per diem (i.e. daily meal expense per university established costs), and individual room/lodging/camping. Your budget should also clearly designate what costs the department will pay for to support you. Please label these as DEPARTMENT SUPPORT COSTS. All other costs likely qualify as these types of costs. Department support costs are paid for by the department and reimbursed from the foundation account that grants your award. In other words, you will not receive this money but the department will handle the budget and expense in order to make things simple for you. It also provides educational and tax free discounts in order to allow you to do more with your awarded funds for research!
ii. You MUST work with your advisor to determine what is DIRECT and what is DEPARTMENT SUPPORT cost in your budget. This is required in order to receive a Field Studies Award.
iii. This is the table we use to define what is potentially DIRECT and DEPARTMENT SUPPORT costs in your budget. Do not assume you have it figured out, though. PLEASE discuss your budget and review it with your advisor:
iv.
|
Expense |
Financial Aid |
Payment Process |
|
Individual Mileage/Per Diem |
Y |
Student Account |
|
Coordinated Travel/Mileage/ University vehicle rental/Per Diem |
N |
FD1400 - Department |
|
Individual Room/Board/Lodging/Camping |
Y |
Student Account |
|
Coordinated Room/Board/Lodging/Camping |
N |
FD1400 - Department |
|
Lab Analysis/Supplies/Fees |
N |
FD1400 - Department |
|
Equipment/Instrumentation/Misc. research expenses |
N |
FD1400 - Department |
|
Training sessions at peer-institutions and/or laboratories |
N |
FD1400 - Department |
b) In addition, make sure you include a timeline for your work. This should include when you will conduct your work, when expenses will be incurred, and what outcomes you will have from it and when those outcomes will occur.
c) Every Field Studies Award application should be discussed with your advisor and the application should be examined by your advisor before you submit. Your advisor should work with you to make sure your budget, timeline, and written descriptions/narrative are of high quality and are clear in their intent. Failure to work with an advisor on this will result in you not receiving the award you applied for. MAKE SURE YOU WORK WITH YOUR ADVISOR BEFORE YOU SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR FIELD STUDIES AWARDS!!!!
Following evaluation of your application, you will be notified if you have received a Scholarship or Field Studies Award. Scholarships will be directly distributed to you, via the Financial Aid Office. Field Studies Awards will have DIRECT costs distributed to you via the Financial Aid Office. DEPARTMENT SUPPORT COSTS will remain in the foundation account and the Department of Geography can access those funds for you. You and your advisor should keep all receipts and maintain a budget to keep track of all expenses in Field Studies Awards. You will need to give all receipts for expenses to the administrative assistant in the Department of Geography.”
