Funds Available

Proposals will be evaluated by a committee assembled by the Dean of the Graduate School composed of members of the Graduate Council. One of the committee’s goals is to distribute awards to students with quality projects representing a wide variety of University departments. Funds will be provided to graduate students to participate in original research, creative, or artistic projects in which they have major responsibility.

Award Amounts:

• Individual student proposals chosen for support will each receive an award up to $2,000.
• Groups of up to three URI students may submit a proposal. If a Group Proposal is chosen for support, it will receive an award of up to $3,000.

What Funds May be Used for: Funds may be used to support travel to national, regional or international conferences (including registration fees for in-person or virtual conferences), to purchase items for specific projects, to defray publication costs, or for specific needs that the committee deems essential for a student’s development. Cost-sharing by departments and faculty sponsors is encouraged.

Reimbursements will not be provided for budget requests that have occurred prior to the awarding period.  

All EGRA projects require supervision by a faculty sponsor.

Questions about this program should be directed to Cara Mitnick, Director of Professional and Community Development, at cmitnick@uri.edu, referencing the subject line “EGRA and last name.”

How to apply

To apply for a grant, a student must submit the following:

• Project Budget: (Use one of the templates below)
  • Conduct Research Budget Template
  • Dissemination Research Budget Template
• Project Description (not to exceed 3 pages)
• 2-3 page CV or Resume
• Evidence of IRB/IACUC Approval (if applicable)
• Faculty Sponsor’s Faculty Support Form
  • Applicants will indicate the Faculty Sponsor’s email. Upon submitting your application, your Faculty Sponsor will receive an email containing a unique link to upload the form.

Below are the rubrics used to score EGRA proposals:
Conduct Research Rubric
Disseminate Research Rubric

2024 Application deadline is Sunday, October 20th.
Faculty Support Form due by Tuesday, October 22nd. 

EGRA Fall 2024 Applications Closed

Conditions

The awards have certain limitations:

• A graduate student, whether individually or as part of a Group Proposal, can receive only one EGRA grant in an academic year
• Funds may be used only to support projects which include original student research, creative, or artistic endeavors
• IRB or IACUC approval must be obtained before the start of the project, if applicable
• Use of these funds for incentives for research participation is strongly discouraged
• Students who received ERGA grants last year may apply again, however, preference will be given to those who have not received these awards previously.

Processing EGRA Award Funds

Award decisions will be made by November 29, 2024. Expenditure and reimbursement begins December 1, 2024. All funds must be expended and travel completed by November 30, 2025. Any funds remaining will not rollover and we cannot provide an extension. 

Processing the Award
The staff/faculty (typically the Fiscal Clerk or Business Manager) of the department processing a student’s EGRA expenses should obtain the EGRA award letter and approved budget form from the student. Click here to view the EGRA Award Procedure. 

Once the department processes expenses, copies of the Travel Arrangement, Expense Report, receipts, and supporting documents (all that are applicable) must be forwarded to the Graduate School addressed to Kathy Kantor at kathykantor@uri.edu. 

Deadlines to submit copies of travel and purchasing documentation:

• Expenses and travel conducted during December 1, 2024 – June 25, 2025 are due no later than by June 30, 2025.
• Expenses and travel conducted during July 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025 are due no later than by December 5, 2025.