Purpose of Founders Fund Grants

The purpose of grants from this fund is to assist PhD students in the final stages of writing up their thesis (normally in their fourth year). Only BISA members are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to applicants who can demonstrate that the grant will help them to finish within the short to medium term (3-6 months) and who receive strong support from their supervisors. The key criteria are:

a) the academic quality of the PhD research;
b) the accuracy of the timetable for completion;
c) Financial need.

Grants can be of up to £500 and are intended to help with costs incurred in the final stages of the thesis (eg. fees, living or travel costs). The grants may not be used for funding fieldwork trips.

How To Apply

Applicants should email a letter of application to the BISA Treasurer; Hugh Dyer (h.c.dyer (at) leeds.ac.uk) copied to bisa (at) aber.ac.uk which should include the following information:

1. Name, Address, Institutional and Departmental affiliation and contact details;
2. BISA membership number;
3. Name of supervisor;
4. Thesis topic;
5. Statement in support of application, including details of what the grant would be used for and of existing sources of financial support (500 words).
6. In addition, applicants should ask their supervisor to email to Hugh Dyer (h.c.dyer (at) leeds.ac.uk) a statement of support.

Deadline

The deadline for this round of applications is: 1st October 2010.

Response to Applications

Successful applicants will be contacted via email. Applicants who have not heard anything by 1st November 2010 can assume that their application was not successful.

If you have any queries about any of the above, please contact Hugh Dyer on the email address given above.