Requirements

College/School Eligibility:

  • Graduate School

Class Year Eligibility:

  • N/A

Open to:

  • Cornell Graduate/Professional Students

How to Apply

To apply, please submit the following materials via email to Jewish Studies by February 15. Supporting documents should be sent as email attachments in one of the following file formats: .pdf; .doc; .docx; .xls; or .xlsx.

  • Application form signed by the applicant
  • A proposal (2 pages) that:
    • Describes the research plan, outlines the research methods, and details how the applicant plans to successfully carry out the project.
    • Provides an academic rationale for the project in clear, non-technical language.
    • Presents the project’s relevance and explains why the project should be supported.
    • Adheres to length and formatting requirements: maximum 2 pages, including references and figures; double-spaced; 12-point font; 1” margins.
  • A budget (1 page): Please provide a breakdown of funds requested, and a justification for expenses (Maximum 1 page). If the application is to support a larger project, please explain how the amount requested fits into the larger project and its budget; name the sources of the rest of the funding, and when decisions on this other funding will be known. Jewish Studies expects that applicants will search out reasonably-priced options. Budgets for travel should include individual estimated costs for equipment, services, big-ticket transportation items (e.g., air, train, or bus) and lodging. Please consult with Tracy Gavich for per diem rates for meals and incidental expenses for your research site, and for standard mileage rate for personal vehicle use if needed.
  • Cornell transcript including Fall 2022 grades (unofficial transcript is acceptable)
  • Letter of Support: For an applicant to be considered, the DGS or Chair of Applicant’s special committee must submit a brief letter of support. Recommenders are asked to provide a brief explanation of how the project relates to applicant’s goals and progress to degree, and to comment on the merits of the application. Letters of support (300-word maximum) should be emailed directly to Jason Mokhtarian by February 15.

Please direct any questions to the Director of the Jewish Studies Program Jason Sion Mokhtarian.

Information for Recipients

Final Report

Upon completion of the funded research, recipients must provide a written report, and 1-2 images of themselves in the field or involved in research activities. Reports (250-500 words) must be submitted no later than October 1 to Jewish Studies.

Promotion of the Grant Program

By accepting the grant, recipients give permission to the Jewish Studies program to share news about the award. Jewish Studies may include recipient photograph(s) and/or text from the final report on the Jewish Studies website, across its social media platforms, and in its promotion of the grant program.

Reporting Expenses

Funds received through the Jewish Studies Program may be received as an advance through the student’s Bursar Account (with receipts submitted after research is complete), as reimbursement for submitted receipts, through direct purchase of equipment and supplies, or as a combination of these methods. Successful applicants should meet with Tracy Gavich to make the necessary arrangements.

The Cornell University Accounting Office Requires Documentation for All Awards. Documentation accounting for all expenditures related to the award MUST be filed with Jewish Studies upon completion of fieldwork and return to Cornell University. For  summer projects, a full account of the funds spent must be submitted no later than October 1 to Jewish Studies. Any awardee who fails to provide adequate documentation, will be financially responsible for repaying all award amounts to the university.

Jewish Studies requires that awardees provide proof that Jewish Studies funds were used for approved academic purposes. For equipment, services, big-ticket transportation items, and lodging, individual receipts are necessary. For per diem meal and incidental expenses, Jewish Studies will need a statement about which days were spent on location; for personal vehicle use, we will need a list of days driven and daily mileage amounts. Awardees should not submit individual meal receipts, or receipts for gasoline purchases.

For expenses incurred outside the United States, should such travel be approved, awardees will need to provide a document with conversions to U.S. dollars for each individual receipt (using daily exchange rates). It may be easiest to provide Jewish Studies with a spreadsheet indicating dates, individual expenses, and U.S. dollar equivalents. An English translation must be provided for each receipt in a foreign language.

Please note that research and travel funds students receive as advances or reimbursement may be reported as taxable income.