Sigma Delta Pi is pleased to announce its graduate research grant program for the summer of 2012 and the 2012-13 academic year. An eligible graduate student who is an active member of Sigma Delta Pi may apply for one grant of up to $2000 to support travel to Spain or Spanish America for the sole purpose of research related to Hispanic Studies. No more than four total grants may be awarded in 2012 based upon the quality and depth of the pool of applications.
CRITERIA
To be eligible to receive one of the research grants, a graduate student must meet the following minimal requirements: :
(1) must specialize in Hispanic Studies;
(2) must be an active (elected) member of Sigma Delta Pi;
(3) must have a superior academic record;
(4) must be enrolled on February 1, 2012 as a full-time graduate student;
(5) must have earned grades in at least 6 semester or 9 quarter hours of graduate Spanish courses;
(6) must be nominated in writing by the chapter adviser;
(7) must submit five copies of a fully completed official application form together with all required documentation.
Undergraduate students are not eligible for the research grants.
OFFICIAL APPLICATION FORM.
Applicants must use the official form included in the following downloadable application packet: 2012 Graduate Research Grant Application Packet. The faculty advisor of chapters with more than one applicant must complete the following Ranking Form.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS.
All applications must be postmarked not later than February 1, 2012. Those postmarked after this date will not be considered.
JUDGING APPLICATIONS.
Working independently and with a given set of criteria, the judges will select the winners. Their decision will be final.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS.
Winners will be notified around April 1, 2012.
USE OF RESEARCH GRANTS.
Sigma Delta Pi research grants MUST be used solely for the purposes stated in the awardee's original application (e.g., for study in Spain or Spanish America, exact location[s], length of time specified, etc.) and for research purposes only. Permission will not be granted to alter the originally proposed research plan. Sigma Delta Pi's research grants are non-transferable. Each awardee will receive half of the amount of their grant prior to their research trip, and the remaining half at the completion of their trip and after their photo and essay have been submitted (see below).
RESPONSIBILITIES OF WINNERS.
Within two weeks after the completion of the period of their research trip, each grant recipient must send via e-mail to Dr. Mark P. Del Mastro (delmastromp@cofc.edu) a passport-style photograph (full face profile in .jpg or .gif format) and an essay (Word format) of approximately 200 words in Spanish reporting on their research trip and the related work completed. The photo and essay will be published in the subsequent issue of Sigma Delta Pi's annual journal, Entre Nosotros. See Guidelines for Essays.
Awardees unable to undertake the research made possible by the grant must inform the Executive Director (delmastromp@cofc.edu) immediately and return any funding already received.
If the Chair of the Graduate Research Grant Competition and/or a judging committee member is also a chapter adviser, then their chapter is eligible for no more than one (1) graduate research grant. An exception may be made if 1) the number of applicants is less than the number of available awards and/or 2) the Executive Director, in consultation with the President, concludes that the quality of the applicant pool is deficient.