Sigma Delta Pi is pleased to announce its graduate research grant program for the summer of 2023 and the 2023-24 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 ABROAD to Spain, Spanish America or another region outside the U.S. where Spanish is spoken, and for the sole purpose of research related to Hispanic Studies. No more than five (5) total grants may be awarded in 2023 based upon the quality and depth of the pool of applications.
RULES GOVERNING THE RESEARCH GRANT COMPETITION
CRITERIA
To be eligible to receive one of the research grants, a graduate student must (minimal requirements):
(1) request support for research involving learning or teaching of Spanish language, linguistics, and/or Hispanic literature, culture, film or media;
(2) be an active (elected) member of Sigma Delta Pi;
(3) have a superior academic record;
(4) be enrolled on March 1, 2023 as a full-time graduate student;
(5) have earned grades in at least 6 semester or 9 quarter hours of graduate Spanish courses;
(6) be nominated in writing by the chapter adviser(s) of an active chapter of the institution where the applicant is currently enrolled.
(7) send the completed official application form together with all required documentation via e-mail by the stipulated deadline.
INELIGIBLE:
(1) Undergraduate students.
(2) Previous winners, regardless of whether they accepted or declined a graduate research grant.
(3) Proposals to travel to a country that is listed as either Level 3 or 4 by the U.S. Department of State (click here) may be permitted depending upon the warnings issued for the specific region/city proposed. The applicant must address these levels in their “Work Plan” of the “Research Proposal” of this application.
(4) Applicants whose transcripts do NOT reflect the national requirements for membership will be automatically disqualified.
OFFICIAL 2023-2024 APPLICATION FORM is closed
Applicants must complete the official online form: Graduate Research Grant Application. The faculty adviser of chapters with more than one applicant must complete the following Ranking Form.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
All applications and accompanying materials must be submitted online no later than 11:59:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), March 1, 2023. Those received after the deadline will be disqualified.
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 in April.
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 research ABROAD in Spain, Spanish America or another region outside the U.S. where Spanish is spoken, 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 his/her grant prior to his/her research trip, and the remaining half at the completion of their trip and after his/her photo and essay have been submitted (see below). Grants may not be used for any compensation related to the proposed research travel; this incudes paying research participants.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF WINNERS
Within two weeks after the completion of the period of their research trip, each grant recipient must send 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 his/her 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 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.