Robert C. West and R.J. Russell Graduate Student Research Awards
In April 1981, the faculty in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University established the Robert C. West Graduate Student Field Research Fund to support thesis and dissertation field research and to honor Boyd Professor Robert C. West. Awards also were established from the R.J. Russell Fund to honor Professor Russell. Over 200 awards, averaging $200-$600, have been granted to help defray travel and subsistence expenses only. Awards are competitive and based on availability of funds and quality of applications.
Masters’ students often use Robert C. West or R. J. Russell funds for their thesis research. PhD students generally use the funds for exploratory or pilot research to help them develop a dissertation topic and leverage outside funding. MA students should consider additional funding opportunities such as Sigma Xi (LSU chapter and National). PhD students should consider NSF, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Fulbright, among others.
Deadlines
November 1 and April 1 (noon, CST, via online submission). The November 1 deadline is for research over the winter with report due the following April. The April 1 deadline is for work done over the summer, with a November 1 reporting deadline. Funds not expended by the reporting deadline must be returned.
Eligibility
Applicants must be currently registered Master’s or Ph.D. students in good standing in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at LSU and have their application approved by their advisor before submitting the application. Students may only receive one West/Russell award per graduate degree.
Application requirements
The student’s advisor must review and approve the proposal before it is submitted, and the student signs that this has been done. Funds are awarded for research specified in the proposal and may not be redirected for other research, without the signed approval of the Research and Scholarship Committee. Funds may not be used to pay outstanding fees/charges to LSU (e.g., library fines, parking tickets).
Selection process
The Research and Scholarship committee, including Faculty members in Anthropology and Geography appointed by the Department Chair will review applications and make awards, generally within 2 weeks of the application deadlines. The committee will decide if awards are to be made from the Robert C. West or the R.J. Russell funds and will notify the Dept. Graduate Secretary to allocate the funds to awardees.
Criteria for selection
Student proposals are judged on the basis of the following criteria, listed in order of importance:
- The scientific merit or quality of the proposed project;
- Organization and thoughtfulness of the proposed project;
- Appropriateness and feasibility of the field work and plan of study;
- The student’s background and qualifications.
Reporting Requirements
Award recipients are required to submit a brief report (500 words) summarizing their field research and describing how the funds were spent, along with photocopies of receipts. Deadlines for submission of the reports are April 1 and November 1 for projects funded in the fall and spring semesters, respectively. Recipients may also be asked to make a brief presentation (10-15 minutes) in the Department Friday Forum series.
Acknowledgement Requirements for Awards
Acknowledgement must be made in scholarly publications and presentations as well as graduate theses and dissertations from research supported by these awards. Required wording follows: “This research was funded in part by a Robert C. West (or R.J. Russell) Graduate Student Field Research Award from the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University.”
Your application should include:
1. Cover sheet with student’s name, advisor, degree program, title of project, amount requested, and statement that the student’s advisor has read and approved the proposal. The cover sheet also includes a section for project description, including goals and significance, methods, location of research, and description as well as a section for budget and itemizing travel costs. The cover sheet can be downloaded here.
2. References Cited: maximum one page
3. CV: maximum one page
For the budget justification, students should justify that they have found inexpensive travel options; state per-diem and gas mileage not allowed; use actual gas costs and food purchases, for example.
Application Deadline
Deadlines are March 1 and November 1 of each year. The March 1 deadline is for summer research. The November 1 deadline is for research over the winter break and spring.
How to Apply
Please email your cover sheet, one-page references cited, and one-page CV as a single pdf file to Dr. Michael Leitner (mleitne@lsu.edu).