Marilyn Marrs Gillet International Travel Fellowship

Deadline: Monday, March 24, 2025, 11:59 PM

Program Description:

The Humanities Research Center awards competitive funding of up to $5,000 to graduate students in the School of Humanities who need to conduct research abroad over the summer. Awarded funds may be used for, but not limited to, travel to present papers at scholarly conferences, consult distant archives, interview scholars and authors, take courses, and/or participate in workshops.

Eligibility:

Current graduate students in the School of Humanities who will be enrolled as full-time students at Rice in the Fall 2025 semester are eligible to apply.

Application Materials:

1. Research project title

2. Research project description of no more than 500 words, including the following information:

  • Purpose and value of research travel (i.e., learning/professional objectives, why the research travel is critical for accomplishing your learning/professional objectives, and how the learning/professional objectives will be achieved through the research travel)
  • Area of research and dissertation title (if applicable)
  • Title of the conference paper and conference panel (if applicable)
  • Conference or professional opportunity name and relevant URL (if applicable)

3. Research project budget that indicates the anticipated use of the requested funds

  • Please use the BUDGET TEMPLATE (downloadable Excel spreadsheet) with your application for research travel
  • Student budgets must be as detailed as possible and can only include the following travel expenses:
    • Conference registration/membership
    • Airfare (including 1 checked bag, coach class, no seat upgrades)
    • Ground transportation
    • Lodging (up to $250/night)
    • $50 per diem for meals ($37.50/day for flight days to/from location)
    • Additional funding awarded or applied for in relation to your travel request (how much of it will cover your proposed budget, which expenses—if there are restrictions—etc.)
  • Budgets should not include the following: travel insurance, airline upgrades, data plans, clothing, electronics, wifi and wifi upgrades, and other incidentals
  • For a sample budget, please consult the example at https://humanities.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs2821/files/2021-06/Budget%20Sample%20Travel.pdf

4. Tentative travel itinerary, including the following information:

  • Country(ies) of destination
  • Projected travel dates
  • General overview of daily activities (e.g., day 1: travel, day 2: conference, day 3: archive visit, day 4: travel)

5. A list of ALL other fellowships, awards, and any and all funding (from any Rice department, center, or office, and from outside RIce) that you have applied for or have already received for summer 2025 (applications missing the list of additional funding will not be considered for awards)

6. Abbreviated CV (3 pages max)

7. Endorsement from advisor. The endorsement does not need to be a formal letter of recommendation. However, we ask that the advisor indicate that they have reviewed the proposal and budget and support this travel opportunity. We also encourage the advisor to note how this opportunity will contribute to the student's scholarly and professional development. The faculty member endorsing this proposal should upload their endorsement letter to the following Box folder by the application deadline: https://rice.app.box.com/f/4635b52539f94f6887de8e10563256fe.

Deadline: Monday, March 24, 2025, 11:59 PM

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

Questions? Please contact Dr. Gabriela Garcia at gabriela.garcia@rice.edu.

Post-Award Information

Travel registration: Per University Policy 852, university-sponsored international travel must be registered at https://travelregistry.rice.edu. International travel using award funds counts as university-sponsored international travel, so you must register your trip prior to departure.

Award disbursement: Students awarded funding will receive their award via direct deposit. Please make sure your direct deposit information is current in Esther and your address is current in iO.

Taxes: Awards above $600 in a calendar year are considered taxable income for U.S. citizens, nationals, and residents for tax purposes ("resident aliens"). Rice does not withhold taxes from the award payment for U.S. citizens, nationals, and residents for tax purposes. Taxes will be withheld from the award payment for international students ("nonresident aliens").

Rice travel policy: Students will not be required to submit an expense report post-travel and do not need to provide receipts after the trip. Please keep in mind that travel funds are to be used for official Rice University business only, in accordance with Rice University travel policy 806 (https://policy.rice.edu/806).

Award report: Within 30 days after the travel end date, students must submit a brief report (up to 1 page) summarizing the impact of the award on their research or professional development. Students will upload their reports to the following Box folder: https://rice.app.box.com/f/85fe8a5db1214351bbba0ba6b660d671.

Reports must be titled in the following format: LAST NAME, Proposal Title, Month Year (For example: SMITH, Rethinking the Mind in "Mindfulness," Aug 2019).

Failure to submit this report on time will render the student ineligible for subsequent funding.

2024 Fellows

Mariah A-K Bender

PhD student in History
Project: “Negotiating Freedom in Colonial Colombia and Panama”


Dallin Evans

PhD student in Art History
Project: “Arabic Immersion and Fatamid Precedents in Cairo”


Lauren Lovings-Gomez

PhD student in Art History
Project: “Materiality, Innovation, and Women Artists in Nineteenth-Century Britain”