Budgets

Many graduate students have not been trained to think of research in monetary terms. Some may experience difficulties when outlining and justifying a budget. Do not fear, however! Presenting a budget is not as intimidating as it may seem!

In the event that you are applying for an award that requires internal institutional coordination, there are numerous campus resources at your service, including the Director of Graduate Research and Awards in the University Graduate School, as well as the Office of Research Administration.

Many grant budgets are very circumscribed, with the funder explicitly mentioning the costs that it will and will not cover in the request for proposals. Funders also tend to be explicit about the format in which they want to see the budget, i.e., a form, a table/chart, and/or a budget narrative describing the rationale for funds you have requested.

Resources

This set of guidelines on Budgeting (Part of The Holy Grail: In Pursuit of the Dissertation Proposal by Michael Watts), includes sound advice and a link to sample budgets.

Living expenses can be estimated based on actual costs of housing and food in the place you will be living during the term of a grant. But there are also established guidelines from a number of sources to estimate the costs of living for a specific place. Contact grant administrators if you are unsure of the appropriate guidelines for calculating living expenses.

Fulbright Hays Maintenance Allowances for 2016 (begins page 53; in US dollars) This document, created for Fulbright Hays dissertation applicants, lists monthly allowances deemed to adequately cover living expenses (housing, meals, utilities) in major cities around the world. If you do use these allowances as the basis for part of your own budget, it is customary to include a statement that indicates your source: "Based on the Fulbright Hays Maintenance Allowance for 2016."

Other sources for calculating your proposed living expenses:

Local university "cost of attendance" estimates. Here is the most recent estimate for living and studying in Bloomington. Similar estimates can be found through the financial aid offices of most American universities.
Department of State per diem rates for foreign countries. Note that there is a separate page for domestic travel.

For questions regarding budget planning, particularly for federal funding, contact ORA.

Budgets

Resources

Budget Examples

Determining Your Living Expenses

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