Provost Visiting Scholar Award

1. Students’ proposals should describe how their proposed research experience will be used to develop their PhD dissertation project, or other terminal degree capstone project, in order to be competitive for external funding opportunities. In rare instances, we will consider funding for more senior students whose projects have changed direction.
2. Students will be required to state their plans for seeking external funding and the potential granting agencies or foundations that they will target after the conclusion of the award.
3. Inter- and multi-disciplinarity are encouraged, but not required.
4. Students will be required to submit a statement of financial need justifying the use of funds, if awarded. The justification will be particularly important when the applicant is from a well-funded research group.

• Projects should be conceived as exploratory or a stepping stone for garnering larger external funding.
• Inter- and multi-disciplinarity is encouraged.
• The prospective recipient must be a full-time graduate student in good academic standing pursuing a PhD or terminal master’s degree with a capstone or thesis component. The graduate program must be under the auspices of the Graduate College. Ineligible programs include (but are not limited to) DMD, DPharm, DPT, DrPH, LLM, JD, MBA, MD, MEng, and MPH  (unless in a joint-degree in an eligible program). Past winners are not eligible.
• Regardless of FTE, an individual with an Academic Professional (AP or BA), a Civil Service (CS), or an Extra Help (HP) position at the time of appointment is ineligible.
• Recipients of the Provost Graduate Research Award (PGRA) are ineligible for the PVSA.
• The faculty mentor must support the proposed work.

Criteria:

• Project’s merit and research outcome goals during period of support.
• Plans for seeking external funding to complete the larger thesis/dissertation project.
• Extent to which the applicant justifies financial need and the use of funds.
• Record of academic performance and professional accomplishments, as attested to by the CV, and letters of endorsement.

Procedure:

The award amount will be $1,000 for projects within a 90-mile radius of 601 S. Morgan Street; $5,000 for greater distances. There are no renewals nor deferrals. Students may not win this award (or its predecessor, the PGRA) more than once. Funds are disbursed directly to the student—not to the department—except in rare and specific cases. Departments may NOT reduce a student’s funding package; this is a supplemental award.

Taxation

The stipend portion of the award may be taxable income; however, per guidelines set by the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), the University is not responsible for withholding or reporting income taxes on fellowship payments.

Fellows do not receive a W-2 for their fellowship income nor does the University report the fellowship payment as taxable income to either the state or federal government. However, the University is required to report fellowships to the IRS for informational purposes on Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement. Taxability of the fellowship payment is a matter between the Fellow and the IRS.

More information on taxation of fellowships can be found in IRS Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education (PDF), or by calling 1-800-829-3676.

Students who are obtaining federal loans from Financial Aid: Obtaining a fellowship WILL significantly affect your financial aid eligibility. Check with the Office of Student Financial Aid on eligibility requirements and for further information.

Compliance

I would strongly encourage you to reach out to Patricia Pfister, Export Control Compliance Officer, in the Office of Research Integrity to discuss your research and any potential export control compliance licensing requirements.

In addition, OIS would need to know if the international student plans to return to the U.S. from their home country to complete their degree.  If so, then they would be limited to 5 months abroad to maintain visa status.  A longer duration may restart the immigration clock and return to the U.S. with an initial I20.  This could impact their ability to apply for OPT.

• IRS Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education
• UIC Financial Aid
• Travel Saftey
• Form 1040-ES
• Tax Benefits for Education

The student collects and compiles the required documents and submits them to their academic degree program for review. The DGS will review the application and submit it to the Graduate College by the submission deadline.  Incomplete applications, and those exceeding the page limits, will not be considered. Students do NOT submit materials directly to the Graduate College.

Applicant Transmittal Form
The first step in completing the actual application is for the student to fill out the Transmittal Form, which will be submitted with the application packet. Information provided must include: student and mentor contact information, project title and description, and approvals/clearances checklist. Other information may be required. See the form below for details.

DGS Transmittal Form
The Director of Graduate Studies completes this brief form. See below.

Mentor Agreement Form
The applicant should direct their faculty mentor to the Mentor Agreement Form. The faculty mentor completes this form and sends it to the student to include with the other application documents.

Statement of Research Goals and Project Description (2 pages single-spaced)

Applicants should include these sections in their statement:

1. Background to place the research problem in context and the significance of the research project in the field. (~1/3 page)
2. Overarching project or question (this might be the thesis/dissertation topic). (~1/3 page)
3. Specific aims of research in funded period. (~1/3 page)
4. Research plan or approach for each specific aim or research goal during the funding period. Include in this section a statement of why these aims/goals need to be completed for the larger thesis/dissertation project to succeed. (~1 page)

Although not required, references (end notes, citations) and/or relevant images may appear on ONE separate page. This page will NOT count toward the page limitations. Furthermore, it is recommended that applicants write to an educated layperson since one or more reviewers will likely be from a different field/department. Suggested layout: one-inch margins, single-spaced text in a standard 10-12 sized font. 

Plans for Future Funding and Justification of Financial Need (1 page)
The applicant should report their current funding situation, provide a brief statement justifying financial need for the award, and lay out future plans for external funding during the duration of the thesis/dissertation/capstone project.

Résumé or CV (Limit of 3 pages)
Include previous and current research experience, professional accomplishments (i.e., awards, honors, publications, presentations). Applicants are strongly encouraged to mention their qualifications (coursework; methods; linguistic competence; previous experience; etc.) for the proposed project if relevant.

Two (2) letters of recommendation, of which one letter must be from the faculty mentor who will direct the project. These confidential documents should be sent to the DGS or staff for collation and inclusion in the application.

The Director of Graduate Studies reviews the application package electronically submitted to the program by the student. The DGS completes the Director of Graduate Studies Transmittal Form (fillable form), adding it as the cover page. The PDF file must be submitted to the Graduate College using the secure Box email link. Provost.g23f1rcymth7az1r@u.box.com

• Save the forms/documents listed above as one single PDF per nominee.
• The PDF files should be saved using the following naming convention: PVSA_YearofCompetition_DepartmentName_NomineeLastNameFirstInitial.pdf. For example, Chuck Baudelaire’s application from History: PGRA_2024_Hist_BaudelaireC.pdf
• Do not use spaces in the pdf name.

• *NOTE:  The department/program reviews and submits documents to the Graduate College prior to the deadline. Student should consult their program regarding internal deadlines. 

Winners will be announced by January 15, 2025.

1. Which terminal master’s degree programs are eligible? For this competition, UIC’s terminal master’s programs are: Architecture (MArch; MS); Architecture in Health Design (MS); City Design (MCD); Civic Analytics (MS); Design Criticism (MA); Biomedical Visualization (MS); Environmental & Urban Geography (MA); Forensic Science (MS); Forensic Toxicology (MS); French and Francophone Studies (MA); Graphic and Industrial Design (MDes); History (MAT); Latin American & Latino Studies (MA); Moving Image, New Media Arts, Photography, Studio Arts (MFAs); Museum and Exhibition Studies (MA); Occupational Therapy (MS); Spanish (MAT). Students in professional programs and/or programs not under the auspices of the Graduate College are ineligible.

2. Are international students eligible? Yes.

3.  How/where do I submit? See the email button at the bottom of this page. If your email client is not configured correctly, right-click for the email address.

4. Is there a naming convention for the single PDF? Of course! PVSA_2024_PgmAbbrev_LastnameF.pdf, e.g., PVSA_2024_Hist_BaudelaireC.pdf for Chuck Baudelaire, a fictional doctoral student in history.

5. How many nominees can our program put forward? Currently, there is no maximum.

6. Do evaluators provide feedback? Indeed, this is the rare funding mechanism in which we expect evaluators to provide qualitative feedback.

7. Is the award taxable? It may be; however, we are not tax experts. Visit https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf for more information.

8. I’m a prospective donor and wish to underwrite this competition — can you help me? Of course. Contact Benn Williams, Fellowships and Awards Coordinator, bwilli7@uic.edu

Additional questions?  Contact Benn Williams, Fellowships and Awards Coordinator, bwilli7@uic.edu with any questions.

• PVSA Applicant Transmittal
• PGRA DGS Transmittal
• PVSA Mentor Agreement