Research budgets
Budgets may be prepared using a spreadsheet or word processing program.
Please prepare budgets using the following general cost categories, and provide brief explanations for the calculations of the proposed costs:
- Travel. Please break down costs further to the categories below, and provide dates, destinations, etc.:
- Airfare
- Lodging
- Meals and incidentals
- Other travel-related costs
- Consultant and professional services
- Supplies and materials
- Other costs
All items listed must be reasonable and necessary to accomplish the proposed research
Be comprehensive. Include all anticipated expenses and do not artificially inflate or deflate your total request because you think it will make your application more likely to be funded.
If you are not traveling, your budget can include living expenses and local costs for completing project.
Tips for travel budgets
Talk to another student who has traveled to or lived in your proposed destination already.
Do some research online when calculating your anticipated expenses, so that your budget can be as accurate as possible. You might check out the following resources for budget line items:
- Travel: Kayak, StudentUniverse.com, city- or country-specific transportation services.
- Housing: Airbnb, Craigslist, hostels, student apartments.
- Food/living: travel guides, expat sites.
- Travel-related expenses: government sites for visas, vaccinations, etc.
- Research-related expenses, including access to museums, copying fees at archives: Check venues’ individual websites.
Per diem rates for domestic travel may be found on the U.S. General Services Administration website.
Per diem rates for international travel may be found on the U.S. State Department website.