EGSA Professionalization Fund

Description & Guidelines

Purpose and Sourcing of Fund: Each year, at least 75% of monies raised from EGSA's fall semester fundraising event will go toward the EGSA Professionalization Fund. In addition, if the EGSA general account balance is more than $700 at the end of the winter semester, all monies in excess of that amount will be transferred into the fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide financial grants to EGSA members to offset costs related to the professional or academic job market.

Grant Descriptions: The EGSA Professionalization Fund seeds three types of grants to be distributed on a yearly basis. Listed below are general descriptions of each of the types of grants offered.

Professionalization Grants offset the costs of entering or re-entering the professional or academic job market. Acceptable uses of the grant are limited to travel expenses for job interviews, and travel expenses for prospective graduate school interviews or campus visits. Any appropriate travel that occurs during the academic year of application will be considered (i.e., Fall 2004, Winter 2005, or Summer 2005). Grants will be awarded up to $200 each.

Travel Presentation Grants reimburse members for general travel costs related to academic or professional work and are meant to supplement the existing on-campus sources for graduate student travel funding (GSA, GPC, CAH, Graduate School). Grants will be awarded up to $200 each.

Postage Reimbursement Grants offset mailing costs for either job application materials or creative/critical works (manuscripts, essays, articles, poetry, etc.). Application and contest fees will also be considered eligible for reimbursement under this grant. Grants will be awarded up to $150 each.

The EGSA Professionalization Fund Committee retains the right to change the grant award amount depending on the circumstances of each year. The number of grants available may also vary depending on the amount of money raised during the fall semester fundraiser.

Eligibility Guidelines: The following people are eligible to receive an EGSA Professionalization Grant: MU EGSA members who have attended at least two regular EGSA meetings during the academic year of their application, or who have actively served and maintained their duties as an EGSA committee representative, EGSA chair (elected or appointed), or EGSA officer during the academic year of their application. Justifiable reasons to exempt an applicant from the above criteria (such as inability to attend EGSA meetings due to a class or committee meeting) should be stated by the applicant in his or her application letter, and will be considered by the Professionalization Fund Committee. All graduate students currently enrolled in the department of English are members of EGSA.

Only expenses incurred during the academic semester of application will be considered. Therefore, students should apply as early as possible.

Application Process: Applicants should write a letter to the EGSA Professionalization Fund Committee specifying the type of grant requested, his or her need for the grant money, how the funds will be used, his or her participation in EGSA during the academic year, and any other relevant information. Additional application requirements are listed below by grant type.

Professionalization Grants:

Documentation verifying travel should be attached to the letter, including (but not limited to) the following:

1.  a paper copy of the email or letter from the institution/company, in which the institution/company requests an interview with the applicant

     OR

     a paper copy of an acceptance letter from the prospective graduate program

2.  a paper copy of the email or letter from the applicant to the institution/company affirming that he or she has agreed to travel to be interviewed and/or visit the institution

3.  any appropriate travel documentation (i.e., paper copies of flight reservations and/or hotel reservations, and/or gas receipts for post-dated travel).

Conference Presentation Grants:

Receipts - air, car, hotel, registration - must be submitted with the application letter along with the following:

1. a program or from the conference, indicating the panel in which you participated
2. an abstract or description of the piece presented
3. a list of the other organizations from whom you have requested funding, including status (pending, denied, accepted $x)

Postage Reimbursement Grants:

Original postal receipts accompanied by a document indicating title of piece/application, recipient, date posted, applicable fees, and postage amount for each mailing. (Note: Applicants buying stamps in bulk should include the original receipt and indicate the amount or number of stamps eligible for reimbursement.)

Any questions regarding the application guidelines or requirements should be directed to the EGSA Treasurer, Claire Schmidt.

Applications are due to the Professionalization Fund Committee by December 1, May 1, or August 1, depending on semester of travel. Copies of the application, including supporting documents, should be placed in the EGSA Treasurer's mailbox by the appropriate date. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Decision Process and Priority:   The Professionalization Fund Committee will consist of the EGSA President, the EGSA Vice President, and the EGSA Treasurer. After applications have been received, the Committee will meet by the last week of the semester to determine the grant recipients. The Committee will announce the grant recipients at the following regular EGSA meeting in order to insure such information is recorded in the EGSA minutes. By the end of the semester, the EGSA Treasurer should distribute checks to the grant recipients.

Grants will be awarded according to the following priority:

1. the above criteria of membership/meeting attendance and appropriate grant use,
2. valid documentation,
3. first-time application, and
4. seniority.

Depending on the pool of applicants and the criteria above, the Professionalization Fund Committee shall determine the type and number of awards granted in a given year.

If a member of the Professionalization Fund Committee has applied for a grant, then his or her position on the Committee will be forfeited and replaced with another member of the EGSA Executive Board.  Appeals about the Committee's decisions on grant recipients can be made to the EGSA Mediator, Juliette Paul. 

updated: Thursday, September 25, 2008 9:04 AM

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