Wenner Gren 2014

[SoundandVision]

rejected as well.  score was 2.7 as well.  I think you need pretty close to 1 to get funded.  Who's reapplying for Nov 1?

I'm reapplying in November...Now the fun begins.

[CrunchCrunch]

I'm reapplying in November...Now the fun begins.

At least we have this forum for support...Good luck.  

[deucalion]

Has anyone received the official decision in the mail? 

[farflung]

Has anyone received the official decision in the mail? 

Someone reported receiving an official letter on the Dissertation Fellowships Wiki. http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Dissertation_Fellowships_2015-2016?diff=437475&oldid=prev

[farflung]

Hey to all who are reapplying or have reapplied in the past...

So, I'm working on my resubmission statement and in it I have elaborated on aspects of my research in response to the comments I received. However, I haven't made huge overhauls of the proposal itself. Overall, my feedback did not ask for any major theoretical revisions or restructuring of the research plan...it was mostly: talk more about X in your lit review, introduce your research questions earlier, or be more specific about your recruitment strategy...smallish changes when looking at the proposal as a whole. I feel like I'm mostly addressing these but I'm nervous that I'll be docked for not changing enough of my proposal.

Any advice? Anyone in a similar boat?

 

Hi! I have reapplied to W-G in the past with no success. I know the struggle of writing that resubmission statement.

I read my comments from Oct 2014 as being oriented toward the proposal (like you said - things like bringing up certain scholars in the lit review, when to introduce research questions) rather than toward the project design itself (redo the methods, rethink proposed field sites, etc). When I rewrote and submitted for May 2015, I talked about the many changes I made to the proposal and how I thought the proposal better represented my dissertation's potential.

At least one of my reviewers was NOT pleased. Apparently reworking the proposal wasn't enough -- they thought the project itself should have been redesigned from the ground up. I was kind of shocked. Wenner-Gren is the only agency that's read my proposal (and I've submitted to MANY) that seemed to expect me to scrap my entire project design and rethink the theoretical underpinnings of my dissertation upon resubmitting a grant proposal. 

All of this is just to say - be careful! Make sure the comments are really oriented toward the proposal/your narrative framing and not basic things about the project. It's a blurry line for sure! If comments are oriented toward project design or the value of doing the proposed research at all, you'll need to fight hard in that resubmission statement to defend its worth. 

[meteor71131]

Hello all, 

I am new to here and just have a question regarding the "start date" for applying the dissertation grant that I would like to learn from you guys. From Wenner Gren's application form, it states that "start date must fall between July 1 and December 31, 2016"

I was wondering if everyone really waits until the results or if it is OK to start the project earlier and reimburse the expense later if funded. I was also wondering if most of you apply these dissertation grants before comprehensive exam or are there anyone who is already ABD but still trying to get funding? 

Thanks!!

Edited October 28, 2015 by meteor71131

[farflung]

Hello all, 

I am new to here and just have a question regarding the "start date" for applying the dissertation grant that I would like to learn from you guys. From Wenner Gren's application form, it states that "start date must fall between July 1 and December 31, 2016"

I was wondering if everyone really waits until the results or if it is OK to start the project earlier and reimburse the expense later if funded. I was also wondering if most of you apply these dissertation grants before comprehensive exam or are there anyone who is already ABD but still trying to get funding? 

Thanks!!

Good question. In my experience it's definitely ok to start your research before July 2016. Your project, your timeline. 

HOWEVER, I don't think Wenner Gren will fund anything you do before 7/1, so you can't expect reimbursement for travel/living/research expenses incurred before that date. They have books to keep, so I seriously doubt they are in the habit of reimbursing for expenses not in their grant cycle timelines. If you're traveling in May 2015 regardless of whether you have the grant, then go ahead and plan to foot the bill some other way until July. In your budget and research design, you should clarify which months/phases of your project that you're requesting funding for from WG. I've done this for multiple grant agencies (only requested 12 months funding for a 16 month total research timeline, for example. but always within the designated timeline of each particular grant).

Hope that helps! You could always call their office to double check.

Also-- on the ABD vs pre-comps question-- I think most people hope to get a grant by the time they are ABD. Doesn't always work out! I have applied for grants as a candidate. I am in the field now so am no longer applying.

 

Edited October 29, 2015 by farflung

[meteor71131]

Good question. In my experience it's definitely ok to start your research before July 2016. Your project, your timeline. 

HOWEVER, I don't think Wenner Gren will fund anything you do before 7/1, so you can't expect reimbursement for travel/living/research expenses incurred before that date. They have books to keep, so I seriously doubt they are in the habit of reimbursing for expenses not in their grant cycle timelines. If you're traveling in May 2015 regardless of whether you have the grant, then go ahead and plan to foot the bill some other way until July. In your budget and research design, you should clarify which months/phases of your project that you're requesting funding for from WG. I've done this for multiple grant agencies (only requested 12 months funding for a 16 month total research timeline, for example. but always within the designated timeline of each particular grant).

Hope that helps! You could always call their office to double check.

Also-- on the ABD vs pre-comps question-- I think most people hope to get a grant by the time they are ABD. Doesn't always work out! I have applied for grants as a candidate. I am in the field now so am no longer applying.

 

Thank you so much for your detailed response, Farflung! It is really helpful. I actually haven't applied this one because I didn't notice this one until a couple of days ago. I totally understand that most people hope to get a grant by the time they are ABD so that they can start the project during the final stage. However, sometimes it is hard for people to have a clear research idea, timeline and budget almost 1 or 2 years ago before ABD. For those who don't get funded by the time they are ABD, do they keep trying or just spend their own money? I wish I would have learned more about all this earlier.... 

[meteor71131]

I have another question. I was wondering if grantees need to provide itemized receipt with the grant report? Thanks! 

[farflung]

Thank you so much for your detailed response, Farflung! It is really helpful. I actually haven't applied this one because I didn't notice this one until a couple of days ago. I totally understand that most people hope to get a grant by the time they are ABD so that they can start the project during the final stage. However, sometimes it is hard for people to have a clear research idea, timeline and budget almost 1 or 2 years ago before ABD. For those who don't get funded by the time they are ABD, do they keep trying or just spend their own money? I wish I would have learned more about all this earlier.... 

Yes, I definitely know what you mean about getting a project fully fleshed out a year+ in advance of fieldwork / candidacy exams. It's kind of insane.

Are you in an anthropology program? How did you learn about the Wenner-Gren? If you're an Anthropology PhD student, it would be shocking to me if your professors and classmates haven't been talking to you about the Wenner-Gren, SSRC, NSF, and other major international fellowships that you need to apply for to get fieldwork funding & rapport in the field of anthropology. Most everyone who goes through an Anthropology PhD program applies to several or all of these major grants, often through multiple cycles until they win one of the grants (for prestige and money). Many Anthro PhD programs have established grant-writing courses in the 2nd-3rd years that facilitate this process. In my (and other) programs it's expected that all Anthros apply for the Wenner-Gren. 

What to do in your situation is hard to say! By spending "your own money" do you mean your fellowship money (like a salary you receive from the university)? That's how I'm currently paying for my research. But it's not my savings or anything -- it's my normal salary, and I'm using it to live abroad. 

It sounds like perhaps you have no funding assurance from your university next year to do your research (as in they won't pay you a salary to do research abroad), which complicates things. Are there opportunities to apply for fellowship year through your graduate school / an area studies center at your university / etc? What have other people in your program done in order to complete their dissertation fieldwork? 

[farflung]

Oh! One other crucial thing I thought of.

What to do in your situation (go do your research right away even if it means spending your own money OR delaying going to do research until you get a grant) depends on your career goals. Do you want an academic career? If so, you should really fight to get a major national/international grant. It's kind of a pre-requisite to a tenure track position (at least in Anthropology - although major grants are ESSENTIAL to getting tenured academic work in almost any field - see anything Karen Kelskey writes). This may mean delaying fieldwork for a semester or two if you can afford to do so. 

But, if you don't want an academic career, and therefore don't need the prestige of a major fieldwork grant, I would vote you just go ahead and start your research anyway (unless you'd go into debt). Finish the PhD sooner!

[SoundandVision]

Hey everyone,

If last grant season is a good predictor, we should hear back about the first round any time now!

Fingers crossed for everyone here.

[SoundandVision]

On to the next round! My email came in at 9:30ish, for reference. Check your spam and good luck everybody!

[pohks]

1 hour ago, SoundandVision said:

On to the next round! My email came in at 9:30ish, for reference. Check your spam and good luck everybody!

I just (~12:30) got the notification that I made it to the second round, too. Yay! Good luck everyone!

[kamdhenu]

Hi Everyone, did anybody hear back from wenner-gren on Dissertation Fieldwork Grant? Just wanted to know if they have started sending the final yes/no. I got a mail frm them today inquiring whether I received funding from any other agency. They also told me that I don't "need" to apply for May 1st deadline. Does it mean I got it?

[gradschool2013]

I also received the same cryptic email today! I revised my budget and resubmitted tonight! From the posts from earlier years on this forum it looks like people usually get it after getting this email! So cross your fingers! 

[farflung]

13 hours ago, kamdhenu said:

 Does it mean I got it?

Yes!

[gradschool2013]

Are  people still waiting for their official acceptances? I resubmitted my budget and then they asked to see my WG budget next to another grant I received and then got another email saying I don't have to reapply for the May 1st deadline and that I should receive something in the mail?? 

[SoundandVision]

On 4/16/2016 at 9:59 PM, gradschool2013 said:

Are  people still waiting for their official acceptances? I resubmitted my budget and then they asked to see my WG budget next to another grant I received and then got another email saying I don't have to reapply for the May 1st deadline and that I should receive something in the mail?? 

I just resubmitted my budget next to the other grant I received on Sunday, and I haven't heard back yet. My friend who had no changes to his budget just got his acceptance letter today, though! My guess is that it will be a few more days til I hear back with any official notice though since they just got my revised budget.

Hang in there! Official notices have started being mailed! (My friend got his in our dept mail btw).

[gradschool2013]

Were they notified by snail mail then? 

[kamdhenu]

Yeah via snail mail. I got my acceptance letter today. You should be getting yours soon. Good luck!

[kamdhenu]

Also, check your department mailbox too.

[SoundandVision]

On 4/22/2016 at 1:00 AM, kamdhenu said:

Also, check your department mailbox too.

Yea my department got the notice before I got my letter via snail mail...so stoked tho!