Budget Guidelines

Consult with your faculty research mentor about your budget BEFORE you submit an application for funding. Do your research about costs so that your estimates are as accurate as possible -- there are multiple online resources that can help with this.  For example:

Room and board for research trips: there are government websites that provide estimates for cities within the US as well as overseas. Keep in mind that these are estimates for government employees traveling for business purposes, and the cost of student research travel should be significantly less.

Travel by car: the IRS website includes standard mileage rates. Note that the business rate is for employees traveling for business purposes, and undergraduates traveling for research purposes should use the "medical moving" rate in estimating travel costs.

Compensation for research participants: the Finance Center's website has important information and guidelines. Be sure to also consult with your faculty mentor and academic department/program (and CPHS, if appropriate) for information about compensation policies and amounts. 

On campus room and board: if you are applying for a leave term grant for on-campus research, you may apply for the maximum award amount and do not need to submit an itemized budget. Note that this does NOT apply to honors thesis grant applicants as on-campus room and board are not eligible expenses for honors thesis grants.

Students are required to list the total cost of the project when applying for funding. Students who apply for funding from other sources in addition to UGAR may not accept funding in excess of the total cost of the project.

Generally covered

• Travel: airfare, bus, subway, personal vehicle, etc., costs directly associated with your research. The cost of travel to your home state or country for research is not covered.
• Housing: hotel or other accommodations while traveling or conducting research away from campus
  • Cost of living at home is not covered
  • Cost of living for projects conducted in or near the student's hometown is not covered (except in unusual circumstances)
• Food: meals while traveling away from campus (cost of food while living at home is not covered).
• Lab materials (chemicals, test kits, animals, petri dishes, etc.)
• Art and photography supplies
• Photocopying library and archival materials
• Rental equipment
• Survey costs (Applicants will need to provide justification for the number of completions/subjects required. We understand the cost of surveys can be high, but we will not be able to provide funding that exceeds our maximum award amount.)

Generally not covered

• Computer hardware and software
• Transcription services
• Books
  • Students needing funding for books, journals, or other sources must consult with a subject librarian before submitting their applications. The library owns or can provide access to many resources, even if students are not on campus. Many materials can be accessed via DartDoc. For books that are only in print, students can use DartDoc to request scans of portions of the books. For example, students could access a Google Books entry for the book, look for the table of contents, and then request the relevant chapters

Not covered

• Purchase of equipment (e.g. computers, audio recorders, cameras, video cameras, cell counters, blood pressure monitors, etc.)
• Citation management software: the College recommends Zotero (free open-source software)
• Subscriptions (including digital resources)
• Retroactive funding for research already completed
• Cost of traveling between Dartmouth and your home
• Tuition or living expenses for courses taken on or off campus
• Fees for external programs or instruction
• Printing or binding of honors theses (check with your major department about funding for this)
• Individual stipend/hourly wages (self or others)
• Publication fees (Dartmouth open access publication funding information: https://www.library.dartmouth.edu/scholarly-communication/forms/open-access-publishing-form)