Budget Guidelines

Itemized budgets are required for some but not all SURFD programs:

• Never required: URAD and Presidential Scholars
• Sometimes required: leave term grants
  • YES if your research will not be conducted on campus
  • NO if your research will take place on campus and you will be living on or near campus
• Always required: Scholars Programs, Senior Fellowships, conference travel grants

Consult with your faculty research mentor about your budget BEFORE you submit an application for funding. There are online resources that can help in estimating costs as it is important that your budget be as accurate as possible.

On-campus room and board: if you are applying for a leave term grant for on-campus research and you will be living on or near campus, you may apply for the maximum award amount and do not need to submit an itemized budget.

Room and board for research trips:

• Government websites that provide estimates for cities within the US as well as overseas: these are estimates for government employees traveling for business purposes, and the cost of student research travel should be significantly less.
• MIT living wage calculator: estimate of the local wage rate requires to cover the costs of the basic needs for a family. This tool is for full-time workers supporting a family rather than for an individual student on a short-term research trip so these estimates should be adjusted accordingly.

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.

Generally covered for undergraduate research and scholars programs:

• Travel: airfare, bus, subway, personal vehicle mileage, etc., that are directly associated with your research.
  • NOT covered: cost of travel to or from your home state or country for research.
• Housing: hotel or other accommodations while traveling away from campus
  • NOT covered: cost of living at home and cost of living for projects conducted in or near the student's hometown.
• Food: meals while traveling away from campus
  • NOT covered: cost of food while living at home and cost of food while engaged in research in or near the student's hometown.
• Research supplies. Examples include:
  • Lab materials (chemicals, test kits, animals, petri dishes, etc.)
  • Art and photography supplies
• Equipment rental
  • Be sure to determine what equipment is available through the college
• Datasets
  • Applicants will need to provide strong justification for the need to purchase datasets, including comparisons to options that are no or lower cost.
• Surveys
  • The cost of surveys can be significant. Applicants will need to provide strong justification for the number of survey completions/subjects required and may need consider other lower-cost options.

The following sections pertain to undergraduate research programs but may not pertain to Scholars Programs. Check with staff if you have questions about budget guidelines for specific programs.

Generally NOT covered for undergraduate research:

• Computer equipment
  • This includes both hardware and software
• Transcription
  • Consult with your faculty mentor about low or no costs options that may be available for transcription.
• Photocopying
  • Funding may be awarded for photocopying if digital scanning is not an option (e.g. for specialized archival materials).
• Books
  • Students needing access to books, journals, or other sources must consult with a subject librarian. The library owns or can provide access to many of these, even if students are not on campus. Undergraduate Research will not consider funding requests for books, etc., unless students have consulted with library staff.
  • Many materials can be accessed via InterLibrary Loan. For books that are only in print, students can often 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. See the library website for information on access to materials not owned by Dartmouth.

NOT covered for undergraduate research programs:

• Retroactive funding for research already completed
• Individual stipend/hourly wages (for self or others)
  • This restriction is not applicable to part-time research assistantships (URAD, Presidential Scholars)

• Purchase of equipment
  • This includes computers, audio and video equipment, lab equipment, etc.

• Citation management software
  • The College recommends Zotero (free open-source software)
• Subscriptions (including digital resources)
• Cost of traveling between Dartmouth and your home
• Tuition or living expenses for courses taken on or off campus
  • This includes fees for external programs or instruction
• Health-related expenses
  • This includes vaccinations, health insurance, etc.
• Printing or binding of honors theses
  • Check with your major department or program about funding for thesis binding
• Publication fees
  • See the Dartmouth Library website for information about publishing resources