Doctoral Research Support Grant

This grant is not available to those students who are in the 4-year PhD funding scheme from 22/23 AY.

Application deadlines: 

December 1, 2023 (Friday) - For students who will be attending from January 2024 to Spring.

May 3, 2024 (Friday) - For students who will be attending from Summer 2024 (August).

The awards are to be used in Academic Year 2023/2024.

Currently, enrolled CEU students approved for full doctoral candidacy are encouraged to pursue their dissertation research and to build international scholarly contacts through a special study abroad program. CEU has a Doctoral Research Support Grant Program (DRSG), which enables a short research stay abroad.  Students may apply to recognized universities, institutes, or research centers abroad to spend up to a six-month period as "visiting/research scholars". This scheme is an integral part of the CEU doctoral program. 

Important: The Scholarship Advisory Committee will not review late or incomplete applications.

The Doctoral Research Support grant is given within the limits of CEU's academic and financial year. Therefore, the scheme must commence and be completed within the August 1st - July 31st time frame and cannot be started any earlier or end later. A student may only apply to one deadline.

In each academic year, the application deadline will be made known at least three months in advance with a reminder sent at least one month in advance.  Students are encouraged to make contact with potential host institutions as soon as possible after their comprehensive exams.  Finalizing arrangements will take time, students are responsible for ensuring that all arrangements are in place by the deadline (the committee will not consider applications without confirmations from the host institution and will not grant an extension).

The Doctoral Research Support grant will be considered in addition to the regular CEU stipend funding of 36 months.  Grant recipients may wish to "stop the clock", i.e. to temporarily halt payment of their stipend.  It is the student's responsibility to gain all information on what "stopping the clock" entails.  The department coordinator or Financial Aid Office will be able to help with this.

Eligibility and General Requirements

The Doctoral Research Support Grant Program is open to every CEU doctoral student who has passed the comprehensive exam.  Pre-comprehensive students (normally first-year students) may not submit an application. 

• CEU doctoral guidelines recognize up to six months of study abroad as part of the normal doctoral study.  Some restrictions may apply from department to department, particularly if the doctoral program is externally funded.  It is at the discretion of the department/program head whether to also require completion of the program's residential requirements.
• Applicants must demonstrate the relevance of the proposed research/study to their thesis. Applicants must have the written recommendation of their CEU doctoral supervisor and the endorsement of the department/program head.
• Students must have been admitted to a university or research institute as "special" or "non-degree" students and must have received some form of financial support (tuition fee waiver, etc.) for the period of their research.  The Tuition Fee is not covered by the DRSG.  If the host university has a required Tuition Fee that will not be waived, it must be listed on the Budget Form and deducted from the total amount being requested.  The fee in such cases must be covered by the student.  The CEU grant is designed to be supplementary and covers mainly travel and subsistence costs.
• This is not a competitive grant and each student may receive it once during their studies at CEU.  However, the amount awarded will depend on justified costs and budgetary limitations.
• Students may apply up to 5,000 EUR. The amount of the grant awarded will vary.  The committee will assess each application on its own merits and will take into account the appropriateness of the budget, how well costs are documented, the breakdown of the work schedule, and the relevance of the trip to the student's doctoral project.
• The student is required to submit receipts for all major costs listed on the budget form (airfare/train tickets, housing, transportation pass, visa costs, etc.). (All receipts/invoices, etc., should be in the name of the student only).
  
• Upon return, the student is required to submit a letter from the host supervisor stating the student attended and completed the research.  This must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

How to Apply for the DRSG

• DRSG Application Form (provided at the bottom)
• DRSG Reference Form (provided at the bottom) must be sent by the supervisor.

1. Read all instructions and information carefully before completing the application.
2. Complete all forms in the application - type or print them neatly.
3. Submit the application and supporting documents to the Financial Aid Office.  The confidential Reference Form and Letter from the supervisor should be sent via email from the supervisor to the Financial Aid Office.
4. The date of departure and return should be definite.  Should the dates change the application will need to be re-submitted to the Committee for approval once again.

All applications should include the following documents:

1. A completed CEU Doctoral Research Support Grant Program Application Form, endorsed by the Head of Department.
2. A detailed budget (part of the DRSG application form).  Please attach all supporting documents to show where the price(s) were found for housing, food, travel, transport passes, visa, etc. (All receipts/invoices, etc., should be in the name of the student only).
3. A Statement of Purpose of no more than three pages which states the benefits of the visit for your research and research plan (a research plan is a description of the relevant research material/courses at the host institution, how they will help your doctoral project, and the work schedule envisaged).
4. A confidential Reference Form from the CEU supervisor supporting the application. This should be sent via email directly to the Financial Aid Office by the supervisor.
5. A confidential letter of support from the CEU supervisor should focus in particular on how your research plan will help your doctoral project.  This should be sent via email directly to the Financial Aid Office by the supervisor.
6. An official letter of acceptance/invitation from the host institution, outlining the details of the offer and confirming the waiver of the Tuition fee, dates you will be attending, and information regarding monthly living costs, insurance, etc.
7. A letter of support from the supervisor at the host institution confirming the research plan, the dates attending, what you will be working on together, a monthly study-plan, how this will benefit you, etc.
8. CEU Transcript (an unofficial transcript is acceptable). You may download the unofficial transcript of records via the SITS e:Vision Portal.
9. A reservation or cost quotation for round-trip economy travel.  Quotations should be for the exact dates of the outward and return journeys the applicant intends to take.  Applicants should look for the cheapest possible options, including traveling by train or coach when distance permits and using budget airlines wherever possible.  Students are encouraged to use 'flight aggregator' websites to search for the cheapest possible fare (e.g. http://momondo.com).  Travel should be a return trip from and to Budapest, though the committee will consider other permutations, if there are sound academic reasons for doing so (e.g. conference or fieldwork).
10. Curriculum Vitae

Reminder: No incomplete or late applications can be accepted and reviewed by the Scholarship Advisory Committee.

The omission of one or more of these documents will render the application incomplete and could result in disqualification. Please include any additional material that may be helpful in the evaluation of the application.

It is highly recommended that students work closely with their supervisor and other faculty from their department when planning a research period abroad. Faculty may have useful contacts at universities and knowledge about which universities and departments are likely to be most relevant to student researchers.

Doctoral Research Support Grant requests are reviewed by the Senate-appointed Scholarships Advisory Committee.

Helpful Application Hints

• The CEU Scholarships Advisory Committee will consider special circumstances or requests. In such situations, please, include a cover letter with your application.
• Submit a complete application.
• If you will not be at CEU, please prepare the application packets in advance and make sure you notify the department and the Financial Aid Office before leaving CEU in case you will need additional documents or assistance. 
• If the official acceptance/invitation letter from the host university will be arriving later then the deadline, please inform Ildiko Torok in the Financial Aid Office.  This will be noted on the application which can still be submitted by the deadline.  The application will be reviewed, but the letter is required and the decision will be conditional until received.

Criteria for Evaluations and Appeals process

• All PhD students past their comprehensive exams are eligible to receive the Doctoral Research Support Grant as long as they have their supervisor's support.  The committee will only evaluate three issues: 1) the budget, in other words, whether or not the items and amounts listed are justifiable and reasonable given the location of the planned research trip; 2) whether or not the timing of the research trip is conducive to the completion of the PhD project and meets the supervisor's approval; and 3) whether or not the institution the student plans to spend time at is in high academic standing and relevant for the proposed study.
• The committee will not send individual evaluations to the applicants as this would place an undue burden on those administering this grant.  However, in case a student wants to find out the reason why the application was not approved for the grant, an inquiry may be sent to Ildiko Torok - Financial Aid Coordinator, at toroki@ceu.edu.
• Appeals against the decision of the committee may be submitted within a maximum of 2 weeks after the notification to the Provost.

Visa, Travel, and Living Costs

• What are the visa requirements? Find out and plan ahead. Visas take time and cost money. The grant will be paid in two equal installments. The first installment will be paid two months prior to the date of departure, which will cover visa costs and provide pocket money during travel.  The second installment will be paid on the date of departure. Should the trip be canceled or delayed for any reason the funds must be repaid to CEU immediately.
• You may include in your budget travel costs to and from airports as well as commuting costs during the period of study.  If you plan to use public transport, please include documentation outlining its cost and look for the most cost-efficient option (e.g. a monthly pass).
• Living costs - contact your host university for details of reasonable living costs for students.  A detailed breakdown of costs is required.
• All budget calculations should be made in Euros.  When needed, include the exchange rate and tell us where you obtained the rate (e.g. from a recognized website such as http://xe.com/ucc) and the date at which the rate is valid. 
• Include health insurance if you need it. In most cases, EU citizens do not require health insurance if they travel to an EU member state.  It is the applicants' responsibility to check their eligibility.  If you travel to North America, you most likely will require health insurance, costs vary from state to state, please ask your host university for a quote.  British university health insurance usually covers most nationalities.
• Students should investigate any tax liability and plan accordingly. CEU will not cover any financial losses due to taxation.
• Students should always plan for bank charges and currency fluctuations when changing EUR into another currency.

Applications must be submitted via the online application form to Ildiko Torok - Financial Aid Coordinator in the Financial Aid Office by no later than December 1, 2023, and May 3, 2024 (Friday)

Grant Application Form - 6-year Funding Scheme (for DRSG, Summer School, Winter School)

Should you have any questions, please contact her directly at toroki@ceu.edu.

Thank you!