Research Grants
A Dean Rusk Research Grant is defined as a systematic inquiry that is designed to discover and interpret new information.
Applying for the Grant
For this grant, each student is required to complete the following steps:
- Consult with the Dean Rusk office to discuss your project proposal.
- Obtain a faculty recommender.
- If applicable, obtain a language proficiency recommender (required where English is not the predominant language in the country for your proposed project).
- Submit your IRB application one calendar week before the Dean Rusk application deadline.
- Write a proposal.
- Complete travel grant budget report.
Writing Your Proposal
A strong proposal includes:
- What is the topic you want to study?
- Where will you travel to conduct your research?
- What do you hope to get from the project, and why is the project important to you?
- How does your work build upon—and possibly improve—existing research already done about the topic?
- How is it important within the subject areas covered in your Davidson courses (a capstone project, thesis, or future research project)?
- What are the specific procedures you plan to do to accomplish your research?
- Confirm your research proposal has been submitted for IRB review at least one week before the Dean Rusk application deadline.
- What kinds of resources, documentation, or permissions do you plan on needing, and how will you obtain them?
- What are your language skills for the proposed countries you plan to travel to?
- Can you get those tasks done with the requested resources (i.e. budget) and the proposed time frame?
- How will you make your project accessible to all audiences?
Deadline
2024 Research Grants will be available when the fall grant cycle opens at the close of the spring grant cycle, with an application deadline of October 1, 2024.
To start your application, use Submittable.
Recently Funded Research Grants
A Discourse on the Effects of CFA Franc in Ivory Coast's Banking Sector
by Nadia Baye ‘22
Nadia explored the impacts of the CFA Franc on Ivorian Citizens’ access to currency, the effects on the banking system as well as the gains and drawbacks of the currency. She also collected data through interviews with economists and bankers in Abidjan and interviewed the IMF director to Ivory Coast, the Lead economist at African Development Bank, the Head of Financial Markets at Standard Chartered Bank, and a Professor of French and Francophone studies at Dalhousie University.
Associations Between Malaria Infection at the First Antenatal Visit and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Longitudinal Cohort Study in Rural Western Uganda
by Rachel Clubine-Horowitz ‘23
Rachel attended Bugoye Level III Health Centre in the Kasese District of Uganda to conduct research for a senior Public Health thesis project “Mind the Gap: Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B in rural Uganda.” The project involved conducting interviews with midwives and pregnant women presenting for care at four primary health centers in the Kasese District of Uganda, with the goal of understanding factors contributing to high rates of MiP in the region.
Green Rebates and Feebates; Electric Vehicle Incentive Efficacy and Policy Salience in France
by Luca Voichick ‘22
Luca traveled to Switzerland to research the impact of electric vehicle purchase premiums on vehicle markets for thesis project. He conducted research on how government incentives can influence a particular region’s emissions and better understand how regional French characteristics influence policy awareness. The goal of his research project was to advocate for more effective policies aimed at tackling climate change.
