CHE Research & Travel Awards

Eligibility Criteria
All Graduate Associates (MS/MA/PhD) of the Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE) are eligible to apply.

Donor Information
These awards are made possible by generous contributions from the Bradshaw Knight Foundation.

Award Information
CHE invites applications for Research & Travel Awards.

Applicants may request funds in support of research/travel essential to the completion of a student’s MA/MS thesis, PhD dissertation, or peer-reviewed publication. Awards of up to $2,800 are available to CHE Graduate Associates enrolled in a UW-Madison PhD program. Awards of up to $1,400 are available to CHE Graduate Associates enrolled in a UW-Madison MA/MS program.

Although CHE may not be able to fund all applicants, or offer the maximum amount requested in each application, CHE encourages all Graduate Associates with research/travel funding needs to apply. CHE Graduate Associates are eligible to receive a maximum of $5,600 in CHE awards over the course of their graduate career, and CHE will prioritize those applicants who have not received their lifetime maximum. CHE has a maximum of $19,000 to disburse to all awards for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Please note that:

• Travel or research activities for award are expected to occur either during the summer of 2025 or during the 2025-2026 academic year (completed by mid-May of 2026). If you anticipate travel is unlikely to occur before then, we encourage you to defer applying until next year.
• If circumstances change and you are unable to complete your research travel during the aforementioned period, the CHE Steering Committee will address situations on an as-needed/case-by-case basis.

All applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of CHE’s Steering Committee, which will make recommendations to the Steering Committee for approval at the March steering meeting. Applicants will likely be notified by mid- March.

As a condition of award acceptance, each awardee is required to:

• Be pursuing a graduate degree (MS/MA/PhD) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Submit a post-research/travel summary report detailing how the research/travel award enabled/enhanced their professional development or scholarship (this should be submitted within 30 days of completing the proposed research/travel)
• Submit a thank you letter or note addressed to the Bradshaw Knight Foundation, which supports these awards

Supplemental Information
CHE’s mission is to deepen understanding of the changing relationship between people and the environment over time. Applicants should demonstrate the ways in which their research is relevant to this mission.

Evaluation criteria will include the following: (a) the alignment of the project to CHE’s mission; (b) the quality of the proposal and potential significance of the project; © the candidate’s level and degree of engagement with CHE activities (e.g., service on the GAOC or the Edge Effects board; presentation at a CHE colloquium; participation in multiple events).

Applications should include the following:

1. A current CV
2. A brief summary of the applicant’s involvement with CHE activities and programming during their graduate career (500 words maximum)
3. A written narrative that describes the research/travel to be undertaken, explains its relation to CHE’s mission, and discusses how it will advance/enhance the applicant’s academic progress, scholarship, and/or professional development (1000 words maximum)
4. An itemized budget.
5. A brief statement describing how the applicant’s proposed research addresses issues of diversity, inclusion, equity, and/ or environmental (in)justice or issues specific to a marginalized group (250 words maximum)
6. A brief description of the applicant’s commitment to environmentally responsible research (200 words maximum)
7. Name and email address of the applicant’s thesis or dissertation advisor, for the purpose of requesting a statement of support (500 words maximum) through the WiSH portal

Award Amount
Up to $2,800 (Ph.D. students);
Up to $1,400 (MA/MS students)

Deadline
1 February 2025
Letters of recommendation due 15 February 2025

Contact: CHE, che@nelson.wisc.edu