Student Grants

Group applications are not accepted. Each student in the group should submit an individual application and specify the intentions of their group in the research plan.

Students on leave are ineligible for Harvard funding unless expressly permitted by the administrative body that authorized the leave of absence. Students must be enrolled in the term following the grant period to be eligible for funding (for example, you must be enrolled in classes for the fall term following the summer term you are interested in being funded for; if you are graduating in May, you would not be eligible for funding for the summer term that follows). 

Grant awards typically range from $1,000-$3,500, but most are between $2,000-$3,000.

The Mittal Institute aims to fund projects that thoroughly engage with South Asian topics, even if they do not take place in South Asia.

Yes, but please note that you must submit individual applications to each center. If your proposal deals with cross-border issues in Asia, consider applying to the Asia Center for funding. Or if it is an India-China research project, consider applying to the Fairbank Center. Or if you’re studying a language prevalent in multiple regions or on regional borders, like Tibetan or Burmese, consider applying to the centers that encompass those regions and countries. Please note any additional funding sources that you are applying to in your CARAT application.

If you have not received confirmation in time for the application deadline, please submit proof that you have applied for the program and some information on when you expect to get a decision. If you are selected for a grant from the review committee, your grant would be only conditional on your admittance into the program; you will need to have a confirmation by the time grant decisions are released (mid-November for winter grants, late March for summer grants).

Proposals 

Proposal documents should demonstrate that your idea thoroughly engages with South Asia – this means that the core exploration of the proposal should be distinctly South Asian, rather than just glancingly. For example, a proposal that explores South Asian history, culture, policy, environment, etc. would be suitable for funding, but something like a randomized controlled trial that just happens to take place in South Asia would not.  

Research proposals should demonstrate feasibility, especially given the time frame – while your proposal may identify an incredible idea, if it does not detail how you will study that idea within the timeframe of the grant period, it may not make for a good application. Research proposals should also detail what actions will be taken in pursuit of that research – for example if it is focused on surveys or interviews, the proposal should detail how it would identify, contact, and select participants.  

Internship and language study proposals should detail what work the student has already done in that discipline (previous coursework, work experience, language proficiency, etc), and how the internship/language program would build on that experience to advance your expertise in your discipline. Language study proposals should also make it clear why you wouldn’t be able to pursue that language study at Harvard. For example, if that language isn’t taught at Harvard or isn’t taught at an advanced level, you should make that case in your proposal; however, applications seeking funding for introductory Hindi courses over the summer are hard to justify when that coursework is already offered on campus. 

Letters of Recommendation 

Try to get letters from people who can speak to your strengths as well as the merits of your proposal. An ideal reference would be someone who knows you well and are subject matter experts; for example, while you could ask for a senior faculty member who works in the discipline of relevance to speak to your proposal strength, it would be better if you choose a faculty member who knows the subject matter and can testify that you are well qualified to pursue your project idea. Additionally, the letters do not have to come from a faculty member. While we generally advise that at least one of your references come from an academic expert, you may choose to ask a former supervisor to serve as one of your references. 

Budget 

While applications are not judged differently based on their budget requests (i.e. students who ask for more funding are not ranked differently than students who ask for less money), the budget should also demonstrate the attention to the detail you have put into your plan. It should be clear to the review committee that you have done the research into the realistic costs of your plan, including housing, food, transportation, etc. If your budget request is glaringly inaccurate or ignores the costs of what you’ve detailed in your proposal, that may be a point of consideration raised by the review committee.