Grants

Students on the ABC Master’s thesis track may apply for a maximum of $2,500 to be used for travel and research associated costs such as the equipment and supplies necessary for conducting the research. Prior to initiation of research IACUC and/or IRB approval must be obtained if appropriate. Funds cannot be used for research that causes pain, injury or harm to animals or the environment. This round of funding is for research conducted between May, 2025 and August, 2025.

Questions about your application as well as the application itself must be sent to Prof. Joshua Plotnik, jp3037@hunter.cuny.edu, by Monday, June 16, 2025 at 5pm ET with the words “Research Grant Application” in the subject line. Applications should be sent in PDF format as a single PDF file, and should not exceed three single-spaced pages. Please ask your advisor (as per (3) below) to send their letter of support to you, OR to send it to Prof. Plotnik separately in advance of the deadline. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of ABC faculty on a rolling basis as applications are received.

The application for thesis research support must include:

1) Proposal

a) Project title

b) Statement of the research problem, purpose and/or hypotheses (with citations and a brief literature review)

c) Project design including subjects, equipment, procedure, and data analyses

d) Estimate of anticipated time required for completion of the various phases of the project

2) Budget – Estimated cost and justification for each item is required. If your budget exceeds $2,500, please explain the source of the amount above that requested from the ABC program. Receipts are necessary for reimbursement and must be submitted within one year from grant onset; unused funds are to be returned. The tax exempt form is to be used for equipment purchases. Equipment purchased from the grant is to be returned to the ABC Equipment Library after completion of the research.

Note: Equipment that can be used for multiple projects, such as binoculars and cameras, will be available from the ABC equipment library and thus should not be included in the budget.

3) A letter of support from the student’s thesis advisor is required. Applications without the letter will not be considered. This letter can be brief, and should explain the mentor’s support of the project and projected timeline for its completion.

If you are a current ABC MA thesis track student interested in applying for up to $1,500 to attend a conference at which you will present your thesis research, please submit the following as a single PDF document to Prof. Josh Plotnik (jp3037@hunter.cuny.edu) no later than Monday, June 30, 2025:

Funding for internships is available if there are any costs related to your assigned internship that are unexpected and/or outside the normal scope of the costs associated with enrolling in a course at CUNY. This may include uniform purchases, required tests or background checks, special travel, or supplies. Under no circumstances is funding available for travel related to your internship if it is within the five boroughs of NYC. Periodic travel as part of your internship – e.g., travel to a meeting or event with your internship hosts outside of NYC – will be considered. Funding is not guaranteed as this is a competitive process and funds are limited, but we will review all requests.

All requests for funding under this internship funding scheme should first be sent to the internship coordinator, Dr. Jennifer Savoie (jsavoie@hunter.cuny.edu), who will review requests to determine if they qualify. Further review will occur at the discretion of the program director and ABC faculty. The maximum a student can be rewarded under this scheme is $1,000.