The Group for Early Modern Studies

Grants and Awards

GEMS Graduate Student Travel Grants
for GEMS graduate student members

At least one grant for up to $800 will be awarded for travel in spring, fall, and summer to attend or make a presentation at a conference or seminar or to conduct research in an archive. The project must substantially concern the early modern period (1400-1800). This grant is open to GEMS graduate student members. GEMS Graduate Certificate students making satisfactory progress toward completion of the program requirements will be given preferential consideration in the awading of GEMS Graduate Student Travel Grants. Projects that are interdisciplinary will be preferred over those that are single-disciplinary. Funding is more likely be given to students making a presentation at a conference than to those merely attending a conference. Students and faculty may receive only one travel award per academic year.

To apply, submit a letter of interest, a budget, and a 250-300-word statement describing your project and its relationship to your course of study or research. If you are presenting a paper at a conference, include your letter of acceptance. In order to ensure that all members of the GEMS Travel Grant Committee can read all applications, they must be submitted in English; provide a translation of any required documentation in another language and include that in your application packet along with a copy of the document in its original language. Save all receipts related to your travel, including those for transportation, housing, meals, conference fees, etc., as GEMS can reimburse only those expenses for which you have receipts. The Travel Grant Committee will begin reviewing applications on the following dates and will continue to do so until the grant money for each period is spent:

Students may receive only one travel award per academic year. For more information, email GEMS Director Kari McBride kari@email.arizona.edu. Send completed application to:

Kari Boyd McBride, Director
Group for Early Modern Studies (GEMS)
925 N. Tyndall Ave, 114D
University of Arizona
Tucson AZ 85721

Newberry Renaissance Consortium Travel Grants
for GEMS graduate student and faculty members

At least one grant for up to $800 will be awarded for travel in spring, fall, and summer for travel to the Newberry Library in Chicago or the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, to attend or make a presentation at a Newberry- or Folger-sponsored conference, seminar, or workshop or to conduct research in either library; the project must substantially concern the early modern period (1400-1800). The grant can also be used to fund participation in a Newberry-Mellon Paleography Institute. This grant is open to GEMS graduate student and faculty members. GEMS Graduate Certificate students making satisfactory progress toward completion of the program requirements will be given preferential consideration in the awarding of Newberry Renaissance Consortium Grants, followed by GEMS graduate student members, followed by GEMS faculty members. Projects that are interdisciplinary will be preferred over those that are single-disciplinary. Funding is more likely be given to students making a presentation at a conference than to those merely attending a conference. Students and faculty may receive only one travel award per academic year.

Information about Newberry events can be found here: http://www.newberry.org/renaissance/renaissancehome.html: find information about Folger events here: http://www.folger.edu/Home_02B.html. To apply, submit a letter of interest, a budget, and a 250-300-word statement describing your project and its relationship to your course of study or research. If you are presenting a paper at a conference, include your letter of acceptance. In order to ensure that all members of the GEMS Travel Grant Committee can read all applications, they must be submitted in English; provide a translation of any required documentation that is in another language and include both translation and original in your application packet.

Save all receipts related to your travel, including those for transportation, housing, meals, conference fees, etc., as the Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies can reimburse only those expenses for which you submit receipts. Use the Center for Renaissance Studies Travel Reimbursement Form to apply for reimbursement for your expenses. The Travel Grant Committee will begin reviewing applications on the following dates and will continue to do so until the grant money for each period is spent:

For more information, email GEMS Director Kari McBride at kari@email.arizona.edu. Send completed application to:

Kari Boyd McBride, Director
Group for Early Modern Studies (GEMS)
925 N. Tyndall Ave, 114D
University of Arizona
Tucson AZ 85721

Best Essay by a GEMS Graduate Student

GEMS offers an annual prize of $500 for the best interdisciplinary essay on an early modern topic by a GEMS Graduate Certificate student making satisfactory progress toward completion of the program requirements. Essays will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Essays should have been written or substantially revised in the year previous to application, should be approximately 5,000-10,000 words long, and should follow an accepted stylistic convention (Chicago, MLA, etc.). Only students accepted in the GEMS Graduate Certificate Program by the date of application will be considered for this prize. Applications for admission to the GEMS Graduate Certificate Program can be found here.

Send submissions by April 15 to:

Prof. Kari Boyd McBride, Director
Group for Early Modern Studies (GEMS)
925 N. Tyndall Ave, 114D
University of Arizona
Tucson AZ 85721

Graduate Assistant to the Director of GEMS

This position has been filled for 2008-2009. Details about the position here.

CFP: Team-Taught Course


With support from Dean Chuck Tatum of the College of Humanities and Dean Ed Donnerstein of Social and Behavioral Sciences, GEMS seeks proposals from UA faculty for a team-taught three-hour graduate course in early modern studies to be offered spring semester by two faculty members who must be members of GEMS. Proposals from faculty of two different UA colleges will be most welcome, though we will consider proposals from faculty of two departments within the same college. The ideal proposal will lead students to do truly interdisciplinary work in early modern studies. Both faculty members will be fully compensated for their teaching. Proposals should include a cover letter explaining the goals of the course and a detailed syllabus. Faculty making proposals should insure that they have the support of their departments to offer such a course. If possible, the course will be cross-listed in both faculty members’ departments, but details of listing will be dependent on the compatibility of departmental course numberings and the timetables of individual department curriculum committees. The course offered will count towards the GEMS Graduate Certificate in Early Modern Studies for graduate students in any department. Send proposals (paper or electronic) by May 15 to:

Prof. Kari Boyd McBride, Director
Group for Early Modern Studies (GEMS)
925 N. Tyndall Ave, 114D
University of Arizona
Tucson AZ 85721
kari@email.arizona.edu