Challenge, Innovation, Exploration, Experience, Self Discovery...

Proposal Format

All research proposals must follow the guidelines set forth below.  Submissions that fail to meet award criteria will not be considered for this Fellowship.  Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to avail yourself of Institute writing resources, such as the Writing and Communication Center. Proposals are due in Room 7-104 no later than 5 PM on Friday, April 4, 2008.

Final Proposal Guidelines

• The cover page should give the applicant's name, MIT address, class year, major, and a project title.
  
  
• Each submission should include a brief abstract (limited to 150 words) that presents a clear and persuasive project overview, concise project description, and an explanation of project goals/impact.
  
  
• Proposals (no more than 2000 words in length) must be clearly, concisely, and persuasively written.  This means that your submission should be carefully constructed, free of typos and spelling, grammatical or other editing errors. 
  
  
• A realistic estimate of  expenses, including travel costs, should be appended  in the form of a budget
  
  
• Project aims or goals should be clearly stated and background provided (about the author and/or about the idea) so that the plan can be understood in the appropriate context.
  
  
• Proposals must include strong thesis statements and present unambiguous, compelling supporting evidence that the research plan is original, feasible, and has a chance of success.
  
  
• Proposals must have at least one recommendation from an MIT faculty member who has reviewed your proposal, discussed it with you, and is familiar enough with your project to comment specifically on your proposed work.  Additional recommendations are also welcome. A thoughtful recommendation that speaks knowledgeably about the specific proposal and student researcher can be a determining factor in whether a proposal is funded or not.
  
  
• All recommendations are due by the proposal deadline and you must provide any faculty member issuing a recommendation on your behalf with the recommendation checklist below.
  
  
• All pages should be numbered in the upper right hand corner of every page that follows the cover. 
  

Note: Supporting evidence such as letters of permission, qualifications, budgets, recommendations, materials that help explain or support the proposal (e.g. letters from sponsors or hosts, photographs, drawings, etc.), if placed in appendices, will not apply to the proposal word limit.