Each year the English Department receives an allocation from the Dean of Arts and Science for the enrichment of its graduate programs. The Graduate Education Enrichment Fund (GEEF) is managed by an administrator appointed by the Graduate Committee; the student representative to the Graduate Committee also serves as liaison to GEEF. Funds are used, primarily, in three ways: first, to support PhD students who must travel to job interviews; second, to support travel and other expenses directly connected to PhD dissertation research; third, to support graduate students who travel to present papers at professional conferences. Requests for GEEF support from graduate students whose needs do not conform to the preceding priorities will be considered on the bases of merit and available funds. The maximum GEEF funding for any graduate student during one academic year has been set in recent years at $500.

Graduate students will be asked to make their interview, research, and conference plans, even if plans are tentative, known to the GEEF administrator by the date indicated on a form sent out each August/ September by the GEEF administrator. When graduate students apply for travel fund reimbursement from GEEF, requests from students who have provided advance notification (i.e., by the due date) will be favored.

GEEF Requirements

• Be a graduate student in good standing in the English Department.
• Supply relevant budget information about expenses, and a brief rationale to the GEEF administrator, so that he/she can decide whether and to what extent the proposal can be funded.
• Present original receipts to the GEEF administrator for reimbursement.

The various facets of the program are described below.

Job Searches

Because job placement of PhD students seeking teaching positions is the first priority of the department's policies on GEEF support, the GEEF administrator will support travel by job candidates to interviews at individual colleges and universities or at conferences (e.g., MLA). In addition, the GEEF administrator will consider requests for funds from PhD students to have resumes, letters, or vitae printed.

Research Support

The English Department encourages and through GEEF provides limited support of graduate students' on- and off-campus research. The Graduate School also provides funds for thesis and dissertation research expenses, and the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship provides information on external and internal grants and research opportunities for specific projects. Graduate students should optimize their research funding by seeking support for research activities from these venues before, or in addition to, seeking funds from GEEF.

The GEEF administrator will entertain requests for funds applicable to theses and dissertations, such as microfilming or copying original literary documents, and the purchase of material not held by our library (if purchased, these materials will be placed in the library collection after the graduate student has completed the research project). GEEF will not cover the cost of copying chapters or proposals. Graduate students may also request funding when study of texts and manuscripts in or outside the U.S. is directly related to the completion of an MA thesis or PhD dissertation.

Professional Travel

It is the policy of the English Department to encourage its graduate students to attend and to present papers at professional meetings. Consequently, GEEF funds will be used to help defray the cost of travel to professional meetings. Priority will be given to activities in the following order: (l) presentation of a paper at a national conference; (2) presentation of a paper at a regional conference; (3) participation on a panel as chair or speaker; (4) attendance at a conference.