The ISA Arachnological Research Fund provides support for undergraduate or graduate student ISA members whose work relates to any aspect of the taxonomy, systematics, behaviour, ecology, physiology, or evolution of any of the arachnid groups. Awards may be used for field work, laboratory work, museum research (including travel), expendable supplies, identification of specimens, and/or preparation of figures and drawings for publication. 

• Typical Award: up to 800 Euro
• Submission Deadline: February 28th each year
• Notification Target Date: May 1st each year
 
Eligibility
Requirements for ISA Student Research Fund: Research grants are awarded only to members of the ISA who are students at the time of application. If you are from a developing nation, sponsored memberships are available and must be obtained to be eligible for a grant. Learn about Membership here. Students from poorly funded institutions are encouraged to apply.  

Note: The same proposal for a student research grant may not be submitted to the ISA and American Arachnological Society (AAS). However, different proposals may be submitted to the two funds.

Selection criteria

Awardees are selected based on the following criteria:

• Clear goals​​​​​​ ​tackling interesting arachnological questions.
• Convincing project design and feasibility.
• Clear demonstration of the need and intended use of the budget for the specific project proposed.

Priority will be given to unfunded stand-alone projects or specific sub-projects of the degree research. Projects should be designed as 1-year, stand-alone projects or sub-projects of a larger thesis research. In the case of graduate students, submission of a full PhD or Master’s project is strongly discouraged. Candidates must provide a cover letter briefly explaining explain (a) whether the proposal is a sub-project of the thesis or a stand-alone project separate from the thesis research; and (b) other sources of funding already awarded or applied for, if any. Requests to cover single budget items of already funded degree research are given lower priority.

Monies from the fund are not meant to augment or replace salary. Major or permanent equipment is not funded. Travelling to conferences is not funded.


Application

To be considered for an award, please prepare a single PDF file (named LASTNAME_Francke_Fund_Year) with the contents outlined below. It should be uploaded, along with the requested information, via this electronic form.

1. COVER LETTER addressing 
   (a) Scope of the project relative to the thesis; and 
   (b) other funding already awarded or applied for (or lack thereof).
    
2. A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM YOUR ADVISOR confirming student status and ability to conduct the work as proposed. 
    
3. The PROJECT DESCRIPTION. It should be in English, in an 11 or 12-point font, double-spaced. Text of the project description should be no longer than 5 pages (not including references, figures and budget). It should include the following parts:

• TITLE and your name and address (including email address)
• INTRODUCTION presenting background information, justification for the proposed study, and if appropriate, the hypothesis to be tested.
• METHODS presenting the methods, materials, and analyses to be used.
• LITERATURE CITED
• BUDGET showing (in detail) how award money would be used in the proposed research.  If you choose to show the entire cost of the project, be sure to indicate specifically how the grant money would be used.

 
Questions
Any questions should be directed to Dr. Ivan L F Magalhaes, Committee Chair, at magalhaes@~@macn.gov.ar  
The subject line of the email should say “ISA Student Grant proposal”.