The Richard Maass Research grant is once again offered by the Manuscript Society in 2020. The grant amount of $5,000.00 supports research expenses directly related to the use of original manuscripts. Expenses include travel to manuscript repositories, photocopies, and user fees as well as other direct costs.

Applications are due February 14, 2020, and decisions will be announced shortly after March 17.

Who can Apply

Applicants must be graduate students—doctoral candidates are given preference—at an institution that currently belongs to the Manuscript Society. An institution qualifies as a member if its library currently subscribes to Manuscripts, the society’s quarterly journal.

The society issues the nonrenewable grant to the sponsoring institution, which disburses it to the recipient. Upon completing the research, the recipient is required to (1) submit a detailed report to the society’s scholarship committee and (2) recognize the society’s support in any publication resulting from the research.

How to Apply

Interested students must submit (1) a letter of application, (2) a résumé, (3) an anticipated budget, (4) a proposal of no more than three double-spaced pages and (5) two or three letters of recommendation sent to the scholarship committee. One letter must be from the thesis or dissertation advisor.  The proposal should demonstrate that the research involves considerable work with original manuscripts.

Each file name should start with the applicant’s surname, for example SmithProposal; SmithBudget; SmithSupportLetter; etc. All applicants will be notified of the scholarship committee’s decision soon after March 17, 2020.

Send inquiries to Dr. Ellen Howell Myers at myers@manuscript.org. Send applications and supporting letters to ManuscriptSocietyGrant@manuscript.org.

Criteria for Evaluating Maass Grant Applications

The Scholarship Committee will use the following criteria to evaluate Maass Grant applications:

  • Clear objectives in a well-organized format.
  • A description of the manuscripts which the student expects to find and how they will support the research project.
  • A detailed and realistic budget explaining how the $5,000 will be used.
  • Letters of Reference which explain the significance of the academic project and indicate confidence in the student’s ability to complete it.