Sino-British Fellowship Trust grant
About
SOAS receives a generous grant from the Sino-British Fellowship Trust (SBFT), established by the late Dr Elizabeth Frankland Moore, to support individual or co-operative research projects. Research may be conducted either in Britain or in China, or in both countries.
The grants are given by the Sino-British Fellowship Trust to eligible members of SOAS and are administered on its behalf by the SOAS China Institute. Grant applications are normally considered by a committee of the SCI, which evaluates and decides on applications shortly after three deadlines in the academic calendar by when applications must be submitted.
Award value
The maximum value for an individual grant is normally £2,000, although this upper limit may be waived in exceptional cases.
Deadlines
The closing dates for application are: 31 March, 15 June, and 31 October.
Claim procedure
If an allocated grant is not used within two months of the date on which the successful award letter is sent, the grant will be returned to the SCI for reallocation to another candidate. No claim for expenses will be considered beyond 2-weeks after the completion of the activity for which the grant is made.
An applicant who plans ahead is asked to inform the SCI in advance that an application will be submitted at one of the later cut-off points, but must apply in time for the funding to be disbursed and used within two months of its allocation. For an event scheduled to take place beyond two months of the allocation but before the next application deadline, an applicant is asked to purchase the air-tickets and/or (where possible) disburse other approved expenses within the 2-month period.
Before completing this form, please ensure you have read the terms of reference for the SBFT grants, reproduced below, and verify that the application meets at least one of the five specific purposes outlined. An application that fosters collaborative research, particularly with a view to laying the ground work for an application for a major grant will be given priority in funding, but it will not be funded unless it meets the terms of reference below.
Annex
Fields in which grants have regularly been approved by the Trustees:
- Physical Sciences (including Mathematics)
- Life Sciences: Social, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences
- Environmental Sciences: Technology (including Engineering), Medicine and Health
- Education: Humanities, Liberal arts, Chinese language studies
SOAS staff and research students (over the age of 25) visiting China are eligible, as are senior staff and research students at Chinese institutions visiting SOAS. This includes Hong Kong, but not Taiwan. SOAS research students will also be required to provide a reference from their main supervisor supporting the application, including an assessment of the stage of work and the prospect for completing the PhD.
Applicants for grants related to the study of Chinese languages, and for academic exchanges and collaborative studies, may also apply, but will be referred to the Trust for advice. The allocation of grants is currently overseen by SOAS China Institute (email: sci@soas.ac.uk) to whom questions about eligibility or suitability should be directed.
Application procedure
Complete and return the below application form. SOAS research students are also required to provide a reference from their main supervisor supporting the application, including an assessment of the stage of work and the prospect for completing the PhD.
Word document, 318.95KB
Send your completed application to Li-Sa Whittington (sci@soas.ac.uk)
Successful applicants
- If an allocated grant is not used within two months of the date on which the successful award letter is sent, the grant will be returned to the SCI for reallocation to another candidate.
- A short report must be provided within two weeks of the project/event concluding. The report should include:
- Departmental affiliation
- Acknowledgement of the Sino-British Fellowship Trust
- A summary of the project (100 words max)
- The impact of the funding (250 words max)
- 1 photo related to the project
- Actual amount used