RADCLIFFE-BROWN & FIRTH TRUST FUNDS
FOR SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH

NOTES FOR APPLICANTS

The italicised sections of these notes have been extracted for the guidance of applicants from the 'Notes for Trustees' which direct the Trustees' deliberations.

The aim of the Funds is to assist social anthropologists, handicapped by lack of funds, who are in the final stages of completing a doctorate. The resources of the Funds are limited, and awards are necessarily small.

There are four criteria determining grant eligibility:-

(a) Only students registered in UK and Commonwealth institutions teaching social anthropology are eligible.

(b) Applicants to the 30 April round must expect to submit their thesis between the following May and November; applicants to the 30 November round must expect to submit their thesis between the following December and April. Applicants and their referees should make clear how far writing-up has progressed; referees must be able to assure the Trustees that the candidate will complete during the appropriate period. Because the grants at their disposal are sufficient only to contribute towards final costs of completion, the Trustees will interpret this condition rigorously. A delayed application is recommended when no such assurance can be made.

(c) Candidates are asked to demonstrate their need for financial assistance towards the production costs of their thesis and during the final period of writing-up.

(d) In awarding grants, the Trustees will temper financial need with consideration of the quality of the candidate's research: research potentially of outstanding quality and likely to make an important contribution to social anthropology will be eligible for consideration for a Sutasoma or Firth award.

(e) The trustees reserve the right not to consider any applications not presented in accordance with these Notes for Applicants.

In January 2006, the Trustees agreed the following indicated normal maxima when allocating Radcliffe-Brown grants:

(a) £200 for costs of thesis production

(b) £300 for living costs (with an additional £25 for those living in London)

(c) Requests for more than these amounts will only be granted in cases of exceptional need, such need must be thoroughly documented and justified, and candidates are advised that most grants will be made at or below the levels specified in (a) and (b).

The Sutasoma and Firth awards have a value between £500 and £750 and are awarded on the basis of exceptional research quality.  From time to time these figures are revised to allow for inflation and to reflect the Funds at the disposal of the Trustees.  Where work is deemed of a quality that deserves a Sutasoma or Firth award the Trustees may decide to supplement this with Radcliffe-Brown money where achievement has demonstrably been accompanied by financial hardship, subject to the overall limits of funds available for all deserving applicants in a given year.  However, while the current maxima for living costs and thesis production in the Radcliffe-Brown scheme are in force, candidates are advised that most grants will be for £500 or less unless there is clear evidence of exceptional financial need or academic achievement in their applications and supporting references.

FIVE copies of your application, collated and stapled please, should be submitted by the closing dates of 30 April or 30 November to the Office Co-ordinator, Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT, UK (Tel +44 (0)20 7387 0455). Copies of the application form are most readily available on: www.therai.org.uk or from the Office Co-ordinator); Trustees' meetings are held during January and June.