Deadlines

  • Always submit your proposal before starting your project. This may mean submitting before the posted deadlines below.
  • Scholarly Project Proposals:
  • Fifth Year Funding Proposals:

Unusual Circumstances

  • If you start your project early: In your proposal, clearly outline what you’ve already done and what you still plan to accomplish.
  • If you’ve already completed your scholarly project before the OSE deadline: Contact OSE to discuss your options.

How to Prepare Your Proposal

Use the Proposal Template

Writing Style

  • Write clearly, in the first person and active voice.
  • Specify who you mean if you use “we.”
  • Use past tense for completed work, future tense for planned work.

Recommended resources for clear scientific writing:

  • Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
  • Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (9th Edition)
  • Gopen and Swan, The Science of Scientific Writing (American Scientist, 2000)

Originality & Source Use

  • Your project does not need to be your own idea. It can be part of a larger group or mentor project, but your proposal must include the question you are trying to answer and your specific role and contribution to the project.
  • Clearly describe how your project relates to and differs from other work in your lab or group.
  • You may refer to or quote specific methods from your mentor’s grant or another source, but use your own words whenever possible. If quoting directly, use quotation marks and provide a footnote/source.
  • Refer to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources for more information.

Review Process & Tips

  • Make your proposal understandable to a broad audience – be clear and concise.
  • Proposals are reviewed by Harvard faculty, potentially from outside your specific research area.
  • Your proposal evaluation may come in three forms:
    • Comments added to your proposal
    • Comments sent by email
    • A completed evaluation form
  • You may be asked to revise your proposal. Use track changes when you revise. Submit revisions within two weeks of receiving your proposal evaluation.
  • Be specific about your role in the project.
  • Significance: Keep this section to about half a page; focus on the importance of your project.
  • Feasibility: Present a realistic timeline and scope for your work.
  • Visuals: Include tables, figures, or charts where helpful, especially in the Significance or Approach sections.
  • Sample size/power calculations: Include calculations, or state explicitly if they are not applicable. More info about sample size and power calculation.
  • Describe the statistical methods you will use in the Approach section.
  • Be transparent about any uncertainties. Clearly state outstanding questions and explain how you plan resolve them as your project proceeds.