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2021 MnDRIVE Informatics PhD Graduate Assistantship Program

The University of Minnesota Informatics Institute MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship program supports UMN PhD candidates pursuing research at the intersection of informatics and any of the five MnDRIVE areas: Robotics, Sensors and Advanced Manufacturing; Global Food Ventures; Advancing Industry, Conserving Our Environment; Discoveries and Treatments for Brain Conditions; and Cancer Clinical Trials.

The program aims to support approximately ten 12-month research assistantships for a 12-month (2 semesters and 1 summer), 50% graduate research assistantship, including tuition for up to 14 credits each semester (Fall & Spring) and subsidized health insurance through the Graduate Assistant Health Plan (please contact your department/unit accountant for current rates). Depending on the number of applicants and the availability of funding, smaller stipends may also be offered. Applications for assistantships may begin as early as the following Spring term and must be started by June 1 of the year following the submission of your application. Graduate students are expected to have successfully completed their preliminary oral exam by the start of the appointment. Depending on the availability of funding, awards may include up to $1,500 for travel to a conference or to defray costs for specialized training support if they are directly related to the proposed research. A final report of accomplishments made possible by this support is expected after the completion of this award.

The application window will open in early August and close on October 1, 2020 at 5:00pm CST. Fellowship awards will be announced by the end of November. To apply to this program, please visit the UMII Funding Portal page and click the “Apply” button under the program description. If you have any questions, please contact landw020@umn.edu.

Note: To access the application, you will first need to log in with your UMN Login credentials (recommended) or create a SurveyMonkey Apply account. Click on “Log In” in the top right corner, log in using either your UMN login or your SurveyMonkey Apply account, and then navigate back to the program page to apply.
 

Other Funding Opportunities

Additional funding opportunities through UMII funding sources are listed below. The funding applications below at a minimum must:

  • be accompanied by the Value Matrix
  • have a proposal written in single-spaced, 11-point Calibri or Arial font, with one-inch margins

On the Horizon Call for Proposals

Deadlines: Submit at any time

Large extramural funding opportunities are often preceded by workshops at funding agencies, NRC reports, or requests for information. The On the Horizon Call for Proposals provides funding to faculty and staff to convene larger group and prepare for major anticipated funding opportunities. Examples of developing funding initiatives or initiatives with deadlines sufficiently far into the future can be found here. Funding is limited to up to $50,000 per application for MnDRIVE related projects for the duration of twelve months. To apply, Email up to two pages to landw020@umn.edu with a plan for responding to an extramural funding opportunity. A detailed budget with budget justification on a separate page must be included, in addition to a list of collaborators and the Value Matrix.

Updraft Call for Proposals

Eligibility: Applicant must be a professor (tenured, tenured track, contract) or established researcher at the U of MN. Adjunct faculty are not eligible for this program.

Deadlines: Submit at any time

Like a small-scale current of rising air, Updraft funding enables internal researchers to reach a higher "altitude" by addressing immediate and short-term needs. For example:

  • A PI needs a data set reformatted prior to analysis and hires an undergraduate student on an hourly basis for this task.
  • A group of graduate students and postdocs want to bring a speaker on campus to learn about a newly developed genome analysis tool.
  • A small group of researchers need travel funds to attend an Open Session organized by the NIH to learn more about an upcoming funding opportunity.
  • A PI needs travel funding to send a graduate student to a course at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
  • A PI wants to send a postdoc to a data mining course and needs funds to cover the tuition.
  • A doctoral student in the social sciences received an NSF SBE Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement grant and needs assistance with data analysis.
  • A PI needs bioinformatics support in order to produce preliminary data for a grant submission, improve the efficiency of an analysis workflow by applying a new technique, or bring to publication a dataset that has otherwise been abandoned.

Funding is limited to up to $7,500 per 12 month period for MnDRIVE related projects and up to $5,000 per 12 month period for other projects. To apply, Email a single page to landw020@umn.edu explaining your needs. A detailed budget with budget justification (including why the support is needed given other potential resources) on a separate page must be included, in addition to the Value Matrix.

Matching Funds for Extramural Grants in MnDRIVE Related Areas (Ongoing)

Limited matching funds are available for extramural grant applications that are related to MnDRIVE research. Email landw020@umn.edu with your requests.