Ronald I. McKinnon Memorial Fellowship

The Ronald I. McKinnon Memorial Fellowship honors Professor McKinnon’s memory by funding outstanding research projects for undergraduate students writing an honors thesis on international economics, international finance, or economic development.

A leading thinker in the field of international economics, Professor Ronald McKinnon was one of the first academics to analyze financial repression as a substantial barrier to successful economic development. He is remembered as an intellectual giant throughout the Stanford and economics communities.

Funds awarded typically do not exceed $8,000 and must be spent within six months of the award. If the project involves human subjects, funds will not be disbursed until recipients obtain IRB approval. Awards prioritize projects requesting coverage of direct research costs, e.g., travel, field expenses, and data acquisition.

Fellowship Application

To apply, Stanford undergraduate students must submit the following:

a two-page project description,
a detailed budget and timeline,
a CV,
Stanford transcript,
and one faculty letter of recommendation.

Stanford undergraduates must be writing or planning to write an honors thesis in the areas of:

International economics, or
International finance, or
Economic development.

Proposals should show a clear path to an honors thesis, which must be under faculty mentorship and successfully completed by the end of senior year.

Third year undergraduates who will use the fellowship funding the summer before their senior year will have priority.

In addition:

Recipients must be registered students in the quarter they receive funds.
Funds must be spent within six months of receipt.
If the project involves human subjects, funds will not be disbursed until recipients obtain IRB approval.

Travel notes

Per Stanford’s international travel policy, this opportunity is conditional on the security and medical risk level in the proposed destinations remaining at medium risk or below. See Stanford International Affairs for more information.

Budget and Budget Justification

Please upload one PDF document containing the budget and justification using the King Center budget template. Please use the same level of detail.

Detailed budgets justifying funds requested must accompany applications, and emphasis will be placed on “value for money.” Partial awards may also be made. Awards will prioritize projects requesting coverage of direct research costs, e.g., travel, field expenses, and data acquisition. Applicants may simultaneously apply for other sources of funding but may not accept multiple sources of funding for the same expenses.

Please list all the anticipated sources of funding indicating which items would be supported by these funds and which will be covered by other sources.

The following expense categories WILL be considered an appropriate use of these funds:

Travel costs (either domestic or international; round-trip, economy class airfare, based on fares to and from San Francisco) associated with the proposed research
Other special project costs such as purchase of datasets, production of questionnaires and surveys, or human subject costs
Data entry or transcription costs
Other activities directly related to the research
Accommodation and meals

The following expense categories will NOT be considered an appropriate use of these funds:

Salary payments to undergraduates
Equipment purchase(s)
Travel costs for dependents and/or spouses
Travel costs for job interviews
Travel costs to attend or present at professional conferences
Dissertation write-up grants
Course registration
Stanford tuition
Language training
Pre-departure immunizations
Travel medicine consultation
Health insurance
Visa costs
All other incidental expenses

Recommendation letter

Faculty recommendation letters have the same deadline as the application. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their letter of recommendation is submitted by the application deadline.

Students request recommendation letters within the application on the SOLO platform. A link is immediately sent to the faculty member, who can then upload the letter via SOLO. Letters should be submitted as PDF files.

Faculty may submit letters of recommendation at any time after receiving the link and do NOT have to wait for the student to complete and submit the application. This means that students, out of courtesy to the faculty, should initiate their application early enough to give advance notice to their recommenders, even if students plan to finalize the application closer to the deadline. We recommend inputting letter writer names at least two weeks before the deadline.

Fellowship Application Review

After the application deadline, completed applications will be reviewed by a committee. Candidates will be selected based on overall fit with the fellowship and academic excellence.

Fellowship Recipient Stewardship Obligations

Fellowship recipients will write a thank-you letter to the donor. The letter must be written in a timely manner and include an abstract of the project and how the award will be used. Stewardship guidelines will be provided.

Fellowship recipients may be asked to present their research at a workshop or seminar organized by the Stanford King Center on Global Development.

Funding Guidelines

Requests must be for expenses that are not covered through other sources of funding from external or university sources.
Funds awarded must be spent within six months of receipt.
If the project involves human subjects, funds will not be disbursed until recipients obtain IRB approval.
All funds will be dispersed as Stipend Funding via the Office of Financial Aid.
- Stipends may be considered taxable for the recipient, although no tax forms are generated by the university.
  - The tax obligation varies according to the individual student's total income, dependency status, treaty status for international students, and individual circumstances. Residents of certain countries may be able to claim a tax treaty benefit for reduced federal taxation.
  - For assistance with tax withholding, tax treaty and tax form issues, submit a Support Request. Student Financial Services, the Bechtel International Center, and Stanford’s Fingate provide additional information regarding tax considerations.