The Irish Sea Cultural Province:
Crossroads of Medieval Literature and Languages
Stipend and Personal Expenses
Each NEH Summer Scholar will receive
a stipend of $3,900 for the four-week seminar. Please note that
stipends are taxable. While the NEH stipend will go a long way
toward subsidizing your expenses, you are likely to need to
supplement this amount from other sources. The figures quoted
here are estimates and subject to change based on forces beyond
our control (e.g., changes in airfare and the exchange
rate).
Airfare & Local Transportation
You are responsible for
transportation to the Seminar and home afterwards. Expect to pay
$1500 or more for transatlantic airfare from the East Coast and
more from points further west. You will probably want to fly
into Belfast and home from Edinburgh or Glasgow. Once you arrive
at the Seminar, your occasional local transportation expenses
(buses, trains, or the occasional taxi) will be minimal. The
Seminar will cover transportation when we move from Belfast to
the Isle of Man and from the Isle of Man to Glasgow.
Housing
On the Isle of Man, we will be
staying at a highly rated B & B located in the heart of Douglas.
Expect to pay approximately $50-55/night, depending on whether
you choose a single or shared room. All rooms are en-suite (i.e.
with private bath), and full breakfast is included. Thus,
fourteen days� housing (with breakfast) on Man will total
approximately $700-$770.
In Belfast and Glasgow, we have
arranged for prepaid, low-cost university housing. Expect clean,
simple, rooms with common kitchens where you may store food and
cook your own simple meals if you choose. Each room has a bed,
closet, desk, and sink. There are shared showers and toilets on
every floor. The cost will be approximately $31/night, or $435
for our fourteen-day stay in Glasgow and approximately $250 for
our housing in Belfast for the first week. The cost for
university housing in Belfast and Glasgow will be withheld from
your stipend, since it must be pre-paid well in advance of the
seminar. These accommodations have been prepaid; therefore, if
you choose not to stay in our pre-arranged housing in Belfast or
Glasgow for any reason, please expect 50% of the total cost to
be withheld from your stipend.
Food
How much you spend on food will vary
widely depending on personal taste. Expect to pay roughly $10
for simple meals such as kebab, sandwiches, or pub fare, or
$20-$30 for meals in moderately-priced restaurants. You will
find that you can eat well and relatively inexpensively by
buying food from grocery stores and fast food caf�s. If you
choose to eat frequent meals in sit-down restaurants, you will
wish to budget accordingly. Barring dramatic changes in the
exchange rate, you can assume that your food options and
expenses on the Isle of Man, Belfast, and Glasgow will be about
what they would be if you were traveling for an extended period
in a major American city.
NEH Policies
Finally, the NEH has asked us to
inform applicants that attendance at all required meetings of
the Seminar is mandatory, that NEH summer scholars are expected
to be fully engaged in all aspects of the Seminar, and that
anyone who needs to drop out of the program will be required to
return a pro-rated portion of the stipend.
