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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.