Budget Justification Information

The following sample texts are provided to assist you with the preparation of grant applications. However, each investigator/fellow should modify and add to the text in a manner which will accurately reflect his or her project. If a portion of the text does not apply to the grant (i.e. animals are not involved on the project), the language which is not applicable should obviously not be included in the application.

NIH Salary CAP - All Divisions

For salaries in excess of the current and/or projected NIH salary cap, we have calculated the salary request against the cap. Upon request, we will be pleased to provide institutional salary information.

Definition of a Year for NSF Proposals - All Divisions

NSF proposals should include the following statement in the budget justification: "The University of Chicago uses the following definition for the purpose of calculating the NSF two-month limit on salary requested in the proposal budget for senior personnel. The University of Chicago defines year as fiscal year, which is the consecutive 12-month period beginning July 1 and ending June 30."

Labor Hour Reporting Requirements - All Divisions

The University of Chicago follows the Federal regulations found at 2 CFR 200.430 for charging and documenting compensation expenses to sponsored program awards. As you may be aware, 2 CFR 200.430 does not require any hourly tracking of time for compensation and therefore the University does not require or track hourly activities of faculty and other professional personnel. Any hours provided in the budget or reported through the life of the project are provided as estimates only and the supporting documentation for all compensation expenses will continue to be in accordance with 2 CFR 200.430.

Graduate Research Assistants Language Statements:

Social Sciences Division

Registered graduate students are restricted to 19.5 hours per week during the academic quarter. Graduate student tuition is computed at 64% of the salary, mandated for Type B graduate assistantships in the Social Sciences Division.

Physical Sciences Division

Graduate student tuition remission is requested in accordance with the University of Chicago Physical Sciences Division's established policy of requesting tuition support at the rate of 52.5% (FY23) of graduate student base funding. The amount partially covers the graduate student's actual tuition cost.

The standard GRA base funding in the Physical Sciences consists of $40,800 (FY24) as a 12-month 100% effort GRA, $21,420 tuition remission, $4,917 for health insurance, and $1,864 for graduate student fee for a calendar year GRA appointment, for total compensation of $69,001.

A first year Postdoctoral Scholar of the (fill in the department/program) receives salary based upon the NRSA Level Zero (FY23 Level 0 rate applies: $56,484) and a 23% federal fringe benefit rate, for total compensation of $69,475. We believe the total compensation for the GRA is reasonable in light of this comparison with a first-year postdoctoral fellow's compensation and should be fully funded.

A separate rate is charged for graduate students in CS, please visit the link for updated information: https://psdlbc.uchicago.edu/payroll/gradstudents/

NOTE: You may wish to assume for the budget a 3% increase should the start date of the grant is beyond Oct 1, 2024. The salary plus fringe benefits for zero-year Postdoc Scholars should be greater than or equal to GRA total compensation.

Biological Sciences Division

Graduate student tuition remission is requested in accordance with the University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division's established policy of requesting tuition support at the rate of 26.53% (FY25) of graduate student salaries. The amount partially covers the graduate student's actual tuition cost.

GRA compensation at the Biological Sciences Division of the University of Chicago consists of $44,000 (FY25) as a 12-month 100% effort GRA, $5,361 for health insurance, $1,900 for graduate student fees and $13,600 for tuition remission for a calendar year GRA appointment totaling $64,861.

NOTE: You may wish to assume for the budget a 3% increase should the start date of the grant be beyond October 1, 2025. The salary plus fringe benefits for zero-year Postdoc Scholars should be greater than or equal to GRA compensation plus tuition remission.

Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering

Graduate student tuition remission is requested in accordance with the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering's (PME) established policy of requesting tuition support at the rate of 52.5% (FY23) of graduate student stipend. The amount partially covers the graduate student's actual tuition cost.

The standard GRA base funding in PME consists of $40,800 stipend (effective 10/1/2023) as a 12-month 100% effort GRA, $21,420 tuition remission, $4,917 for health insurance, and $1,864 for graduate student fee for a calendar year GRA appointment, for total compensation of $69,001.

Registered graduate students are restricted to working 19.5 hours per week during the academic year.

NOTE: You may wish to include a 3% annual increase in stipend, health insurance, and fees for proposals with start dates beyond October 1, 2024.

BSD Faculty Salary and Effort Statements:

Faculty Salary Statements

The inclusion of faculty salary in this budget reflects the policy of the Division of the Biological Sciences (BSD) and the Pritzker School of Medicine. It is expected that investigators will recover reasonable and appropriate salary support from grants and contracts proportionate to the fraction of their time and effort devoted to the project. BSD faculty appointments are made on a twelve-month basis and the requested salary is based upon the investigator’s total University compensation. If an award is made in a reduced amount, the investigator will be expected to retain an appropriate amount of salary support in the budget.

Faculty Salary Statements for NSF Proposals

We are requesting {insert a number not greater than 2} calendar months of salary support. All academic appointments in the Biological Science Division are based on twelve months and effort on projects is spread over the calendar year. This request for NSF salary support is, we believe, consistent with the NSF limit of 2/9 of regular academic-year salary for investigators with academic-year appointments, and also reflects the policy of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine that faculty recover appropriate salary support from grants and contracts proportionate to the effort devoted to the project.

Faculty Salary Statement for Non-BSD Faculty Supported on Grant

The inclusion of faculty salaries for {insert BSD faculty names here} in this budget reflects the policy of the Division of Biological Sciences (BSD) and the Pritzker School of Medicine. It is expected that BSD investigators will recover reasonable and appropriate salary support from grants and contracts proportionate to the fraction of their time and effort devoted to the project. BSD faculty appointments are made on a twelve-month basis and the requested salary is based upon the investigator’s total University compensation. If an award is made in a reduced amount, the investigator will be expected to retain an appropriate amount of salary support in the budget.

Clinical Trial Effort Reporting

In addition to the grants listed above, Dr. X is involved in clinical trials at the University of Chicago. Dr. X has evaluated his/her clinical study obligations and confirms that the aggregated effort on all trials listed below does not exceed [insert percentage here].

Federal and Non-Federal Fixed Amount Subaward

Federal

The subaward to [name of subrecipient] documented in this proposal meets the criteria described in 2 CFR 200.201(b) and the University of Chicago is therefore requesting prior agency approval of issuing this as a Fixed Amount Subaward. Payments to the subrecipient will be issued based on milestones/deliverables meeting specific requirements of the award. The established fixed amount is based on a reasonable estimate of actual cost. [Provide justification for fixed price methodology if applicable.] The University of Chicago will consider this subaward approved if an award is made and no contrary guidance from the agency is included in the award notice.

Non-Federal

The University of Chicago is requesting approval to issue a Fixed Amount Subaward to [name of subrecipient] as documented in this proposal. Payments to the subrecipient will be issued based on milestones/deliverables meeting specific requirements of the award. The established fixed amount is based on a reasonable estimate of actual cost. [Provide justification for fixed price methodology if applicable.] The University of Chicago will consider this subaward approved if an award is made and no contrary guidance from the agency is included in the award notice.

Federal Clinical Sites Fixed Amount Subaward

Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.332 and 45 CFR 75.201, we intend to enter into clinical trial subawards in a fixed amount manner. Subaward payments will be made when the subrecipient meets the enrollment milestone as outlined in the subaward as required by the regulations. As we have not selected all subrecipients who will be enrolling in the trial, we are seeking universal approval for any clinical trial subaward we enter into during the duration of the project in order to expedite clinical site activation, provided that such subawards based on fixed amounts (as defined in 45 CFR Part 75.2) satisfy the conditions for such subawards cited in the NIH GPS Section 8.1.2.11 (1) through (5) [omit if not NIH]. The University of Chicago will consider this universal request approved if an award is made and no contrary guidance from the agency is included in the award notice.

NOTE: Pricing information may be included. For example: The pricing structure is as follows: $X [enter cost] for Y # of “patients” [enter quantity].

Joint Appointment (UC-ANL or UC-FNAL) Statement

The University of Chicago follows the Federal regulations found at 2 CFR 200.430 for charging and documenting compensation expenses to sponsored program awards. Some project personnel may be employees of Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) or Fermi National Acceleratory Laboratory (FNAL) who hold joint appointments at The University of Chicago. For these joint appointments, The University of Chicago will reimburse ANL or FNAL, as applicable, for personnel per the joint appointment reimbursement agreements between the University and the applicable Laboratory. Please note that for reimbursement purposes, ANL and FNAL use internally established pay band schedules for their employees who hold joint appointments, which are calculated by the applicable Laboratory to correlate to costs associated with a given estimated effort commitment.

NOTE: This statement is to be used on budget justifications for proposals when there are personnel on a project with a ANL or FNAL employees who hold a joint appointment at the University, effective October 1, 2023.