BUDGET JUSTIFICATION

The budget justification may be one of the most important aspects of your proposal.  It provides sufficient detail for a clear understanding of how costs were calculated and why they are necessary. Justifying each line item in your budget is done in two ways: 

• By showing the math calculations used to compute a cost

• By explaining how the expenses contribute to the project. 

The budget justification will often appear in the final column of your budget, with explanations of expenditures on the same line as the expenditure. 

 Examples: 

• Two faculty mentors will receive a stipend of $1,700 based upon BSU Office of Undergraduate Research faculty-mentor stipend policy. 

• Professor Smith will work half-time hours in June and July to produce program evaluation data. This represents one month of effort based on annual 9-month salary of $60,000.

Last Modified: August 25, 2010