Irish - Kuserk Biological Sciences Research Grant Application
Guidelines
These funds are intended to expand opportunities for students to conduct research that would not be possible without the extra support. Funds can go towards expenses including but not limited to research travel (and associated costs), research supplies, small equipment, or support to attend a conference. These should support a new project/experience or build the capacity of a current project, not cover routine costs for an existing project. These are only intended to be used as part of a planned project - they are not meant as an emergency fund for a project that runs over budget (whether Biology-funded or grant-funded). They are also not intended to provide just one small piece of funding for a larger project - they should fund a distinct project or substantial component of a project. Because the fund is created through grants to the Biological Sciences, eligible students should be Biology majors or working on a research project with Biology faculty. Successful proposals will provide an opportunity for the students to have a unique opportunity or conduct research that they could not otherwise pursue.
There are no specific eligibility guidelines for the students in terms of year or GPA. Applicants and the faculty sponsor will be asked to attest to the value of the project and the suitability of the student applicants.
One application should be submitted per project and it should be submitted by the student (but developed in collaboration with faculty). There is a spot at the end of the application for a short letter of support from the faculty mentor(s). If multiple students are involved, all names can be listed below but there should only be one submission and the budget should cover the whole project.
Applications will be reviewed as needed throughout the year, but the application must be submitted at least a month before the funding is needed. For example, if this is to support a research trip in August and you want to make reservations March 15, the application needs to be submitted by February 15. The urgency of the need does not weigh into the decision-making process.
Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Clear benefit to the student
- Degree to which the funding enables research that could not otherwise occur
- Planning - it should be clear that the student and faculty member have a clear plan for how to use the funds and that it is not to support an existing project that ran out of resources
- Reasonable budget - this is a small fund and the goal is to benefit as many students as possible and have as big of an additive impact as possible. Requests should generally be under $1000 per student; larger requests are unlikely to be funded unless they have extraordinary benefit or benefit a large group of students. It should also be clear that the faculty member utilized other funding resources that are available (in other words, this shouldn't fund something that would typically have been funded elsewhere).
- Follows the guidelines above in terms of timing and applicability.