Fall 2023 – Honors College Research Grants

Each semester, the Honors College supports high-quality research by Honors College undergraduates with Research Grants up to $1000. Students working on Capstone projects are particularly encouraged to apply.

Research Grants are competitive and require a letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising the research project for which the student seeks funding.

Honors College Research Grant application form:

The Honors College research grants are given each semester to support excellent undergraduate research by Honors College students, including, but not limited to, Honors Capstone projects. Applications typically open at the start of each semester and the deadline to apply is generally the Friday of Week 5 at 5:00pm. Please consult the Honors College Announcements for the specific deadline.

Fundable Activities/Expenses:

• Students may request money to fund research expenditures for current or planned research projects, whether scientific or humanities studies. These awards are especially appropriate for supporting Honors Capstone activities but can support other types of undergraduate research as well. Priority will be given to proposals requesting funds for materials used in research. Student stipends will not be supported.
• No individual award will exceed $1,000 and most will be less. Decisions regarding the number and dollar amount of individual awards shall be guided by the principle of encouraging high-quality research for the largest number of undergraduates. Previous research awards received from the Honors College will also be taken into account.
• Each research proposal will be evaluated on the following criteria: (a) significance and importance of the project; (b) demonstrated understanding of research protocol; and (c) reasonableness of the proposed budget.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be current UIC Honors College students in good standing with the Honors College
• Funds are only awarded for ongoing work. Students may not apply for reimbursements towards research that was conducted in the past, but is not ongoing in the semester in which they apply.
• Applicants must remain current students for the duration of the funding period (i.e., applicants may not apply for funding for a project they will undertake after they graduate from UIC/the Honors College).
• Selected students must submit a 1-page report at the end of the semester in which they receive funding documenting their use of the funds. Additional reporting requirements may be added at the discretion of the Committee.

Application:

Please carefully review the proposal guidelines while preparing the application. A completed application includes:

1. A budget form,
2. A letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising your research project (which must be submitted by the deadline)
3. A completed application (the link will also be sent via the Honors Announcements at the beginning of each term).

If you have applied in the past and are reapplying, your application MUST be updated to reflect the progress made in your research. Duplicate or near-identical applications will be declined.

Applications are accepted once per semester via an online form. Please watch the Honors College Announcements in the first week of the semester for a link to the application form.

Applications must be complete–including letters of recommendation–by the stated deadline in order to be considered.

The Honors College offers undergraduate grants-in-aid for travel to professional meetings for participation/presentations of work including, but not limited to, Honors Capstone projects. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but decisions will generally be made at minimum 4 weeks after the applications are received. In academic year 2023-2024, in-person conference travel expenses qualify for this grant. Please see below for more detailed information.

Fundable Activities/Expenses:

• Students may request money to fund travel to attend and/or present their research at professional meetings (e.g., registration, flight, hotel) and presentation materials (e.g., poster preparation costs). Food/per diem is not funded under these grants.
• No individual award will exceed $500 and most will be less. The maximum allowable cost for posters is $75.00. Decisions regarding the number and dollar amount of individual awards shall be guided by the principle of encouraging the largest number of undergraduates to benefit from such participation. Priority will be given to students presenting their own original work, but students attending conferences, meetings or events without presenting a paper, or traveling to do research in their area of study, may also apply for funding. Previous travel awards received from the Honors College will also be taken into account.
• Each proposal will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
  1. the merit of the proposal’s likely impact on the student’s scholarly and/or professional development; and
  2. reasonableness of the proposed budget.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be current UIC Honors College students in good standing for the duration of the conference/travel period funded by this grant.
  • Graduating seniors may apply for funding to attend conferences during the summer (Mid-May through August) after their graduation. They are only eligible to apply for conference registration fees and poster printing costs, not airfare or housing expenses.
  • Graduating seniors must apply no later than the first week of April for summer conference travel, as we are unable to award funding to graduated students.
• Funds are only awarded for conference travel that occurs after the application is submitted; the grant will not refund students/departments for past travel.
• Selected students must submit a 2-page report and photo at the end of the semester in which they receive funding documenting their use of the funds, and include a photo of themselves at the conference. Additional reporting requirements may be added at the discretion of the Committee.

Application:

A completed application includes:

1.  A completed application
2.  A completed budget form
3. A letter of recommendation from the faculty member supervising the research being presented (or, if you are not presenting, the faculty mentor supporting your application) sent to cdeboe3@uic.edu.

Be sure to include confirmation that your proposal was submitted/accepted in addition to other budget documents. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Please submit completed applications, compiled into a single PDF or Word document, to cdeboe3@uic.edu with the subject line “YourLastName Travel Grant Application.”