Students seeking funding for a lab project, field research or a senior project have until April 24 to apply for a rGrant, which can provide up to $1,000 to fund student work.
The rGrant Program, which was formerly known as the Educational Research and Project Grant Program, provides financial support for both graduate and undergraduate students research in all academic disciplines.
“rGrants is just a program that we have that allows us to fund projects, research projects, anything that has to do with academics that a student may want to achieve through their college career,” said ASI finance assistant Jasmin Bautista. “Just get further into the study that they want to focus on, for their future career or just while they’re in college.”
The majority of rGrants go to students with math and science-based backgrounds but there are no restriction for grant eligibility by major or department, Bautista said.
To apply, students should visit the ASI website and fill out the online application. All applicants need a tenured or tenured-track faculty member to supervise their project.
ASI will be handling all applications this year for both undergraduate and graduate students, said Anthony Farnesi, ASI vice president of finance.
“We’ve partnered with graduate affairs and undergraduate affairs and created one application for any student to apply through,” Farnesi said. “Any undergraduate or graduate student can apply.”
Past rGrants have been used to fund projects ranging trying to reduce secondhand smoke on campus to studying tectonic plates, Bautista said.
“There’s a pretty good range of types of things — we’ve got one application that was to fund the different aspect of this girl’s trip out to some part of California where you are not allowed to take vehicles,” Farnesi said. “You’re not allowed to take machines, cars or mechanical vehicles — none of that — so she had to rent like pack mules.
“She had to hike with all of her stuff across this area until she got to this place and then she loaded up a bunch of rocks and hiked them back out on these pack animals so that she could research the rocks,” Farnesi said.
Farnesi said he was unsure of how many students would receive funding this year. There generally is a limited amount of money and students with the most detailed applications had the best chances of ultimately receiving funding.
“One of things the reviewers in graduate and undergraduate will look for is that the research methodology is at least thought out,” Farnesi said. “And that there is a good plan going forward to use the money.”
“The review committee will look for applicants that have detailed answers to the application questions concerning the timeline of the project, budget and research methodology,” Farnesi said. “If those three things pass their standard of rigor, then the application is considered good.”
The deadline for the rGrant application is 5 p.m. on April 24.