An Undergraduate's Guide to Funding and Publishing Research

Grants can provide funding for research experiences, data collection, equipment, studies, events, and other ways of engaging in activities that seek to build knowledge and improve communities. These grants may be very small or very large, and they may have a wide range of eligibility and application requirements. However, there are many grants available to undergraduates, or anyone, who has a project they believe is worth pursuing and is able to do the work required to create and submit the grant application.

Completing a grant application is usually no small task, but the skills needed to do so are not out of reach and are often worth pursuing. Here are some elements required in many grant applications:

• A Principal Investigator to take charge of the project and be the main contact person for the grant application
• Statement of the problem that the project seeks to solve or investigate
• Literature review of research and projects that have already been completed and can inform your project
• Methodology, if applicable
• Project summary or answers to questions about such topics as who or what benefits from the project, explanation of what success will look like, whether the project will sustain itself beyond the funding period, and what type of assessment strategies will be put in place to assess the project
• Project budget
• Project timeline

Stony Brook's External Scholarships & Fellowships Advising website supports both undergraduate and graduate students who are considering applying for nationally competitive awards. Here are some highlights of what is available on their website:

• Learn more about what they do and how to get started
• Learn more about what they specifically advise for undergraduates
• "Start Your Funding Search" Search Tool

Although not comprehensive, this list will help students explore funding opportunities. Not all these opportunities will be relevant to all undergraduates, so read through the requirements and eligibility carefully. Some of these links will take you out to other lists, and some are direct links to funders.