Honors Research Grants

Honors Research Grants support students working on their honors thesis whether it is a research manuscript or creative portfolio. Students in thesis seminars are eligible to apply. 

As part of this process, you will gain experience with the stages of research grant application, including writing a grant proposal, developing a budget, and creating an abstract. If awarded a research grant, you will also present your research at the annual Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference. These are competitive grants for which you must submit an application through PATHS. 

Award

Grants of up to $1,000 are available to pay for materials and activities directly related to your thesis and may not be used as a stipend or wage. Grants may not be used to fund conference travel, please see the instructions for the CHC Conference Travel Grant to apply for funds related to conference travel. Awarded funds will be transferred to your Faculty Sponsor’s department. Any equipment purchased with grant funds is the property of the University of Massachusetts and must remain on campus for use by other students in the Faculty Sponsor’s department. 

Eligibility

You must be an Honors College student in good academic standing (i.e., minimum cumulative GPA of 3.400) from any academic discipline. You must also be a junior or senior who proposes to use the grant in connection with an Honors Thesis. 

Faculty Sponsor

The Faculty Sponsor must be a member of the faculty. Teaching Assistants and graduate students may not serve as Faculty Sponsors. 

Application Process

The application process is two-part, requiring you to submit the grant proposal and the Faculty Sponsor to approve it. You must initiate the process by recruiting a Faculty Sponsor and writing a grant proposal (see the Proposal Requirements below). The Faculty Sponsor must review and comment on your proposal before you upload the document. Since applications and proposals may not be revised online, you must communicate with your Faculty Sponsors regarding revisions before you submit your proposal. The Faculty Sponsor approves your proposal within 7 days. 

Applications without the Faculty Sponsor's supporting documents cannot be considered for funding. 

Applications must be submitted using CHC PATHS. 

Proposal Requirements

Your application must be a typed, single-spaced proposal, formatted as a PDF document, with the following sections: 

  • Background and Significance: Provide an introduction that lays the framework for the research and describes why it is important and creates new knowledge. Use scholarly references to briefly review the research that has led to this study. (1,500 word limit)
  • Objective: Exactly what are you going to do? This should be one or two sentences using action verbs like “develop, demonstrate, test, etc.” Also include a hypothesis, if appropriate. (500 words or less)
  • Methodology: How will you accomplish the goals stated above? Include how you will collect data and analyze the data (if applicable). What steps will you follow to carry out the project? Be clear about how you will be trained to accomplish the study and where the study will be carried out. Provide information to document that you have the experience to complete the project and that the necessary space and equipment is available to you. Be sure to provide sufficient details about environment and how your faculty mentor will provide guidance to demonstrate that the work is feasible. (1,500 words)
  • References: All references used in the proposal should be cited. Check with your advisor to use the citation format appropriate for your field of study.
  • Budget: What is your proposed budget? Please type budget on separate page. Provide itemized breakdown, total of estimated cost, specify grant request not to exceed $1,000 and show other funding sources if applicable. Additional narrative justification may be provided if not explicit in Methodology. (500 words or less) 

Please note: Your application information may be used for a press release.

Selection

The selection process is competitive. CHC reviewers will review the proposal to determine funding. You and your Faculty Sponsor will be notified of selection decisions before the start of the new semester.

Timeline

Online applications are accepted mid to mid-April for disbursement during the following fall, and in late October for disbursement during the spring.  

The April deadline is for juniors applying for fall semester (when the students will be seniors). The October deadline is for juniors and seniors applying for spring semester.  

Refer to CHC PATHS for the exact deadlines for submission of proposals. 

Checklist

  • Begin by carefully reading the Honors Research Grant criteria and instructions, above.
  • Identify a Faculty Sponsor AT LEAST a month before the deadline.
  • AFTER speaking with your Faculty Sponsor about your project, begin drafting your proposal.
  • Ask for sample grant proposals from your department or Faculty Sponsor. (Not all departments and sponsors have these available.)
  • Meet with your Faculty Sponsor regularly while writing and revising the proposal draft.
  • Give your Faculty Sponsor enough time BEFORE the deadline to review the proposal, comment, and advise you on revisions.
  • Get explicit final approval of your proposal from your Faculty Sponsor before uploading the proposal.
  • Once submitted, the proposal cannot be revised by you or Faculty Sponsor.
  • Begin the application in CHC PATHS. (You, the student, should initiate this.)
  • As soon as you have submitted your application, let your Faculty Sponsor know to be on the lookout for an automatic notification email from CHC PATHS that contains a link to the proposal system. As these notification emails sometimes end up in a spam folder, it is a good idea to follow up with your Faculty Sponsor.
  • Ensure your Faculty Sponsor approves your proposal within the seven-day faculty deadline. 

Deadlines

The Fall deadline is for juniors and seniors applying for the spring semester. The Spring deadline is for juniors applying for the fall semester (when the students will be seniors). 

The Faculty Sponsor deadline is seven days after the student application deadline. Faculty Sponsors must submit their approval through CHC PATHS to complete the application. Applications without the Faculty Sponsor's supporting documents cannot be considered for funding. 

Please note: Application information may be used for a press release.

For additional information or questions, please %20research [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (email the Honors College).