Honors Research/Creative Activity Fellowships

Want to get paid to work on a project you care about? Honors Research/Creative Activity Fellowships help fund up to $750 towards your experience working on a faculty member's project or on your own project.  

Fellowships are competitive awards, and you can apply through CHC PATHS. 

How It Works

Students are paid the Massachusetts minimum wage through the University’s Student Hourly Payroll system, and student hours are reported through the Faculty Sponsor’s department.  

  • You’ll be paid the Massachusetts minimum wage through the University’s student payroll system
  • Fellowships are awarded one semester at a time. You'll need to reapply each semester if you want more funding
  • The deadline for priority consideration is October 8, 2025 for spring semester funding
  • After October 8, applications will be considered on a rolling basis until funds are no longer available

Who Can Apply

  • You must be a Commonwealth Honors College student with a minimum GPA of 3.4 to be considered
  • Your project can be part of an independent study, thesis work (499Y/T/P), or non-credit work
  • Projects can take place on or off campus, but you need a UMass Faculty Sponsor (TAs and grad students can’t sponsor)

Steps to Apply

  • Find a Faculty Sponsor (we recommend you start looking at least a month before you apply)
  • Write a 300 to 500-word Project Description (this should provide a broad overview; and not focus deeply on details)
  • Share the Project Description with your sponsor for feedback before you upload it to CHC PATHS
  • Be sure everything is final. Once the Project Description is submitted, you can’t edit it
  • Submit the Project Description on CHC PATHS, and ask your sponsor to approve it online

Timeline and Deadline

  • Priority deadline for Spring 2026 awards: October 8, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.    
  • Rolling submissions: applications will be accepted until funds run out
  • Sponsors have seven days after you submit to approve
  • Decisions will be released approximately one month after the priority deadline. If you submit after the deadline, a decision will be released one month after your application submission.

Please note: your application information may be used in an announcement by Commonwealth Honors College

Application Tips

  • Give your Faculty Sponsor plenty of time to review and sign off on your application
  • Let them know to watch for an email from CHC PATHS (it sometimes is classified as spam)

We look forward to reviewing your submission!

Questions? Please research [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (email Commonwealth Honors College).