Undergraduate Research Fund
Students may request funding for senior theses and for other proposals emphasizing original research that is directly supervised by a Tufts faculty member. You may request funding for expenses such as supplies, travel, library cards, and payment of research subjects. The fund will support travel to a conference if you are presenting research, but we cannot reimburse you for meals. We cannot support students to attend conferences if they are not presenting research.
However, thesis binding, the purchase of computers or other durable goods, the purchase of books available from Tisch library or ILL, textbooks or supplies for a course, or payment of a salary are expenses that would not normally be granted. The fund will not support your participation in educational programs and seminars sponsored by other institutions. Note: SMFA students cannot receive funding from the Undergraduate Research Funds and the SMFA Dean's Research Award.
Guidelines and Procedures
Please follow these guidelines and procedures when applying for funds.
- Fill out the Undergraduate Research Fund Application online.
- Your request should be accompanied by a supporting letter or email from your faculty sponsor, sent to Scholar Development Specialist Anne Moore. Because of limited funds, it would be unusual for grants to exceed $450. If you receive funding from other university sources, you must indicate this on your application. Such requests should not exceed $200.
- If you are applying for international travel, please register your trip with the Tufts Travel Registry and forward the confirmation that you have done so to Anne Moore. Please check if your destination is subject to review.
- Each student can receive up to $450 per academic year. For summer projects, requests that are submitted before June 30 are counted toward the previous academic year, and those submitted after July 1 are counted toward the following academic year.
- If you are doing research on human subjects, you must get approval for your project from the Institutional Review Board. There is a space on the application to indicate the date or anticipated date of approval. Please submit a copy of the approval letters to Anne Moore along with your application materials.
- You can apply for funding for group projects. All participating students should list their names and ID numbers on a single application, and the supervising faculty member should send a letter to Anne Moore outlining the project and justifying the budget. The maximum that any one group can apply for is $2500. Individual limits ($450 or $200) still apply.
- Undergraduate Research Fund approvals will be conducted on a rolling basis; proposals will not be in direct competition with one another. The program will end when the funds for the year are exhausted.
- Reimbursement will be made upon submission of receipts and completion of appropriate financial forms.
- Only students who are currently enrolled at Tufts and in good standing will be considered for funding.
- Please do not ask the president or the provost for additional funding.