Funding for Student Research in Arts and Sciences: College of Arts and Sciences Advantage Research Travel Awards
The College of Arts and Sciences at Anderson University is committed to promoting learning opportunities outside of the classroom for all of its full-time students. Not only do we emphasize and integrate undergraduate research into all of our degree programs—we also support it financially. To this end, the College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to offer a limited number of Advantage Research Travel Awards each year to undergraduate students presenting at a professional conference in their academic field of study. These awards may be used toward travel and other expenses associated with participation in a professional meeting, and must be requested in advance. The goal of this program is to directly impact the most deserving students in all of our arts and sciences programs, providing them with engaging learning experiences that build leadership skills, shape intellectual and personal growth, and prepare them for a lifetime of significance.
Eligibility
At the time of application, eligible AU undergraduate students will have:
- At least a 3.00 cumulative GPA
- A current enrollment of at least 12 credit hours (full-time status)
- Been selected to present at a conference in their field(s) of study (oral or poster)
Award Information
The maximum travel award is $300 per individual. Applications will be reviewed and acted upon in the order they are received. You may submit your application any time prior to the appropriate application deadline. Attendance at a conference by two or more students to make a single presentation or performance will be treated as one application, and the travel award will be divided equally among group members participating in the presentation or performance.
All funding must be approved in writing before travel occurs. Students may request reimbursement of travel costs incurred prior to the deadline dates shown below if the travel occurred during the same fiscal year as the application.
The conference must take place in the fiscal year the award is made. A fiscal year is June 1 of one year to June 30 of the next year.
These funds may be used to support presentations at professional conferences (e.g., oral papers, posters, performances) by Anderson University undergraduates from degree programs housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. The scholarly or creative work must have been conducted by Anderson University students under the mentorship of Anderson University faculty.
Letters of award notification will be issued via e-mail shortly following submission to the Dean of Arts and Sciences. If approval is not granted, the applicant will be notified via the e-mail address on the request.
Application Forms
Download the application form here.
Find the reimbursement guidelines here.
Impact
For the past few years, donors and alumni have helped build the foundation for the Advantage Research Award program for student scholarship. Here’s a brief sampling of how these awards have helped AU students:
- College of Arts and Sciences Biology students have won national awards for research in excellence in three of the past four years at the Ernest Everett Just Symposium at MUSC in Charleston, SC: Jonathan Low in 2018, Eslie Aquilar in 2016, and Rakish Taylor in 2015. Other students presented work at the NIMBio Conference, the Association of Southeastern Biologists, and Integrated Plant Science Symposium. Biology majors have recently been accepted into Duke, been awarded National institute of Health post-baccalaureate fellowships, and earned entrance into MUSC Dental School.
- Communication students Garrett Black, Ashlyn Boudolf, Parker Roberts, Ashley Smith and Mary-Hunter Smittkamp won national awards at the 51st Worldfest Houston International Festival, and Digital Media major Rachel Funchess has just accepted a coveted Studio Internship in Hollywood, CA.
- English majors Rachael Barefield Haley Schvanaveldt, Alison Snow and Olivia Strickland presented their work at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Central Oklahoma.
- Psychology majors Meg Huff, Lauren Beardsley, Mariah Squires, and Charli Kirby presented research in Portland, OR, at the Western Psychological Association Conference; and Claudia Markley, Lauren Babcock, Madison Fisher, and Nina Andre presented in Chicago last spring at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference.