All majors eligible!

Project Grants

LSU Discover provides funding for undergraduate student research or creative projects through our Project Grants. The purpose of these grants is to provide students a learning opportunity through participation in faculty-mentored projects. Students from any major are welcome to apply. With an LSU Discover Undergraduate Research Project Grant, currently enrolled, full-time LSU undergraduate students can receive funding for hourly wages, supplies, and travel related to a research or creative project. Students must have an LSU employed faculty member serve as their supervisor and sign their time-sheets.

A list of all previously funded students can be found at the bottom of this page.

Looking for funding to present at a conference? Visit this webpage: LSU Discover Conference Travel stipend.

Note: Beginning in Summer 2023, the Project Grant funding cycles will consist of a summer cycle and a fall/spring cycle.

Name	Major	Department in which research is conducted	Mentor	Research
Calley Chauvin	Biological Engineering	Chemical Engineering	Michael Benton	3D Co culture of adipose derived stem cells with ER+ breast cancer cells using a microfluidic droplet trapping array to study endocrine resistance
Gillian Coleman	Coastal Environmental Science	Environmental Sciences	Daniel Holstein	Potential Effects of SSCTLD on M. Cavernosa
Morgan Coleman	Coastal Environmental Science	Environmental Sciences	Daniel Holstein	Potential Effects of SCSCTLD on M. Cavernosa
Alcina Costa	Computer Engineering	Electrical Engineering	Xiangyu Meng	Impacts of Vision-Based Autonomous Driving Technology on Energy Conservation of Transportation Systems
Samantha Huszar	Kinesiology	Comparative Biomedical Sciences	Alexandra Noel	Pulmonary Effects of E-cigarette Aerosols on Juvenile Mice
Gabrielle Mellor	Psychology & English	Psychology	Vanessa Burke	You Work Like a Girl: Understanding the Regulation of Masculinity Violations in the Workplace
Celeste Patron	Biochemistry	Communication Sciences & Disorders	Karim Johari	Investigating the Effect of Frontal Aslant Tract Stimulation on Speech Production: An HD-tAtA SEG Study
Lillian Powell	Mathematics	Mathematics	James Madden	Road Traffic Management in Baton Rouge during LSU Sporting Events
Brennan Robertson	Coastal Environmental Science	Environmental Sciences	Vince Wilson	Studies on Measuring Impulse Noises
Abby Roche	Coastal Environmental Science	Oceanography and Coastal Sciences	Cassandra Glaspie	Investigating the Benthic Communities Amongst the Northern Gulf of Mexico’s Hypoxia Ridden Dead Zones
Amy Ruckman	English	English	Chris Barrett	Because/In Spite of Blackness: Anti-Blackness, White Privilege, and Interracial Partnerships in Shakespeare
Jonathan Russell	Coastal Environmental Science	Oceanography and Coastal Sciences	Robert Rohli	Are Increasing Global Sea Temperatures Linked to Changing Tropical Cyclone Induced Tornadic distribution along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast?
Cartie Whitelaw	Sociology	Sociology	Frederick Weil	Community Cooperation in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Funding Cycles

Applications for 2023 - 2024 funding are due by Sunday, July 9 at 11:59 p.m.
Decisions will be announced by Wednesday, August 16.
Mandatory orientation for 2023/24 funding recipients will be held on Thursday, August 17 at 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Funding period: August 22, 2023 - May 11, 2024.
Funding Limit: $3,000.

Applications for Summer 2024 funding are due by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 p.m.
Decisions will be announced by March 25.
Mandatory orientation for Summer 2024 funding recipients will be held on Tuesday, May 28 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Funding period: May 28 - August 16, 2024.
Funding limit: $6,000.

LSU Discover Project Grant recipients with remaining funding that they wish to use beyond their original funding period can submit a No-Cost Extension Request Form.
Requirements to request at No-Cost Extension. All are due one week before the end of the original funding period.
- Complete the No-Cost Extension Request Form.
- Ask your original faculty mentor to email a note of support for your submission request to lsudiscover@lsu.edu

Application Information

Eligibility for funding

Must be enrolled as a full-time LSU undergraduate if applying for spring/fall funding
Must be enrolled as full-time in the following fall if applying for summer funding
Must have an LSU faculty mentor (an alternate LSU full-time employed staff member may serve as the day-to-day supervisor)
Must have a minimum 2.5 college GPA
Must be in good standing with the university
Must have completed at least 24 credits of college coursework at the time the application is submitted

Restrictions

Students can receive a maximum of $3,000 for the academic year (fall and spring) or $6,000 for the summer semester.
Students cannot receive more than one Project Grant
We cannot fund student projects that are part of a course or are for course credit (e.g., Thesis, Independent Study, Special Problems, etc.)
Students cannot earn wages from both LSU Discover and another funding source for the same hours worked on a project
Limited to one student per faculty mentor per semester, unless the students apply as a group
Student may not work more than 20 hours per week combined with other student worker jobs during the fall and spring semesters; students working in the summer may work up to 40 hours a week as long as they are not enrolled in any summer courses.
Summer funding is divided between two periods: $3,000 is available up until June 30th, and an additional $3,000 is available for the remainder of the summer semester.
For students requesting funding for supplies: please be aware that some restrictions may apply depending on the type of supplies requested
Funding expires the last day of classes of the funded semester

Funding for Groups

Groups of up to 3 students who each meet the eligibility requirements can apply to split one research grant.
Groups should submit one application using the Group Application Form.
If a group is funded, each student must complete all of the Recipient Responsibilities outlined below by the due dates.
The group must have only one supervisor (an LSU employed faculty or staff member) who is responsible for submitting each student’s bi-weekly time sheets.
The faculty mentor should submit a separate recommendation form for each student in the group.
The faculty mentor must fill out the assessment form for each student in the group.

Links to online application forms

If you are having issues with any of these online forms, please submit all of your application documents and information to lsudiscover@lsu.edu

Application Components

Application Components *all components have the same due date
Proposal* (For further instructions click on the "Research Proposal Instructions" tab)
Personal statement* (2 page max)
Fall or Spring Budget Template* (must use linked template) Summer Budget Template* (must use linked template)
College Record (free version of your unofficial transcript) 2.5 minimum GPA*
Faculty mentor recommendation form – Applicants should email this form to their mentor.

*To be loaded to online application form (all documents loaded into the application should have your name on at least the first page of each document)

Note: Your entire application will be scored by the selection committee using the Project Grant application scoring rubric

A word about the personal statement: There are no specific instructions for the personal statement so you are free to concentrate on any aspect of your life that you feel is relevant. This is your opportunity to share anything about yourself with the judges that might convince them that you are an excellent candidate for the funding. For example, you could discuss how this project contributes to your future goals (graduate school or workforce). You may want to explain how your previous educational and research experiences have prepared you for this project. Or you may want to explain any financial hardships that could be alleviated by the grant. You could even discuss all of these things. There’s no “right way” to write the personal essay for this grant. The personal statement is not scored but gives the judges a better sense of who you are as a student researcher beyond your project proposal and transcript.

You must attach a project proposal to your online application. Your entire proposal must be reviewed and approved by your faculty mentor before submitting your application.

Proposal Style:

Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, full name on right corner header of each page, and double-spaced. Can be uploaded as a Word Doc or PDF.

Required Elements of the Project Proposal:

Cover Page
- Title
- Student full name
- Student major
- Semester in which research will be conducted
- Name, title, and department of faculty mentor(s)
Project Narrative (500 - 1500 word count)
- Provide a description of the project using the following outline. Remember to write your proposal so that even a non-specialist can understand the purpose of your research.
- Introduction – This section should provide the justification for the proposed project. You should explain how your research contributes to the broader context of your discipline.
- Goals, Objectives, Hypothesis or Study Question – This section should discuss what you plan to accomplish.
- Methods – Describe how you plan to collect and analyze your data.
- Budget Justification and Resources – In this section, you must explain your budget requests (hourly wages, supplies, etc.). Also, you should explain what, if any, supplies, software, equipment, lab space, or other resources will be provided by other funding sources (such as your mentor or with other funding).
- Broader Impacts – Briefly discuss
  - The impact or benefit of your project on your discipline
  - The impact or benefit of your project on society
Literature Cited
- You must include citations to support your project narrative. Use whichever citation style is expected in your discipline.
Research Oversight and IRB (for Research with Human Subjects)
- All projects which involve human subjects must be submitted to the LSU Institutional Review Board (IRB) for approval or exemption. This includes projects in which humans will be experimented on, interviewed, surveyed, etc. In no case may a project with human subjects begin before written exemption or written IRB approval is received. Faculty mentors will need to submit the forms on behalf of their student mentee(s).
  
  Click here to visit the Institutional Review Board website to learn more about research involving human subjects.
- When submitting your application for the LSU Discover Project Grant, include your approval or exemption letter from IRB. If you are still awaiting a decision from IRB, you may include a copy of the email which confirms that the forms have been submitted.
Budget
- Provide a budget summary spreadsheet using the appropriate budget template.
  - Academic Year (Fall & Spring) Budget Template (must use linked template)
  - Summer Budget Template (must use linked template)

Note: Your proposal will be scored using this scoring rubric: Project Grant Scoring Rubric

Recommendation: Your proposal will also be scored on the quality of the writing so we recommend that you make an appointment with CxC to review your proposal before submitting. Schedule an appointment with CxC.

Application is reviewed by an LSU Discover staff member for completeness.
Completed applications are sent to LSU faculty judges for review. Each proposal is reviewed by 2-3 faculty members, at least one with expertise in the student’s discipline and one from our Faculty Advisory Board. Judges will remain anonymous.
Each faculty judge uses the Research Grant application scoring rubric to evaluate the student application.
Around 4-6 weeks after the application deadline, all student applicants will be notified.
Students whose applications have been accepted must reply to our emails in a timely fashion.

Recipient Responsibilities

Responsibilities for grant recipients

Funded students should submit required documents to the Office Coordinator by the due date.

Responsibility	Details	Due Dates for recipients
Attend orientation	Required	See at top of webpage
Submit signed student semester agreement form	Required	Before 1st day of work
Track hours on bi-weekly time sheet*	Required	Student payroll schedule
CITI responsible conduct of research certificate	Required	One week after orientation
IRB Human subjects approval if working with human subjects	Required	Before 1st day of work
Required training certificates: 2022 Power-Based Violence Prevention & Response Training; Ethics Training; Content Accessibility Awareness	Required	One week after orientation
Photo for website (preferably in research setting)	Required	One week after orientation
Attend the following LSU Discover workshops and submit notes through DURP portal.	Required for Academic Year recipients: Professional relationships & Networking; CV writing; Abstract writing Required for Summer recipients: attend weekly workshops throughout summer	Before last day of the funding period
Summer Undergraduate Research Forum presentation	Required for Summer students only	View Summer Forum event information
Discover day presentation**	Required	View Discover Day event information
Final Report Form	Required	Last day of funding period Project Grant Recipient Final Report Form

*Bi-weekly time sheets must be submitted by the student’s research supervisor every other week by Friday at midnight. Students and their supervisors will get warnings for the first two late submissions; the 3rd late time sheet submission will result in the grant being revoked.

**Discover Day presentation: All recipients are required to present their research at the annual Discover Day undergraduate research symposium held at the end of the spring semester. Students must complete the online application to participate. Student who will graduate before the next Discover Day should contact the LSU Discover office for an alternate activity.

Note: Students who cannot meet any of these obligations should contact our office before the due date in order to arrange alternate activities or request extensions.

Faculty Mentor Responsibilities:

For the application:
- Faculty mentor recommendation form – Mentors should complete this form before the application due date
For faculty with a funded student
- Mentor must complete Research Skills Assessment Form before the student’s first day of work on the project
- Mentor must attend the orientation or send a proxy
- Mentor must read and sign the LSU Discover Undergraduate Research Grant FACULTY Agreement Form before the student’s first day of work
- Mentor must sign and submit bi-weekly time sheets to the the office coordinator
- Bi-weekly time sheets must be submitted by the student’s research supervisor every other week by Friday at midnight. Students and their supervisors will get warnings for the first two late submissions; the 3rd late time sheet submission will result in the grant being revoked.