• Grant Information

  • Major Academic Year Support (MAYS)
  • Research Presentation Grants (RPG)
  • Summer Undergraduate Research with Faculty (SURF)
• Application Information
• A Glance at Research
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Funding Opportunities

Each application requires at least two participants: an undergraduate student and a College of Charleston faculty member. The student applicant must be a full time, degree-seeking College of Charleston undergraduate student with a minimum cumulative GPA of least 2.5. A faculty member at College of Charleston must serve as the Principal Investigator on the project.

The URCA program offers several competitive grants to support undergraduate research and creative activities and to support travel to conferences to present your work. As part of this program, the work must be done under the direction of a College of Charleston faculty member, and it is expected that the results of the project will be disseminated in appropriate academic or professional forums. The types of grants available are:

Major Academic Year Support (MAYS) grants provide funding to cover student research expenses for projects carried out during the academic year. Maximum award amount $4000.00.

Research Presentation Grants (RPG) provide funding to support students who are traveling to present the results of student-faculty research. For conferences outside the U.S. or conferences west of the Mississippi, the maximum award is $750 per student. For conferences east of the Mississippi, the maximum award is $500 per student. For conferences in SC or in states that border SC, the maximum award is $200 per student.

Summer Undergraduate Research with Faculty (SURF) grants provide funding to cover student research expenses for projects carried out during the summer. Maximum award amount $6500.00. 

General Guidelines

It is imperative that you read and follow the guidelines for each specific grant and follow them carefully. All components of your application should be typed, and we recommend that you have your faculty mentor review your application prior to submission. Additionally, your mentor should assist you in preparing your budget; the more precise you can be with figures, the better, and you should use college-wide per diem rates. 

We recommend you review this PDF, completed by a prior grant recipient. Though the title specifies the Social Sciences and Humanities, it elucidates undergraduate research in general and provides some helpful suggestions on establishing relationships with faculty mentors.