Discovery Grant Winner Max Konovalov presenting at the International Society for Computers and their Applications CATA Conference.

Discovery Grants support the travel costs associated with ongoing undergraduate research and creative projects.  The funds may be used to present research findings at conferences or seminars, or to conduct travel necessary to complete the research for a project that requires additional funding above and beyond the current funding sources.

Discovery Grants are generally not awarded for projects that have already been funded through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship.  If you intend to submit an OURS Undergraduate Research Grant proposal then we recommend that travel be included in the budget for a single Undergraduate Research Grant proposal rather than submit an Undergraduate Research Grant proposal and a separate Discovery Grant proposal to request travel funds.  If the Discovery Grant application is intended to support research funded by another OURS grant then justification must be made that explains why additional travel funding is necessary.

Discovery Grants will not support new projects.  New proposals should be submitted as an Undergraduate Research Grant.

Discovery Grants will not fund:

• food or beverages
  
• per diem
• equipment purchases
• capital requests
• car rental

Discovery Grants may be used to fund:

• airfare
• transportation to/from airport (excluding car rental)
• airport parking fees
• conference registration fees
• ancillary costs for presentations (e.g. printing a poster)
• lodging if supplementary funding is available for transportation

Discovery Grants contribute support but generally do not fund the entire cost of a proposal unless the applicant can demonstrate exceptional circumstances. For example, if a Discovery Grant funds roundtrip transportation and conference registration fees there is an expectation that hotel fees will be covered by other funding sources.

Deadline: Students apply for this award on a year-round basis. A faculty mentor supervising the project must endorse the application.  For travel to present research findings the faculty mentor must also write a short description regarding the significance of the conference.

Eligibility: Applicant must be admitted to UAA as an undergraduate degree-seeking student. Submission Guidelines: To be considered complete, applications must include the following:

1. Student's name
2. Student's ID number
3. Student's email address and phone number
4. Faculty Mentor (Project Supervisor)
   
5. A description of your research or creative activity contextualized within its field of study (not to exceed five pages). Your description should:

• State the significance and broader impacts of your project (for example, indicate the benefits of your work to others)
• State the objectives of the work
• If appropriate, state the hypotheses that you are testing and indicate the methods you are using to solve the problem
• Summarize any data and/or findings of your work so far
• Describe the methodology of your study (for example: field work, field sampling, sample processing, analytical work, and data acquisition)
• Indicate your degree of involvement and that of others contributing to the work
• List significant references upon which your work builds
• Indicate other funding sources for the current project
• Include a budget of your project (including the amount you are requesting)
• Include budget justification (describe and detail the amounts indicated in the budget)
• If funds are being requested for travel to a conference to present research findings or creative work, please submit proof of acceptance to the conference

Awardee Responsibilities: Discovery Grant recipients must provide the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship with the following items:

• An abstract of the research project
• A digital photo of the student's presentation or photo of student doing research in the field
• Photographs of student at the conferences, if applicable

Download the Discovery Grant Application Form, which can be completed electronically in Word, and email the completed application to discovery@uaa.alaska.edu.

Visit the Success Stories Website to view previous winners.