Undergraduate Research Support

Any Lyman Briggs student is eligible to apply for funding from the college. You will need an MSU faculty sponsor who will write a letter of support and serve as your research mentor during the term of the grant. Preference is given to LBC mentors.

Information on finding a research opportunity

Applications are generally made in the semester before the research is carried out, e.g. in fall, applications are accepted for work to be completed in the spring. In the spring, applications open for work to the carried out in the following summer and fall. 

Funding Options at LBC

There are three funds available for LBC students wishing to conduct research or travel to present research.

• The Jane Elliott Research Fund
• The LBC Undergraduate Research Support Fund
• LBC Research Travel Award 

 

Jane Elliott Research Fund 

The Jane Elliott Research Fund provides $2,500 a year to help fund a faculty-led undergraduate research opportunity for a student each year. Preference is given to chemistry students. Students must submit a short essay describing how their work will contribute to the advancement of women in STEM. 

Application procedure:

1. Fill out the Undergraduate Research Support application form
2. At the end of the form, upload a 1-2 page description of your research project addressing selection criteria below.
3. If you are applying for the Jane Elliott Research fund, input a 300-word essay on how your project will contribute to the work of women in STEM.
4. Provide a brief description of the proposed use of funds (typically used for stipend only; other uses should be explained).
5. Request that your proposed faculty mentor submit a letter of support: have them contact the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs, Dr. Ryan Sweeder, via email: sweeder@msu.edu.

Selection Criteria

Candidates should briefly address these criteria in their proposals.

 

Lyman Briggs College Undergraduate Research Support 

Lyman Briggs College provides funding to support the undergraduate research activities of LBC students. There are two options for LBC research support.

1. LBC faculty research that is seeking interested students. The projects will vary from term to term. Please visit the Projects page to see currently available projects.
2. Faculty-mentored research. Students must complete the application and have faculty support. Faculty may be outside of LBC.

Details 

In fall and spring, LBC funds up to five, $2,000 Provost Undergraduate Research awards each with an expected time commitment of about 10 hours/week for the duration of the 15 week semester. In addition, LBC awards one Jane Elliott Award (project should contribute to the work of women in STEM; see details above). In summer, there is an opportunity for larger awards, which may take the form of one full-time award with a time commitment of 40 hours/week, or a combination of half-time (20 hours/week) or quarter-time (10 hours/week) awards. .

LBC faculty have proposed a set of research projects for which they are seeking students. These projects may or may not require students to be on campus. Students may also apply for projects with non-LBC faculty. Students must complete the required application and have support from the faculty mentor.

Funds from these awards are primarily to be used for student stipends; exceptions should be explained and justified. Awards will be released when the mentor informs the LBC Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Affairs that the student has initiated their project. Student awardees and their mentors are required to file a brief assessment report as a follow-up to their project.  

Undergraduate Research funding may be used for work study.

Eligibility 

Any student in Lyman Briggs College may apply. The mentor must be an MSU faculty member. The student must be enrolled as a full-time student in LBC during the semester of the award, except during summer. To be eligible for summer funding, the applicant must have been enrolled as a full-time student during the preceding spring semester and not have graduated.

Application procedure:

1. Fill out the Undergraduate Research Support application form
2. In the application indicate if you are applying for an LBC project or one outside of LBC.
3. For students applying for a non-LBC project, you will need to:
   1. Upload a 1-2 page description of your research project addressing the selection criteria below.
   2. Provide a brief description of the proposed use of funds (typically used for stipend only; other uses should be explained).

If you are submitting a proposal for a project ouside LBC, you will need to request that your proposed faculty mentor submit a letter of support: have them contact the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs, Dr. Ryan Sweeder, via email to sweeder@msu.edu

Application Questions (for your reference) A Word document you can work from, to then paste your responses in the Qualtrics form.

Selection Criteria for LBC faculty-sponsored projects:

Candidates should briefly address these criteria in their proposals.

• Quality of the research proposal
• Relevance to the student's proposed career field or graduate education
• Financial need
• Academic performance
• Preference will be given to undergraduates who have not previously received funding or pay for performing research

Additional consideration will be provided for those projects or individuals that contribute to issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM.

Required presentation of work 

Students who receive funds are expected to present their results at a local research forum, such as UURAF (early April), the LBC Symposium, or similar departmental program; or at a regional or national meeting. This presentation should take place within two semesters after receiving support. Only one presentation is required in a year when you receive multiple awards for the same research project. 

 

LBC Research Travel Award 

Funding for student travel is available to LBC students who are presenting their research at a professional conference. Students should apply using the LBC Undergraduate Research Travel Application (fillable PDF). Please download it to your computer and follow the directions.

Students should seek funding from:

• their research mentor or supervisor
• their Department/Unit, and
• their College (for LBC students, the appropriate contact is the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs, Dr. Ryan Sweeder, sweeder@msu.edu). Students are also encouraged to apply for support from the Honors College, regardless of whether or not they are Honors College students.

Lyman Briggs College has limited funds available to support travel. We try to award up to $250 to each student until funds are exhausted. Please use the University travel system to arrange your conference travel. Student employees will need to use complete travel requests and reimbursement through the MSU travel system. Stephanie Brooks (brook451@msu.edu) and Michelle McLain (mclainmi@msu.edu) can assist with travel authorization and expense reports. Stephanie Brooks will assist with travel authorization and expenses for non-employee students award recipients. 

 

Questions

Please direct inquiries to the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs, Dr. Ryan Sweeder, at sweeder@msu.edu