Social and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research Grants
Autumn 2012 applications - 5:00 PM, Friday - September 21
Spring 2013 applications - 5:00 PM, Friday - February 8
- Applicant's declared major is offered through one of the departments of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS).
- Applicant is enrolled as a full-time Columbus campus student (at least 12 credit hours) during the semester in which funding is received.
- Applicant's research project has been validated by an SBS faculty member who has agreed to advise the applicant on this project.
- Project merit.
- Validity of research expenditures. Award decisions will preference budget items that are necessary for completion of the research project. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: Compensation for research participants; data collection; travel to conferences; conference/workshop fees; purchase of research materials.
Applications, proposals, and letters of recommendation will be reviewed by the assistant dean of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. The number of awards will be determined by the availability of funds. All applicants will be notified individually, by e-mail, (student’s OSU name.#) of award decisions.
Important Information For Students Selected To Receive A Grant
- If your research will involve human subjects, you must work with your faculty project advisor to obtain any necessary ethics training and approvals from the OSU Institutional Review Board (IRB) before you begin data collection and before any grant money may be disbursed.
- If your research will involve animal subjects, you must work with your faculty project advisor to obtain any necessary ethics training and approvals from the OSU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (ILACUC) before you begin data collection and before any grant money may be disbursed.
- Students traveling to international locations for the purpose of study abroad, undergraduate research, an international internship, or independent study which is part of their academic program, are required to enroll in the University's supplemental study abroad travel insurance. The supplemental insurance includes coverage for medical, emergency assistance, evacuation, repatriation, and political security and natural disaster. The coverage is available through the Office of International Affairs (OIA). For information on how to register for supplemental insurance, please go to the following site: http://oia.osu.edu/health-and-safety/health-insurance.html.
- If your proposed travel is to a country or region that is under a U.S. Department of State travel warning advisory and you are awarded a travel grant, you must petition the OIA Study Abroad Health and Safety Committee to request approval for credit for coursework or research in that country. In countries under a current Department of State Travel Warning, undergraduate students cannot use scholarship awards for study abroad programs and/or individual international projects outside of venues approved by Ohio State. Please visit the U.S. Department of State website, U.S. Department of State current travel warnings, for a list of countries currently under travel warning advisories. For information on the petition process, please contact Grace Johnson (johnson.136@osu.edu) at the Office of International Affairs.
Step 1: Prepare the following two documents. You will upload these when you complete the online application in Step 2.
- Prepare a project proposal of not more than three typewritten double-spaced pages. The proposal should include a concise summary statement of the methodology to be used in the research, the results anticipated, and the general significance of the project.
- Because your proposal may be judged by someone who is not a specialist in your field, you should attempt to state your proposal and its significance in relatively non-technical terms.
- The proposal also should include a statement concerning any arrangements that have been made to obtain or use special equipment or other resources required for the project.
- Your project proposal should be written in consultation with the Social and Behavioral Sciences faculty member who will serve as the project advisor and who will complete the Faculty Project Advisor Recommendation that is part of this application package.
- Please save the document with a title in the following format: Name_#_Project Proposal.pdf
For example: for buckeye.123, buckeye_123_ProjectProposal.pdf. - The following are acceptable file types: .txt, .rtf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .odf, .pdf, .xls, .xlsx
- The following must appear in the upper right-hand corner of your project proposal: Last Name, First Name and OSU ID.
2. Budget
Applications will not be considered without an itemized budget. Be as specific as possible providing both a description of what you will need to purchase as well as the cost for each item. At the bottom of your budget include a total cost for all items. Bear in mind that: 1) items identified as "Miscellaneous" will not be funded, and 2) equipment will not be funded due to the complex University rules regarding funding for equipment.
- Please save the document with a title in the following format: Name_#_Budget.pdf
For example: for buckeye.123, buckeye_123_Budget.pdf. - The following are acceptable file types: .txt, .rtf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .odf, .pdf, .xls, .xlsx
- The following must appear in the upper right-hand corner of your budget document: Last Name, First Name and OSU ID.
Step 2: Complete the online application form. 
Before submitting your application, review all information entered to ensure there are no errors; once you submit your application you will not be able to make any changes. Your project proposal and budget proposal must be ready to be uploaded as part of the online application.
Step 3: Ask your faculty project advisor to write a recommendation addressing the following six questions.
Provide the faculty member with this web page link so that s/he may review the questions and access the recommendation upload link.
The online recommendation will be active Spring semester.
Please be certain to tell your project advisor that this is not a standard letter of recommendation, but that it must address these questions.
Faculty Recommender - The purpose of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research Grants program is to encourage students to enrich their undergraduate academic programs by choosing research. Because the Faculty Project Advisor is essential to a student's meaningful understanding of research in the social sciences, your candor in evaluating the student, the project, and your own available time is much appreciated.
For your recommendation, please address the following six questions:
1. What is the significance of the proposed project?
2. Given available resources, is this project feasible?
3. How well prepared is the student to undertake this project?
4. Are you willing to commit yourself to, and does your schedule permit,s supervision of the project throughout the period of support?
5. Please address the issue of the relative independence of the project with regard to your own research.
6. If the student has previously received funding for this project, please address such details as the ways in which that funding was used, how well the project has progressed, and why additional funding is needed to complete this project?
- Please save your recommendation in one of the following acceptable file types: .txt, .rtf, .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .odf, .pdf.
- You will not be able to save and come back to this form.
