The Research Office

Wilson Hall
371 Wilson Boulevard
Rochester, Michigan 48309-4486
(location map)
(248) 370-2762
(248) 370-4111
[email protected]
#OaklandResearch

A woman holding a vial in a lab while two people observe.

Student Funding Opportunities

Provost Student Awards are available for both undergraduate and graduate students. These awards are administered by the Research Office and a cross-disciplinary committee of OU faculty members. See the tabs below for more information.

Chair of the Provost Student Research Awards committee:
Adam Avery, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, CAS
E-mail: [email protected]

Note: GReAT awards support tuition for graduate students whose work can be shown to support faculty research. GReAT awards will not replace student funding support from external funders.  Students cannot apply for GReAT awards; faculty must apply.  Faculty can find more information on the Graduate Tuition Assistance: the GReAT Award intranet page.

infoReady REVIEW

Undergraduate

Provost Research awards will be available for both graduate and undergraduate students for the winter’24 semester.  Look for the application in InfoReady Review in early January.  Please note, graduate and undergraduate student travel awards will not be offered for fall’23 and winter’24 semesters.

Provost Undergraduate Student Travel Award
Award Amount: $400 maximum
Description: For travel to a conference to present a paper
Application Submission Deadlines: 
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023 or winter semester, 2024)
    Third Friday of February

Provost Undergraduate Student Research Award
Award Amount: Up to $1500
Description: For project costs to carry out an independent research project, under the mentorship of a faculty member
Application Submission Deadlines: 
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023)
    Third Friday of February

Helpful Links:
infoReady REVIEW
Provost Student Research Award Budget Template (PSRA)

Graduate

Provost Research awards will be available for both graduate and undergraduate students for the winter’24 semester.  Look for the application in InfoReady Review in early January.  Please note, graduate and undergraduate student travel awards will not be offered for fall’23 and winter’24 semesters.

Provost Graduate Student Travel Award
Award Amount: $500 minimum
Description: For travel to a conference to present a paper.
Application Submission Deadlines:
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023 or winter semester, 2024)
    Third Friday of February

Provost Graduate Student Research Awards: Science, Quantitative Social Engineering, Engineering and Mathematics
Award Amount: Up to $1500
Description: To support a student research or creative activity project (project costs), under the mentorship of a faculty member.
Application Submission Deadlines:
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023)
    Third Friday of February

Provost Graduate Student Research Awards: Music, Theatre and Dance
Award Amount: Up to $1500
Description: To support a student research or creative activity project (project costs), under the mentorship of a faculty member.
Application Submission Deadlines:
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023)
    Third Friday of February

Provost Graduate Student Research Awards: Qualitative Social Sciences
Award Amount: Up to $1500
Description: To support a student research or creative activity project (project costs), under the mentorship of a faculty member.
Application Submission Deadlines:
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023)
    Third Friday of February

Provost Graduate Student Research Awards: Humanities
Award Amount: Up to $1500
Description: To support a student research or creative activity project (project costs), under the mentorship of a faculty member.
Application Submission Deadlines:
    Third Friday of October (not available 2023)
    Third Friday of February

Graduate Tuition Assistance - The Graduate Research Assistantship Tuition (GReAT) Award
Award Amount: Annual tuition support for a full-time graduate research assistantship
Description: To support research-active faculty by funding graduate student tuition.
Application Submission Deadlines:
    For Fall: Second Monday of March 
    For Winter: Fourth Monday of September
For more information, talk to your faculty mentor.

Helpful Links:
infoReady REVIEW
Provost Student Research Award Budget Template (PSRA)

Provost Student Awards FAQs

Q: How do I apply?   
A: You apply through the online application program, InfoReady Review. Log onto InfoReady Review using your NetID. Look for the application titled “Student Provost Research Award”. If you don’t see this award listed, check back closer to the due date. There are directions once you log into InfoReady Review; you will be asked to upload application documents. For administrative questions regarding InfoReady Review, contact [email protected].  

Q: I went to InfoReady to do my application, but I can’t find a link for any of the Provost Student Award competitions. Where can I find these?
A: The competition links are only set up about a month before the submission deadlines. For academic year 2023-2024, they will be set up in January, 2024.

Q: What should I include in my proposal?
A: For the best advice, contact the Chair of the Provost Student Research Award committee. The current chair is Dr. Adam Avery, [email protected]

Q: Will there be only one submission date per year going forward, or will you go back to offering both fall and spring competitions in future years?
A: For now, there will only be one competition per year.  This may change in the future.

Q: Can I submit two applications in the same round?  
A: Yes, however no more than one proposal per applicant will be approved for funding in a given year.

Q: When will awards be given out?
A: There will not be any Provost Student Awards given out in calendar year 2023. There will only be one round of awards for academic year 2023-2024. Applications will be available in InfoReady Review in January, and reviewed in February. Awards will generally be given out a minimum of 30 days after applications are due.

Q: Can awards be used retroactively? For instance, if I go to a conference in the fall of 2023, can I apply for a Provost Student Travel Award in February, 2024, and if awarded, apply the money towards the fall travel expenses?
A: Yes you can. In the past it has been up to six months after the conference, even if you have graduated.  However, travel awards may not be given out in 2024.

Q: I won an award and need to submit a final report. Is there a template for the report?
A: There is no template for the final report. The guidelines do say not to exceed 5 pgs, most are only one to two pages and indicate publications, presentations, and other accomplishments that were achieved as a result of the award. Guidelines also say to upload the report (PDF is best) into InfoReady Review. Please try to do that, however if there is any issue in doing so you can send it to [xxx] to have it uploaded for you.

Q: When will I hear the results of my application?
A: Generally, results will be communicated about 30 days after the due date.