Faculty/Departmental Grant Eligibility Requirements

Important Note

Faculty and staff should carefully read our eligibility requirements for all VPUE Department and Faculty Grants prior to submitting a proposal and making offers to undergraduate researchers. 

Table of Contents

1. Project Eligibility
2. Mentor Eligibility
3. Student Eligibility
4. Fundamental Standard

Project Eligibility

• Proposals must be authored and submitted by faculty and/or staff with faculty oversight.
• Off-campus projects must be clearly described in the proposal, and funding may only be disbursed after additional requirements on the part of students, mentors, and departmental staff are completed. Undergraduate Research cannot support, in any manner, travel to or work in locations where (a) the U.S. Department of State has issued a Travel Advisory of Level 4 ("Do Not Travel") or Level 3 ("Reconsider Travel") for the country destination; (b) the U.S. Department of State has issued a Travel Advisory of Level 4 or Level 3 (or associated language "Do Not Travel/Reconsider Travel") for the specific cities or regions within a country; or (c) there is other reliable information of significant health or safety risks.
  • Read more about the Undergraduate Research requirements for projects involving Off-campus Travel and International Travel.
  • Read about Travel Advisories.
• Specific details about individual proposal requirements can be found on our Proposal Guidelines Page.  

Project Eligibility During COVID-19

• Per University and broader public health guidelines, all grant proposals must include a COVID-19 Appendix that discusses a remote project option: i.e. a version of the project that can be done remotely from a student’s place of residence. This remote option must not involve (1) any in-person engagement, (2) local, domestic, or international travel, (3) on-campus project facilities, (4) or project facilities at other institutions or organizations. Proposals that do not have a remote project plan will not be considered. 
• Research-related domestic and international travel for undergraduate students is expected to continue to be restricted until further notice. 
  • We understand that levels of COVID-19 risk and related local guidelines vary by region, but no exceptions will be made
  • Updated policies regarding travel can be found here.

Mentor Eligibility

• All projects supported by a VPUE Departmental or Faculty Grant must be conducted and led under the guidance of a qualifying Stanford Faculty Mentor. 
  • The mentor must be: 
    • Academic Council OR 
    • University Medical Line faculty OR 
  • Co-mentoring may be provided by other faculty, academic staff, artists-in-residence, post-doctoral scholars, or advanced graduate students as appropriate, and should be clearly described in the proposal.
• Mentors must have their own active research or creative agenda in a discipline closely related to the main disciplines and methodologies of the proposed project.
  • Interdisciplinary research projects and creative arts projects are strongly encouraged to draw upon the knowledge and guidance of multiple mentors. 
• Mentors must be available to provide consultation, training, and advice throughout the project timeline.

Student Eligibility

Policies for Students Participating in Full-Time Research

• Availability: Full-time opportunities may only be offered during the Summer Quarter.
• Time Commitment: Full-time means devoting 35+ hours/week for 10 consecutive weeks, i.e., it is the student's primary activity that quarter.
• Students with a full time grant through a Departmental or Faculty Grant cannot receive an additional VPUE part-time grant within the same quarter.
• Full-time VPUE Faculty/Department Grant student recipients are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise), unless their faculty mentors or program mentors have approved these arrangements.
  • As a reminder, VPUE grant recipients who are planning on concurrently participating in another Stanford program should also abide by the funding and program policies of the sponsoring unit.

Policies for Students Participating in Part-Time Research

• Availability: Part-time research opportunities may be offered to students during any quarter.
• Time Commitment: Part-time engagement is defined as no more than 10 hours per week (equivalent to a 3-unit course). 

Enrollment & Academic Standing

• Students must be current undergraduates in good standing at Stanford.
• Students must be enrolled in units while using VPUE grant funding, except during the Summer. 
• Students may not receive both academic units and a stipend for any single project activity.
• Co-terms who have not conferred their undergraduate degree and who are still paying undergraduate (not graduate) tuition are eligible for VPUE funding.
• Students may not be serving a suspension.
• Students may not be on a Leave of Absence (LOA) while using grant funding. 
• VPUE does not use a GPA requirement for student eligibility, nor does VPUE encourage the use of GPA as a criterion for inclusion in a research opportunity.

Fundamental Standard

• Please note that violations of the above listed Undergraduate Research policies are also violations of the Fundamental Standard and may be referred to the Office of Community Standards.
• Students who fail to abide by the policies as set forth by Undergraduate Research, their funding department or faculty, The Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, and Stanford University will have low priority for future Undergraduate Research funding opportunities.
• Undergraduate Research reserves the right to rescind funding at any given point and time should they be apprised of any policy violations.
• Undergraduate Research reserves the right to rescind funding in the event of unaddressed safety or ethics concerns.