Community-Based Student Research

At the Upstate Institute, we support engagement in the community within the framework of an academic course in a variety of ways. This engagement gives our students a new strategy for learning and exposes them to the resources of our region through projects that encourage a reciprocal transfer of knowledge.

Student Research on the Upstate New York region

The Upstate Institute is pleased to announce that a new round of funding for students doing research with the Upstate New York community is available for the 2019-2020 academic year. To be eligible, a student must be engaged in research that is of a high quality and benefits or informs the Upstate community in some way. The project must be conducted within a department or interdisciplinary program, and sponsored by a faculty member in the sponsoring department or program. This funding will normally be used to support research during a student’s senior year (as part of a senior thesis or honors project), and can be used for any costs associated with the project.

Applicants should complete the Upstate Institute Student Research Grant Application, and supply a proposed budget for the project. The student should also indicate how the project is relevant to the upstate New York region, or how the project will benefit the region. Research involving human participants must comply with the requirements of Colgate’s Institutional Review Board; more information is available at Colgate’s IRB website. Applicants that propose to work with at-risk communities (such as refugee populations or people with disabilities) also need to be sensitive to the demands that are placed on those populations and the organizations that work with them.

Applications are considered on a rolling basis, and the Upstate Institute is able to consider requests of up to $500 per student per academic year. If a project budget will exceed $500, applicants should discuss their project with the Upstate Institute director before applying for funding. Applicants are also encouraged to seek co-sponsorship from the student’s academic department or program. The sponsoring faculty member should review the application before submission, and should approve the proposal by providing a signature on the application form. The student will then submit the form to the director of the Upstate Institute for review.  Availability of funding is contingent on budgetary considerations during each fiscal year.

If the student is awarded funding, Upstate Institute staff will work with the student on expense reimbursement. Some special conditions apply to reimbursement for student travel, and those are noted in the budget section of the application. At the completion of the project, the student will submit a copy of the completed project to the Upstate Institute. The Upstate Institute reserves the right to share this project with community organizations.

Please contact Julie Dudrick (jdudrick@colgate.edu) at the Upstate Institute with any questions about this funding.