Eligibility Requirements for All Applicants

Important Note

Carefully read our eligibility requirements for all VPUE Undergraduate Student Grants. In addition to the below, each grant type has its own subset of policies. Please explore each individual grant page for more details. 

Table of Contents

• Student Eligibility
• Faculty Mentor Eligibility
• Project Eligibility During COVID-19 (updated August 19, 2022)
• General Project Eligibility
• Grant Close Requirements
• Fundamental Standard

Student Eligibility

Students must be current undergraduates in good standing at Stanford:

• Students must be enrolled in units while using grant funding, except during the Summer. 
• Students must be in the undergraduate (not graduate) tuition group while using grant funding.
  • Coterm students should read this Registrar webpage for details on when you are switched to graduate tuition.
• Students may not be serving a suspension.
• Students may not be on a Leave of Absence (LOA) while using grant funding. Students who have been on LOA for 3 consecutive quarters prior to the funding period are not eligible (e.g., Autumn, Winter, and Spring for the Chappell Lougee and Major Grant).
• There is no GPA requirement, but the Review Committee will consider your academic status when evaluating your ability to complete your project. You are encouraged to discuss any academic concerns with your Undergraduate Advising Director, and to address proactively any academic concerns in your proposal.
• Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to submitting their application.
• Stipends, prizes, or awards to students who are receiving other forms of financial aid for any purpose are a form of financial assistance and may require adjustment to their scholarship eligibility, and/or adjustment to their overall cost of attendance. The Financial Aid Office has the responsibility to determine whether adjustments are necessary and it is the student's individual responsibility to contact the Financial Aid Office about the impact of any awarded grant to their overall cost of attendance.

Faculty Mentor Eligibility

• All projects supported by a VPUE undergraduate research grant must be conducted under the guidance of a qualifying Stanford Faculty Mentor. Your project may draw upon the guidance of multiple mentors; however, at least one of your mentors must meet all of the following criteria:
  • The mentor must be 
    • Academic Council OR 
    • University Medical Line faculty OR 
    • Approved by a department or interdepartmental program (IDP) as a qualifying honors/capstone advisor.
  • Find the status of a mentor using the "complete view" of Stanford Who: Discover.
  • Typically has the Stanford title of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer or Senior Fellow
    • In Arts disciplines (creative writing, film/drama, arts practice), Lecturers are eligible
• The mentor must have their own active scholarly 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. 
• The mentor must be available to provide consultation, training, and advice throughout the funded project timeline
• For more on faculty mentor letters, visit our Requesting a Faculty Mentor Letter of Support webpage

Project Eligibility During COVID-19 (updated August 19, 2022)

• Students and mentors should carefully review the COVID-19 Health Alerts For Stanford Travelers page.
• Students should work with their mentors to develop a contingency plan in the event that they contract COVID-19 during their project.

General Project Eligibility

• Full time project engagement is defined as 35+ hours per week over a 10 week Summer Quarter.
  • Full-time grant recipients (e.g. Major Grant and Chappell Lougee Scholarship) 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 coordinators 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.
• Part-time engagement is defined as no more than 10 hours per week (or equivalent to a 3-unit independent study).
  • Students engaged part-time may also enroll in classes full time. Grants that can be used for part time support include Small Grants.
• Student grant-funded projects also must adhere to the following guidelines:
  • Project Timing: Undergraduate Research does not fund student projects retroactively.
  • Compensation: Compensation for projects driven by mentors or colleagues are not eligible for VPUE student grant funding. 
  • Units vs Stipend: Students may not receive both academic units and a stipend for any single project activity.
  • Animal Subjects Research: Federal law and Stanford University policy require APLAC/IACUC approval before animal subjects research can begin. If your research involves animal subjects of any kind (vertebrate or invertebrate), you must include an Animal Subjects Research Appendix in your application. Click here to read more about the Animal Subjects requirement.
  • Human Subjects Research: Federal law and Stanford University Policy require IRB approval before human subjects research can begin. If your project involves human subjects in any form, you must provide the Undergraduate Research office with proof of submission of your Human Subjects eProtocol to Stanford IRB (in your grant application). 
    • Click here to read more about the Human Subjects requirement.
    • Not sure if your project needs IRB review?  Contact Stanford’s IRB at irbnonmed@stanford.edu to consult with them. 
  • International Travel Safety Plan: A project or conference that involves international travel is required to have an International Travel Safety Plan. It must be included as an appendix in the grant proposal. For instructions on completing the travel plan, go to our International Travel webpage.
• Any Student Grant-funded project must comply with the research policies of Stanford University. These policies are established in part by the Office of the Dean of Research, which publishes the Stanford University Research Policy Handbook.

Grant Close Requirements

• If you were awarded funding previously from VPUE Undergraduate Research, you will need to ensure that all past grant applications are fully closed and have a "Fulfilled" status in the application portal prior to applying for any new funding. You will only need to close grants which you have been awarded for. Students whose awarded grants have not been fully closed out will carry a "Grant Closed" status. Students who have not fully closed out prior awarded VPUE grants will not be considered for future funding opportunities.

Fundamental Standard

• Please note that violations of 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, 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 may disqualify any proposal in the event of unaddressed safety or ethics concerns