Resources for Undergraduates
Undergraduate Research > Learning Beyond the Classroom
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants (formerly known as the Undergraduate Intellectual Initiative) provide funding to faculty and students in support of cultural excursions, travel to conferences, and other activities aimed at enhancing teaching and student learning beyond the classroom.
There are two types of grants: Interim LBC grants and Annual LBC grants.
Students are eligible only for Interim LBC grants (up to $1,500); faculty are eligible for either Interim (up to $5,000) or Annual LBC grants (above $5,000).
Applications are available on-line and in the Office of Undergraduate Studies (http://al.nd.edu/resources-for/undergraduates/research/learning-beyond-classroom/index.cfm).
Annual LBC grant proposals for the Fall 2007 semester are due in the Office of Undergraduate Studies by July 15. They are due September 15 for the Spring 2008 semester.
Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants should not be confused with Undergraduate Research Opportunity Grants, which are available for students undertaking research projects with a faculty supervisor – particularly projects that lead to or are a part of students’ capstone experience or thesis research. For information and application forms, visit the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts at: http://www.nd.edu/~isla/UROP/resources.htm.
Download Faculty Application for Annual Grants (.pdf)
Annual Grants are for an amount above $5,000
Download Faculty Application for Interim Grants (.pdf)
Interim Grants are for an amount up to $5,000
Download Student Application for Interim Grants (.pdf)
Student Interim Grants are for an amount up to $1,500
Mission
With Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants, we hope to give students occasions to attend conferences (as opposed to presenting their own research), spend summers doing internships, conduct classroom research (i.e., unrelated to a thesis), and attend cultural events. Such occasions can foster students’ curiosity, motivating them to pursue a given topic or creative endeavor in greater depth. As students engage in different activities, they can formulate relevant questions, think critically in the face of different and conflicting points of view, and formulate their own well-supported arguments.
Who is Eligible?
All College of Arts and Letters students in good academic standing pursuing an undergraduate degree in the College of Arts and Letters and all Arts and Letters faculty are eligible to apply for a Learning Beyond the Classroom Grant.
Faculty and students should complete an application, available in the Office of Undergraduate Studies and at the College of Arts and Letters Undergraduate website.
Interim Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants
Resources for Funding
The cap for student funding is $1,500 per academic year. Student applications are limited to one per year, are capped at $1,500, and must be accompanied by one faculty letter of recommendation.
Funding will be available for a limited number of internships. For international travel, priority will be given to students seeking travel to non-English speaking countries. Funds for international travel are also available through the Nanovic and Kellogg Institutes.
The cap for faculty interim LBC grants is $5,000. Faculty applications are limited to one per year. Students in a class for which a faculty member has received an interim LBC grant are required to contribute 25% of the aggregate cost of tickets, transportation, lodging, and other incidental expenses unless the expense per student is less than $100. (Students who cannot afford to share the cost of these expenses should contact the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies.)
If costs exceed $5,000, faculty may Faculty may also submit a proposal for an the Annual Learning Beyond the Classroom Grant that exceed $5,000 program.
Deadlines
Students and faculty may submit applications on a rolling basis, but should do so a month in advance of a given event, excursion, or activity. Decisions are expected to be made within a week.
Guidelines for Students
Students should submit a 500-word single-spaced proposal, providing a detailed description of the following:
- The proposed event, cultural excursion, or other activity
- A clear explanation of learning goals – the ways attending a specific excursion, event, or activity will help advance learning beyond the classroom
- An itemized budget for expenses (e.g., for travel, lodging, meals, tickets for a performance)
Applications should be accompanied by a faculty recommendation, explaining the ways that a specific excursion, event, or activity will help advance student learning.
Students who seek funding for research in a class must show how a given course paper goes above and beyond course requirements.
Proposals for research that are part of a thesis or capstone project should be directed to the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) in 100 O’Shaughnessy. Similarly, students who seek funding to present research at a conference should seek funding from UROP.
Guidelines for Faculty
Faculty should submit a 500-word single-spaced proposal, providing a detailed description of the following:
- The proposed event, cultural excursion, or other activity
- A clear explanation of learning goals – the ways attending a specific excursion, event, or activity will help advance learning beyond the classroom
- An itemized budget for expenses (e.g., for travel, lodging, meals, tickets for a performance)
- Proof of compliance with the Office of Risk Management and Safety – e.g., liability waivers, campus-issued driver certifications for faculty and staff transporting students in personal or University-owned vehicles, and the like. Contact the Office of Risk Management at 631-5037 and ask for a waiver and release of liability form. For international travel, please go the Provost’s web site at: nd.edu/~interstud/services/faculty/travelapp.htm.
Criteria for Evaluation
Proposals will be vetted by a committee of faculty, including the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies. For students, successful applications will make clear how the proposed event or excursion will contribute to student learning. What should the student be able to do or accomplish as the result of this project that could not be attained in a given class? Students will be required to submit a report at a time agreed upon by the applicant and the faculty committee.
For faculty, successful applications will include a clear statement of the ways the proposed event or cultural excursion will foster student learning. In turn, faculty who receive funding will be required to submit “summary reports,” detailing outcomes and an assessment of the activity’s contribution to undergraduate intellectual life at a time agreed upon by the applicant and the faculty committee.
Annual Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants
Faculty may apply for a small number of competitive grants that exceed $5,000 to subsidize travel and other expenses. Subsidies will range from 25% - 75%, with priority given to excursions, activities, or events related to courses that are integral to a given major and that culminate in students producing a substantial project. Proposals will be vetted by a faculty committee that includes the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies.
Faculty should submit a 500-word single-spaced proposal, providing a detailed description of the following:
- The proposed event, cultural excursion, or other activity
- A clear explanation of learning goals – the ways attending a specific excursion, event, or activity will help advance learning beyond the classroom
- Whether or not the course is integral to students’ major
- Whether or not students will complete a substantial project based on the excursion, activity, or event
- An itemized budget for expenses (e.g., for travel, lodging, meals, tickets for a performance)
- Proof of compliance with the Office of Risk Management and Safety – e.g., liability waivers, campus-issued driver certifications for faculty and staff transporting students in personal or University-owned vehicles, and the like. Contact the Office of Risk Management at 631-5037 and ask for a waiver and release of liability form. For international travel, please go the Provost’s web site at: nd.edu/~interstud/services/faculty/travelapp.htm.
Proposals should be accompanied by a letter from the department chair that describes the contribution the course makes to the major and addresses the faculty member's performance as a teacher.
The due date for Annual Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants for the 2007-08 academic year is August 20, 2007.
Types of Proposals Funded in 2006-07
Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants provided support for four kinds of activities during the 2006-2007 academic year:
- Students received grants to conduct preliminary research that in the future would lead to a capstone project or thesis. Students also received funds to do research for course papers when the proposed research entailed going well beyond the expectations of the course requirements. This was the case for one student who in studying papal leadership traveled to Rome to conduct interviews with Church leaders.
- Students received support for internships, but students and faculty are encouraged to work with the Nanovic and Kellogg Institutes before applying for funding from the Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants program.
- Students received funds to attend professional conferences when students have demonstrated that the topic is related to students’ coursework or their major. (Students presenting their own research should apply for a grant from UROP.) Students participating in University-sponsored clubs have also received grants to attend conferences when they can show that the experience will influence or change the work they are doing on campus.
- Faculty received grants to take students in their classes to relevant performances, conferences, research sites, and production studios. Faculty have also used grants to bring a speaker to class or to show a film. Departments and programs have also received funds when demonstrating that an event is relevant to students beyond the classroom context. Faculty and departments are encouraged to apply to the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, which administers and awards the competition for the Paul M. and Barbara Henkels Visiting Scholars Series.
