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Undergraduate Research > Learning Beyond the Classroom
Learning Beyond the Classroom
Faculty Grants:
Faculty Grant Guidelines have been revised: 3/2009:
NOTE: Due to the large student requests for funding for this past spring 2009, LBC will no longer be accepting proposals for spring 2009. LBC will only be accepting SUMMER proposals. (Funding for events after June 1, 2009). The deadline for summer proposals is Friday, May 1, 2009
Dear Students,
I hope this semester is going well. I would like to update you on Learning Beyond the Classroom (LBC) grants. As always, we welcome proposals, and I would be happy to discuss them with you.
We are making some changes in the LBC guidelines, but I want to take this opportunity to announce that there will now be a deadline for submission of proposals for Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 (see below).
Students are eligible only for an LBC grant up to $1,500. Student applications are limited to one per year. Applications are available on-line and in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, 104 O'Shaughnessy Hall. Although you can apply for up to $1,500, we limit expenses to airfare; on occasion, we provide conference fees and lodging. We cannot provide tuition, food, books, and the like. Proposals requesting funding for travel need to be in at least two weeks prior to the travel date.
LBC provides funding though reimbursement only; however; we will prepay airline tickets if you use Anthony Travel located on campus in the LaFortune Student Center. Expenses, along with receipts, will need to be submitted through an online expense report http://controller.nd.edu/forms/travel_expense_excel.xls; please note, we do not honor per diems. In order for us to complete the processing of reimbursement, we expect you to submit a one-page report describing what you did to fulfill the learning goals you described in your proposal.
Proposals for research that are part of a thesis or capstone project should be directed to the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) in 101 O'Shaughnessy. Similarly, students who seek funding to present research at a conference should seek funding from UROP.
Also, please understand that we will not fund projects that take you out of class.
Finally, please keep in mind that it is your responsibility to insure that a faculty member submits a letter of recommendation in a timely manner. We will not review your proposal until we receive this letter.
Thanks,
Stuart Greene
Stuart Greene, Ph.D.
Associate Dean
Office of Undergraduate Studies
104 O'Shaughnessy Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
574-631-9468
FALL 2009
LBC grant proposals for the Fall 2009 semester (this includes Christmas break proposals) deadline is Friday, October 30, 2009.
SPRING 2010
LBC grant proposals for Spring 2010 semester (this includes Spring break proposals) deadline is February 19, 2010 .
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 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. 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
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
101 O’Shaughnessy. Similarly, students who seek funding to present research at a conference should seek funding from UROP.
Types of Proposals Funded in 2007-08
Learning Beyond the Classroom Grants provided support for four kinds of activities during the 2007-2008 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.
