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Funding Your Research

Learn about College of Natural Sciences fellowships available to support research and opportunities supported by the federal government, national science organizations and industry.

Research Funding at UT

There are a number of options for securing funding to support your research as an undergraduate student.

First-Year FRI Summer Research Funding

Many students can work with their research streams over the summer on fellowships or as a volunteer researcher. During this time, students expand their projects and are granted a higher degree of independence and responsibility, often working in lab without supervision. By working 20 or 40 hours a week it is possible for FRI students to get a head start on their projects and experience the life of a research scientist.

FRI Fellowship Information

  • Stipend. Support can be for full or part time research placements, determined by the availability of each type of position in your stream. 
    • Full-time fellowships | $3000 + $1000 Housing Supplement.
    • Half-time fellowships | $1500 + $500 Housing Supplement. 
  • Dates. The exact dates and hours committed to research each week will be arranged with your Research Educator.
  • Housing. A limited number of awards to assist with summer housing for students with need are available.
  • Application. FRI Summer Fellowship Application due by March 21, 2023, 11:59 PM.

Eligibility

  • FRI students and Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI) students (including international students) participating in their first summer research experience (following their spring semester with the program) are eligible to apply.
  • **FRI alumni conducting more advanced summer projects in or outside of stream labs should apply for an Advanced Summer Research Fellowship.

Questions? Contact Dr. Tony Gonzalez (antonio.gonzalez@austin.utexas.edu).

FRI Summer Fellowship Application Due March 21, 2023, 11:59 PM.

Apply here

CNS Advanced Summer Research Fellowships 

These are available for UT College of Natural Sciences students participating in an advanced summer research project on campus or remotely under the supervision of a UT faculty member or research supervisor. Applicants must have already completed at least one prior undergraduate research experience. (Either full-time research experience in summer or a part-time two semester research experience in the academic year, or equivalent.)

The summer placement and research supervisor must be confirmed at time of application. If you would like to find out more about strategies for finding a research placement, make a consultation appointment with one of our student ambassadors or with Lynda Gonzales, Director for Student Engagement and Outreach, at https://calendly.com/lyndag-1/30-min-experiential-learning-consultation.

Support is for a full-time research placement, requiring 35-40 hours per week for at least 8 weeks, at $4,000.

Deadline for applications was Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, 11:59pm

Deadline for recommendation was Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 11:59pm

Instructions for submitting the letter of recommendation: The person providing your recommendation will email the document as an attachment to this address: Documen.srr3j6p3tdcil70i@u.box.com

Questions? Contact Lynda Gonzales, lyndag@austin.utexas.edu

Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Summer Research Academy (LSAMP)

Students are matched with a research mentor and participate in an intensive research experience at a UT System school (if you are a current UT Austin student your placement will be at one of the other UT system institutions).

  • $4,000+ stipend, travel allowance, and a housing allowance.
  • Must be U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident.
  • The application is not open at this time; the deadline is typically in mid-Feb.
  • LSAMP also has options abroad: sophomores and juniors in all disciplines in the College of Natural Sciences are eligible to apply.  Students are matched with a research mentor and participate in an intensive research experience at an institution abroad. Stipend, travel allowance, and a housing allowance are covered. Veterans are encouraged to apply.
  • Applications are closed for Summer 2023 for LSAMP abroad; the application for summer 2024 will open in Sept 2023.

Questions? Contact Lynda Gonzales: lyndag@austin.utexas.edu

Undergraduate Research Scholarships

  • Support for specific scholarly research projects conducted by full-time UT undergraduate students enrolled in any department
  • Covers costs associated with academic research projects proposed and written by student applicants and undertaken with the supervision of a university tenured or tenure-track faculty member, lecturer, senior lecturer or full-time research scientist/engineer.
  • Up to a $1,000 award.

Mitchell Award/University Co-Op Award  

Faculty members nominate students who have demonstrated superior scholarly or creative achievement through a notable paper or thesis, research project, creative or artistic endeavor, or other product of the student’s academic work. Nominees must be either a junior or senior currently enrolled at UT Austin or have received their undergraduate degree in December of the academic year in which the award is being given. Three students will receive awards of $2,000 each, three students will receive awards of $3,000 each, and one student will be awarded the grand prize of $10,000.  

Travel Support

Attending national and international conferences is an important activity for undergraduate researchers. At conferences, you are able to meet scientists in your field, hear about new research, and present your own work. 

Office of Undergraduate Research Scholarships for Research or Conference Travel

In addition to the resource above, often you can find partial or even full funding to support your travel to present at a conference. Below are tips and campus resources for securing funding.

Check to see if the conference you are attending offers travel grants for student presenters. Often the organization hosting the event has funds for this purpose, but it is very important to apply early!

FRI Students: Ask you research supervisor if they have funds or know of funds that are available to support student travel to conferences. 

The Texas Excellence in Jobs and Service (TEJAS) Award

TEJAS is a program designed to make undergraduate research more accessible and equitable to CNS undergraduate students, especially for individuals from low-income backgrounds. TEJAS also focuses on providing students with professional skills and development in preparation for careers in STEM with a strong focus on striving for diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM. We achieve this by supporting students in finding research opportunities, offering financial support for doing research, and working side by side with students as they explore and develop as a future STEM professional.

TEJAS has grown into a community of College of Natural Sciences (CNS) undergraduate students that represent many STEM disciplines and are from across all stages of a college career. Everyone in the TEJAS community brings their own unique backgrounds, experiences, perspectives and interests to collectively create a rich and diverse group of individuals into a common space where they can share, learn and grow together. Students in the TEJAS community engage in a variety of scientific research experiences, and leverage these experiences to explore and develop their professionalism.

We are not currently accepting new TEJAS Applicants for spring 2023. However, please fill out this Student Interest Survey to get on our mailing list, and check back soon as positions may open up.

When open, please ensure you have THIS information prepared in advanced of applying.

For more information on TEJAS such as eligibility criteria and the application process, please read the sections below.

More about TEJAS

Eligibility

There are three major requirements to be eligible for TEJAS.

1. You must be receiving financial aid:

To be eligible for TEJAS you must be receiving financial aid and be eligible for work-study during the time when you hold the award. If you are currently receiving financial aid, there is a high probability that you will be eligible for TEJAS. If you are not currently receiving financial aid, but have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA) form, then you may become eligible.

Questions about your eligibility?

Please reach out to Texas One Stop or the Work-Study Office to determine your eligibility.

2. You must hold a research position:

You must hold a research position during the time when you hold the award. If you are already doing research with a professor at UT, or you are in FRI, and you anticipate continuing to work for them in the fall, then you are set.

If you do not have a position with a research group, do not worry! There are plenty of opportunities to join a research group and lots of time to find a research position. We suggest that you begin by signing up for our Research Placement Mixer, and then joining us for a Finding Research Session (details below) for guidance on finding research that aligns with your interests. Our goal is to help you get into a research group before the fall semester begins!

Curious about what constitutes a "research position"? There are plenty of experiences/positions that can be counted as research:

  • Carrying out your own independent research, or assisting research, under the supervision of a professor, FRI research educator (RE), postdoc, graduate student or researcher on campus.

  • Mentoring other students on their research, such as being a mentor in FRI (or a similar program).

  • Participating in a guided reading program such as in math.

  • Educational research and outreach.

  • Your research does not need to happen in CNS. For example, you could be doing research in COLA or at Dell Med. The only requirement is that your research supervisor works for UT Austin.

3. You cannot receive credit and TEJAS for your research hours:

There are several credit options available in CNS for students who are doing research, which you should consider if it is best for your degree plan. However, in order to receive TEJAS, you cannot also be receiving course credit for that research.

Financial Awards

Are you currently involved with research at UT or are you interested in trying research? There are literally hundreds of research opportunities at UT that are waiting to be filled. The TEJAS program begins by providing you with support, training and resources to help you find and secure a research position that aligns with your interests at UT. 

The average TEJAS award pays on average $1500 per semester for a student who completes 8-10 hours weekly of research. Once you are in the program, TEJAS provides you with one or more semesters of financial support to carry out your research.

Professional development

During your first fall semester in the TEJAS program, you will be introduced to a community of 30+ TEJAS research scholars who you will collaborate with to focus on your professional development as aspiring STEM professionals. This community meets once weekly for an hour as part of a mandatory Professionalism in STEM seminar class (offered each fall), and uses a self-directed learning approach to grow your professionalism. For more details, here is the syllabus.

Additional opportunities in TEJAS:

Once you have completed the Professionalism in STEM seminar course, you will be invited to join our TEJAS Strategic Planning Committee, which focuses on offering continued support to those in the TEJAS community through additional professional development opportunities (such as workshops) and mentoring incoming TEJAS students.

How to Apply

Step 1: Get on the mailing list

To receive information, updates and reminders about TEJAS, please fill out the TEJAS Student Interest Survey. We will contact you with all relevant information regarding TEJAS.

Step 2a: Sign-up and join for our Research Placement Mixer [Feb]

Come to a Research Placement Mixer, a virtual event where you can speak with representatives from research groups who are seeking undergraduates to assist on projects.  Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students will be on hand via zoom to talk about openings in their groups and answer your questions.

Steb 2b: Join a General Information and Finding Research Session [Feb-Mar]

We are providing a number of virtual information sessions and workshops to support finding research on campus. Be sure to use the TEJAS Student Interest Form to signup to receive zoom information and reminders for these upcoming events.

Step 3: Secure a research position [Feb - June]

To be eligible for TEJAS, you will need to  have secured a position doing research at UT before the onset of the fall semester. Please see Steps 2a and 2b above about support for finding and securing a research placement.

Curious about what constitutes a "research position"? There are plenty of experiences/positions that can be counted as research:

  • Carrying out your own independent research, or assisting research, under the supervision of a professor, FRI research educator (RE), postdoc, graduate student or researcher on campus.

  • Mentoring other students on their research, such as being a mentor in FRI (or a similar program).

  • Participating in a guided reading program such as in math.

  • Educational research and outreach.

  • Your research does not need to happen in CNS. For example, you could be doing research in COLA or at Dell Med. The only requirement is that your research supervisor works for UT Austin.

Step 4: Financial Aid eligibility check [May]

You do not need to complete anything for this step. However, by filling out the TEJAS Student Interest Form, we will request the Financial Aid Office to determine if you are eligible. This screening will have no impact on you or your financial aid package.

Step 5: Fill out the TEJAS application [June-July]

Those who are eligible for financial aid will be given an opportunity to submit a formal TEJAS Student Application. Please see the "TEJAS Application" section for access to the application form.