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Funding Research & Experiences

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, travel to conferences and other experiential learning opportunities as an undergraduate student.

First-Year FRI Summer Research Funding

The FRI Summer Fellowship application is now closed.

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. The FRI Summer Fellowship Application for 2024 will open later in the academic year.

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).

CNS Experiential Learning Summer Fellowship

 CNS Experiential Learning Summer Fellowships are designed to support CNS undergraduate students as they participate in domestic and international experiential learning opportunities like research and internships in the summer. UT programs and self-sourced experiences are both eligible. Fellowship applications will be reviewed twice during the semester - after the mid-semester deadline of March 15 and after the final deadline of April 15. Typical awards are in the amount of $2,500-$4,000.


Please note that:

  • Students must secure confirmation of their experience BEFORE applying
  • Preference will be given to unpaid and underpaid opportunities
  • Domestic experiences must total at least 160 hours and international experiences must total at least 120 hours
  • Fellowships cannot be awarded for FRI-related experiences
  • No recommendation letter is required
  • You can only apply for funding for 1 experience


The CNS Experiential Learning Summer Fellowship application is open in LASSO and will close on April 15th, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

CNS Advanced Summer Research Fellowships 

These fellowships 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.

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

The application includes:

  • A description of your summer research project (no more than 500 words)
  • A statement of interest explaining your reasons for wanting to receive this fellowship and how your research experience relates to your personal, academic and career goals (no more than 500 words)
  • 1 recommendation letter — instructions for submitting the letter of recommendation are in the application

The CNS Advanced Summer 2025 Fellowship is now closed for Summer 2025 and will open in November 2025 for Summer 2026 fellowships.

Undergraduate Research Fellowships

  • 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. Sometimes you can find partial 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!
  • Check out campus resources for research travel, including the Scholarship for Research or Conference Travel through the University’s Office of Undergraduate Research.
  • FRI Students: Ask your research supervisor if they have funds or know of funds that are available to support student travel to conferences.

More Experiential Learning Funding

Texas Career Engagement provides career-related scholarships to help reduce the financial barriers to career exploration and internship participation.