Program Information

• Only seniors are eligible for these grants. 
  • Funding is only awarded for honors thesis research (not for culminating experiences or theses that are not in fulfillment of the honors program in your major).
  • Students conducting honors thesis research in the summer before senior year may apply for either an honors thesis grant or a leave term grant depending on which is more appropriate for the individual circumstances.
• Students are not eligible for these awards once they have completed the requirements and credits for a Dartmouth undergraduate degree (for example, students who have completed a Dartmouth A.B. and are continuing coursework for a Dartmouth B.E. are not eligible for leave term research grants).
• Students must meet at least one of these criteria to be eligible for funding:
  • Enrolled as an undergraduate student during the funded term (R term)
  • Enroll in at least one R term following the funded term
• If your thesis has not yet been accepted by the grant application deadline, you are still eligible to apply if your faculty thesis advisor confirms that approval is pending.
• Students apply for funding the term before the one in which they require funding. Funding will not be awarded retroactively or for the term in which the application is submitted.
• Students who have previously received funding through UGAR must be in good standing in that program in order to be considered for a grant (e.g. submitted all required paperwork and final reports).
• Senior Fellows and Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows are not eligible for these grants.
• If you have questions about your eligibility, you must contact UGAR prior to the application deadline.

Be sure to also review the eligibility guidelines for UGAR programs before applying for a senior honors thesis grant.

• Thesis grants are awarded for expenses directly related to the research, and NOT for cost of living (e.g. housing, meal plan, etc.) or an individual stipend or wages.
• Award amounts are based on itemized budgets and budget justification. 
  • Be sure that your budget is as accurate as possible and that all expenses are justified.
  • Budgets that are excessive or include extraneous expenses will not be considered for funding.
• Students must apply for all other potential sources of funding in order to be considered for UGAR funding. 
  • This includes your major department or program as well as other college offices that fund undergraduate research.
  • You may not accept more funding than the total cost of your project (as entered on the UGAR application form).
• Grant amounts are generally between $500 and $1500. In some cases, grants of up to $2500 will be considered if there is a compelling justification.
  • Funding is awarded only for the subsequent term. Students whose honors thesis projects require more than one term of funding must submit applications for each term.
  • Students who apply for additional funding in subsequent terms will not be awarded more than $1500 in total for the senior thesis research. If there is a compelling justification, total awards may be up to $2500.
• Students applying for honors thesis grants for expenses that will occur during the winter interim may either apply in the summer or in the fall.
  • Award money will not be available until 3-4 weeks after the application deadline, so be sure to plan accordingly. 
• Information about payments and processes is on the UGAR stipends webpage.