BUCH Undergraduate Research Grants support costs associated with accessing, archiving, and disseminating information. Applicants may request up to $1,000.
Please write to the BUCH staff at buch@bu.edu with any questions related to the award application and implementation process. Please first carefully review the information below.
Applicant Eligibility
All current BU undergraduates in any school or college are eligible to apply. We welcome proposals from individuals or from groups.
No individual or group will be awarded funding more than once per academic year. New applicants may be prioritized over past recipients.
Your proposed research project’s end date must fall before your anticipated graduation date.
Project Eligibility
BUCH Undergraduate Research Grants support costs associated with accessing, archiving, and disseminating information.
Examples of common costs of accessing information
-Journal subscription
-Online database access
-Archive or museum entrance fee
Examples of common costs of archiving information
-Digital scanning technology
-Archival supplies (i.e. folders, labels, nitrate gloves etc.)
-Digital storage space
Examples of common costs of disseminating information
-Purchasing software to create a digital humanities project
-Paying a student an honorarium to digitize archival materials
-Paying for rights to use images in published work
-Publication costs
-Conference venue rental fee
Humanistic Content
While the applicant(s) does not need to be majoring in a humanities discipline, funding will only be awarded to projects with demonstrably strong humanistic content. Humanistic content will be evaluated according to the following definition of humanities research:
Research that seeks to understand human society, culture, history, and values using philosophical inquiry and/or
historical investigation and/or
interpretation or analysis of cultural production (i.e. literature, visual art, music, material culture etc.)
If you have questions about whether your project is sufficiently humanistic, please contact the BUCH staff at buch@bu.edu before applying. We will be happy to help you.
Non-Allowable Expenses
-Travel
-Accommodations (i.e. hotel, air bnb)
-Food or beverage
-Any component of projects already funded through UROP
-Funding may not compensate the applicant or anyone else for time spent working on a project that is in any way part of course work, including a senior honors thesis
-Production components of live performance (theatre, dance, music etc.)
-Production components of art exhibitions or installations
-Funding may not be used for resources/technologies/materials that are already available to BU students. Please carefully investigate resources already available to you.
Places to start your search:
–Available databases
–Online journals & newspapers
–Interlibrary Loan
–BU Libraries Digital Ventures
–Maker Spaces
–Recording Studios
If you have questions about project eligibility, please contact the BUCH staff at buch@bu.edu before applying. We will be happy to help you.
Application & Timeline
The application is available via InfoReady Review. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
If you are applying as a group, one person will fill out the application as your group’s representative and point of contact.
You will be asked to indicate your project timeline. Please allow for at least three weeks between the date of submission and your project start date.
If you are applying for other sources of funding to support travel that is necessary for the completion of your project, you must wait until that funding has been awarded before applying for an Undergraduate Research Grant. You will be asked to upload a copy of your notification letter to verify that travel funding has been awarded.
The application consists of the following components:
1) Short questions about the applicant (name, BUID, faculty advisor etc.)
2) Written responses about your project goals, methods, and expected outcomes
3) A budget demonstrating the feasibility of your project. You are required to use the BUCH budget template. Complete instructions on how to complete and upload your budget are available via the application portal. Applicants are encouraged to consult our sample budget.
4) A letter of support from a faculty advisor or librarian mentor. In their letter, the faculty member or librarian should state their commitment to working with the applicant on their proposed project and briefly describe how they will provide support.
Awardee Responsibilities
Individuals & Informal Groups: If awarded, we will ask that you make an appointment to come to the BUCH office (CAS B02). A BUCH staff member will sit with you to make your requested purchases using the BUCH credit card.
Official BU Student Organizations: Payment method will be handled on a case by case basis
Recipients will be required to send a copy of their final project to the BUCH staff. If your project will take a form that cannot be digitally transferred (i.e. live performance), we will request documentation of your project.
Recipients will also be asked to submit a 500 word report describing how they used the Undergraduate Research Grant funds and their research outcomes. Recipients may also be asked to document parts of their research process for use in BUCH-produced videos designed to promote the BUCH Undergraduate Research Grant.
Inaugural AY 25-26 Recipients
Elena Jordan: Condition Analysis of Collection at Gabel Museum
Andrew Taylor & Constantino Themelis: BU Student Government Judicial Advisory Commission Archival Project