The Discovery Program

1. The student has demonstrated a multi-year effort.  In other words, the student must have completed two or more projects in more than one year.
2. The student was the project leader (oversee all aspects of the project and be the primary presenter at the Discovery Day Symposium).  A project can only have one project leader.
3. The student’s Discovery projects were of a very high quality.  The primary assessment tool for the quality will be the faculty/staff recommendations.  See next bullet.
4. The student has submitted a completed application, including a well-written essay describing his/her contribution to the Discovery Program.  This application will also include two recommendation forms.  These recommendations must come from faculty/staff who have first-hand knowledge of the student’s progress and project contributions.  One of the letters of recommendation must come from a faculty/staff sponsor on the project in which the student was the leader.  Application forms will be made available online following Discovery Day.

Discovery grants support discovery learning and expand the breadth of student-centered research at Benedictine College. Earnings from the Discovery College endowment make it possible every year for the Discovery Program Committee to award a limited number of grants, usually in the range of $250-$500 to students and faculty who collaborate on projects that advance learning.

The committee will begin review of grant proposals on October 5th on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants will be notified regarding the status of their proposal in a timely fashion. Please pay close attention to the criteria and guidelines listed below. The decision of the committee is final.

Criteria for Projects

• Projects must be creative and original.
• Projects must be collaborative (student/faculty or student/staff).
• Projects may begin in the classroom, but must go beyond the usual classroom project or experience, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
• Faculty partners may be asked to clarify why the project merits consideration as a Discovery Project.

Guidelines for Project Grant Applications

• Grants fund innovation and research in many forms: performance, art, traditional quantitative or qualitative investigation, or other inquiry-based learning.
• Proposals must be collaborative, submitted by student(s) and faculty or student(s) and staff.
• Proposals from students representing multiple disciplines working together are encouraged.
• Grant proposals must have a detailed budget with clear justification of high-cost or unusual items.
• Grant proposals must include a timeline illustrating the plan of work to be followed to achieve project goals.

Grant proposals must be submitted online.

• Grant proposals will not be considered until all required elements have been submitted.
• Students may be asked to discuss their proposal with the Discovery committee for the purpose of clarification of the budget or criteria for Discovery Projects.
• Grants may not be sought as supplements to departmental operational budgets.
• As a condition of receiving a grant award, the applicant(s) must agree to be part of the Discovery Day Symposium.