Grants

Student Program Funding Opportunity

Supporting students in Washington state to access STEM research opportunities and engage in entrepreneurship

Objective

Washington Research Foundation (WRF) seeks to expand its support of student programs by launching an opportunity for nonprofit colleges and universities located in Washington state to apply for funding for new or existing student programs related to STEM research and entrepreneurship.

Eligibility

• Applicant must be a representative of a nonprofit two- or four-year college or university located in Washington state
• Programs that are already currently funded all or in part by WRF will not be considered
• Student programs must be related to STEM areas of research including natural sciences, environmental sciences, engineering, computer or information sciences, and mathematics
• Funding may be used to support new student programs or the expansion of an institution’s existing student programs
• Funding cannot be used to directly support a for-profit company
• Funding cannot be used for scholarships or tuition aid

Timeline

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Award amount and duration

Institutions may apply for up to $50,000 per year for two years of funding.

General guidelines

Successful programs will meet some or all of the following criteria:

• Alignment with WRF’s mission: Our goal is to support Washington state research institutions to deliver innovations in life sciences and enabling technologies for public benefit. We simultaneously seek to nurture an ecosystem that enables such innovation to thrive. We think of life sciences in a broad sense, including diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of human, crop, and animal diseases as well as sustainable food production, environmental conservation, and impacts of climate change on living systems.
• Focus on translational research and/or entrepreneurship: We encourage applications for programs that expose students to research and/or training opportunities related to technology commercialization and entrepreneurship.
• Demonstrated need: Program should be addressing a specific problem that is not currently served by other existing programs.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion: Institutions should be able to articulate how they will support students from backgrounds who have been historically underrepresented in STEM and how they will build a program that is inclusive.
• Evidence of institutional support: Institutional support, including financial support and/or administrative support should be made apparent in the application.
• Impact on students’ education and career: Program should have specific and measurable impacts on educational and training outcomes for students.
• Sustainability: Institutions should articulate in their application how the program will be supported following two years of funding from WRF.
• Institutional Partnerships: We encourage applicants to explore partnerships with outside research institutions to enable students to benefit from research and training opportunities that may not be available at their own institution.

Budgetary guidelines

• No scholarships or tuition waivers. Any payments to students should be for research or training opportunities outside of their regular course work.
• Majority of the budget should be for non-administrative, program-related costs or fellowships
• May include support for stipends, events, symposia, awards and prizes, conference registration and travel, and research supplies.

Submitting an application

Our application is currently closed. Please revisit this page for future opportunities.