Student research and creative opportunities

Student Travel Awards

Students involved in research and creative endeavors may apply for funding to attend and present at conferences, which helps them stand out when applying for jobs or graduate/professional school. Learn about travel scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students.

Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Awards

Undergraduate degree-seeking students enrolled in any major in the College of Arts and Sciences are invited to apply for research awards to conduct projects with faculty members in the college. Faculty in other colleges of K-State may serve as co-mentors, but the primary mentor must have a faculty appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences. Projects must be one summer or one semester in length.

Each awardee receives a $1,500 scholarship. It is applied to the student’s financial aid package. If the research project is not successfully completed, the award must be refunded.

Faculty mentors can support up to two (2) student applications each semester. Exceptions to the limited number of applicants per mentor may be made under special circumstances, but mentors should seek approval by emailing artsciugo@ksu.edu prior to students completing applications. Mentors will have access to $250 per student recipient for the purchase of supplies, printing, or other similar needs to support the student's research project.

Complete and acceptable applications will be prioritized by the following criteria:

Students majoring in a degree program within the College of Arts and Sciences and faculty mentor is from an Arts and Sciences department. We encourage interdisciplinary projects so student and mentor do not need to be from the same department.
Students who are enrolled full-time or have a history of full-time enrollment. For example, seniors need not be full-time if they do not require a full-time load to graduate.
Students who have not received a prior award under this program. Students may receive funding for a maximum of two semesters but must apply each semester even if they are continuing the same project.
Depending on the number of applications received, mentors may be asked to help us prioritize their student applicants if mentor has endorsed multiple applicants.

Student Application Deadlines
Spring project: November 1
Summer project: March 1 (new summer enrollment requirement explained below)
Fall project: May 1

Application for Undergraduate Research Scholarship

For questions, please email artsciugo@k-state.edu.

Tips for Completing Application

Application can be viewed in its entirety by clicking the application link above.
Two short essay prompts are limited to 2,750 characters (with spaces) which is the approximate equivalent of between 425 and 550 words. It is recommended that you type your responses to the essay questions in MS Word or Google Docs or similar software and then copy and paste your essay into the Qualtrics form. In Word, you can check character count by choosing Review and then Word Count. The characters (with spaces) count should be less than 2,750 to fit into the application form. In Google Docs, you can check character count by choosing Tools and then Word Count.
Once the application is submitted, faculty mentors will receive an auto-generated email to confirm their support of the student applicant's project. Letters of support are no longer required.
Transcripts are not required.

Sample Application (PDF)

For questions, please email artsciugo@ksu.edu.

Scholarship Requirements

Award recipients may enroll in DAS 401, Undergraduate Research in Arts and Sciences, for zero to three credit hours. A typical research project will include at least 100 hours working on the project. This works out to be approximately ten hours of research per week for ten weeks in the summer, or six to eight hours of research per week for fifteen weeks in the spring or fall. These projects will be direct hands-on research, scholarly or discovery experiences — not lab support or readings.

Research awards can be renewed once (renewal requires applying to the program again within the deadlines for a second semester); however, preference will be given in the review process to proposals from students who have not previously had awards. Preference also will be given to students who will not receive concurrent funding for the same project from other sources such as Johnson Cancer Research Center, K-INBRE, Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research (SDUR) Office, Developing Scholars, and McNair Scholars. Students are encouraged to seek funding from these other sources to continue projects they initiated with ArtSci Undergraduate Research Awards.

For students to receive a summer scholarship, students must be enrolled during the summer term in coursework that applies toward their degree program. This may include zero-credit courses (such as required internship, research, or experiential learning enrollments) that are part of the student’s Title IV-eligible program of study.

Students who are enrolled for zero credit hours may still receive summer scholarships, provided the enrollment establishes a summer financial aid term. Scholarships will be applied as Other Financial Assistance (OFA) to the summer term.

Students who are not enrolled in any summer coursework—including zero-credit, degree-applicable courses—are not eligible to receive scholarship funds for the summer term.

For questions, contact the Office of Financial Assistance at 785-532-3552 or finaid@k-state.edu.

Mentors will be contacted toward the end of the semester for which the project was funded. They will be asked to confirm that the student met the expectations for the award. If your mentor confirms that expectations were met, nothing more is required. If the student enrolled in DAS 401, the mentor’s confirmation will be used to give the student credit for the course. If the mentor reports issues at any time during the semester that the student is not meeting expectations, the scholarship could be at risk.

Confirmation Due Dates:

Confirmations are due by 5 p.m. on the Friday of Finals week.

Award Recipients

- Meredith Caudill, psychology and philosophy; mentored by Gary Brase, psychological sciences
- Surya Chandramouli, integrated computer science; mentored by Safia Malallah, integrated computer science
- Chloe Danner, environmental science; mentored by Jesse Nippert, biology
- Evan Dickson, biochemistry and molecular biophysics; mentored by Socrates Munoz, chemistry
- James Divierte, psychology; mentored by Jennifer Smith, psychological sciences
- Sadie Doffing, psychology; mentored by Mary Cain, psychological sciences
- John Eggleston, wildlife and conservation biology; mentored by Loretta Johnson and Jack Sytsma, biology
- Taylor Ewer, cellular biology and integrative health studies; Sebastian Wendel, health sciences
- Jack Francis-Cummins, biology and Spanish; mentored by Katsura Asano, biology
- Erin Frenk, chemistry; mentored by Takashi Ito, chemistry
- Moussa Gacko, biology; mentored by Shijiao Huang, biochemistry and molecular biophysics
- Isabella Ginie; biochemistry, microbiology, and chemical sciences; mentored by Christer Aakeroy, chemistry
- Kelsie Heitman, psychology and transformation studies; mentored by Gary Brase, psychological sciences
- Gabi Hendricks, psychology & dance and the human experience; mentored by Kate Digby, dance
- Robin Imbeau, history and social transformation studies; mentored by Mary Kohn, Chapman Center for Rural Studies
- Izzy Kelly, dance and the human experience & kinesiology; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Marie Kerschen, medical biochemistry and biology; mentored by Patricia Calvo, chemistry
- Jaidyn Koehler, English Literature and French; mentored by Kara Northway, English
- Annika Lindt, medical microbiology; mentored by Brian Geisbrecht, biochemistry and molecular biophysics
- Layne McAfee, fine arts; mentored by Mary Kohn, Chapman Center for Rural Studies
- Tsam Myu Shawng Maji, Biology; mentored by Bethany Plakke, psychological sciences
- Carter Oliver, biology and gerontology; mentored by Heather Bailey, psychological sciences
- Brock Olson, statistics and data science; mentored by Cen Wu, statistics
- Jace Pickering, chemical sciences; mentored by Patricia Calvo, chemistry
- Daniela Ramos, biochemistry; mentored by Katsura Asano, biology
- Hector Andres Ramos, mathematics and secondary education; mentored by Craig Spencer, mathematics
- Vanessa Sanders, physics and computer engineering; mentored by Itzik Ben-Itzhak, physics
- Ava Sedlacek, music; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Roslyn Strong; fisheries, wildlife, conservation & environmental biology; mentored by Ruth Welti, biology
- Lillian Taylor, psychology and anthropology; mentored by Don Saucier, psychological sciences
- April Thomas, mathematics and physics; mentored by Gabe Kerr, mathematics
- Jasmine Wolf, animal biology; mentored by Maria Diehl Faryna, psychological sciences

Fall 2025

Summer 2025

Ayianna Bailey, medical microbiology and medical laboratory science; mentored by Vanessa Ante, biology
Samuel, Gido, mathematics and computer science; mentored by Natalia Rojkovskaia, mathematics
Robin Imbeau, history; mentored by Mary Kohn, Chapman Center for Rural Studies
Brett McLeland, chemistry; mentored by Patricia Calvo, chemistry
Aaliyah Nance, sociology and dance; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
Kendal Palmgren, human health biology; mentored by Michael Veeman, biology
Allison Ricker, fisheries, wildlife, conservation, and environmental biology; mentored by Loretta Johnson, biology
Destinee Shaffer, biochemistry-medical track; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance

Spring 2025

Other Research Awards

Johnson Cancer Research Center student awards

The Johnson Cancer Research Center offers undergraduate and graduate students funding awards to conduct research with its affiliated faculty and to travel to present research at conferences. Learn more.

University Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research

The Presidential Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Student in Research recognizes outstanding contributions in research for the purpose of the discovery and creation of new knowledge at K-State. It honors students who have demonstrated excellence in research in any field of study. Nominate a student.

Tips for finding a mentor and pursuing individual research, scholarly and creative projects

Explore department websites. Most faculty list their research, scholarly and creative interests on their websites.
Email faculty and ask to set up an appointment to discuss their research/scholarly/creative interests. Briefly explain your interests and start a conversation about possible future interactions and opportunities to learn.
Are you taking a class that inspires you and would like to learn more? Talk with your professor after class, during office hours, or schedule an appointment to discuss opportunities to research, explore or create.
The College of Arts and Sciences offers Undergraduate Research Scholarship opportunities (see above for more details).
Talk with your academic advisor about your research, scholarly and creative interests and how to connect with faculty.
Research centers within the College of Arts and Sciences have opportunities listed on their websites.
Explore universitywide research opportunities.

Student Research