Senior Thesis Grants

Honors College students are eligible to receive up to $1,500 in grant funds to support the development of a thesis project. Grants are available for research, creative and applied thesis projects. Thesis grants count toward the $6,000 SCHC research funding limit. For example, if a student received $5,000 in Honors College research funding, they would have a $1,000 balance to apply toward a senior thesis grant. For group thesis projects, each group member is eligible to apply for funding.

In most cases, the grant is a direct payment to students, who will then use the money to purchase approved goods or services. Students are required to maintain receipts/records of grant-related expenditures and submit these records to Dr. Tracy Skipper before the end of the academic year in which funding was received. Any unused grant funds must be returned to the Honors College before the end of the academic year in which the funding was received.

Guidelines

Thesis grant funds can be used to purchase a range of goods and services related to thesis research, including lab supplies and equipment, participant incentives, licenses for survey or interview platforms, transcription/translation services and limited travel to conduct research. Supplies and equipment needed to support creative or applied projects are also supported by the grant.

Students applying for a thesis grant agree to follow the following guidelines:

• The grant application must be approved before purchases can begin, as the Honors College will not reimburse students for previous expenditures.
• All equipment purchases become the property of the South Carolina Honors College.
• Requests for food purchases will not be considered.
• All applications must include a detailed list of items, costs per item and an explanation of how the funds will enhance the thesis.
  • Travel: Requests for travel should include a printout of estimated mileage using Google maps or similar. Airline cost estimates should be supported by a printed itinerary from the airline website or travel aggregator (e.g., expedia.com, kayak.com). Any request for travel costs should include a letter of support from the thesis director explaining the purpose and use of travel for the senior thesis.
  • Incentives: Requests for incentives should detail your plan for recruiting participants, your target number of participants and the amount/type of incentive you plan to offer each participant. The maximum incentive permitted per participant is $50. If planning a lottery-style distribution for incentives, the maximum number of incentives permitted is 10. A list of participants receiving incentives must be submitted before the end of the academic year in which the grant is awarded.
• Any work supported by a senior thesis grant and subsequently presented or published should cite the support as: "This work was supported in part by the South Carolina Honors College Senior Thesis Grant."

Eligibility: Students must be enrolled in SCHC 499 or an approved Honors thesis course equivalent to be considered for thesis grant funds.

Timeline: Grant applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis, with the application closing one month prior to the end of the semester. Students should allow a minimum of six weeks from the time of application to receipt of funding.

Approval: Students will be notified of approval and next steps via an email from Dr. Tracy Skipper. Timely response to queries about the grant application and paperwork requests ensures a faster decision and funds disbursement, if approved.

Foley Thesis Project Scholarship

A limited number of Foley Thesis Project Scholarships are available annually to support creative thesis projects. Students may receive an award of up to $1000. Students can apply for the Foley Scholarship using the Senior Thesis Research Grant submission form.