The first step to apply for the Honors College research grant is to attend a required virtual workshop. The purpose of the workshop is to explain the application process and how funding works. Participants will also learn tips on how to get involved in a research lab if they have not yet found a project. This is also a great time to ask questions! To stay up to date on grant policies and procedures, students are required to attend a workshop in the semester that you are applying for the grant even if they have attended one in the past.

All workshop dates will be posted in advance of the application going live.

Honors College research grants are designed to allow students to work with a mentor on a project in the mentor’s discipline. Ideally, projects will be initiated by the student or conceived jointly by the student and mentor. For students in the early stages of their development as scholars, however, their work may serve to directly facilitate the mentor’s ongoing research. The student should have a clear sense of involvement and ownership. Honors College research grants are for undergraduate research, not work-study or student employment.

It is very important to find a mentor who will provide guidance and support for the duration of the grant. Through many years of experience, we have found that full-time faculty at the USC-Columbia campus and the Medical School are the most reliable and qualified mentors. As a result, all mentors are required to be full-time faculty members at either of these institutions.

There are many ways to find a mentor. Oftentimes, students simply learn about a professor’s research after taking their class. Alternatively, some students search for keywords on the Office of Undergraduate Research and USCera databases of faculty research interests

Students are also encouraged to explore departmental websites and read research papers written by a prospective mentor — not only will this provide a better insight into a professor’s research, it will also lend credibility to an email inquiry a student may send to a potential mentor.

If a student needs to change mentors after the grant has been approved, they must contact the Honors College. A new grant application is typically required in these rare instances.

Honors College research grant funding is awarded exclusively as a student stipend, which is disbursed to undergraduate researchers at a rate of $15/hour for up to 150 hours per semester and 300 hours per academic year. Grant applications approved during the fall application cycle provide funding exclusively for the following spring semester. Grants approved during the spring application cycle may provide funding for the following summer, fall and spring semesters.

Students can receive a maximum of four semesters of research support during their time in the SCHC, which includes SCHC research grants and conference presentation grants.

If a student is awarded a research grant, they will receive an award email and an offer letter. Once the signed offer letter is returned, the student will be given access to the university’s payroll system. At the end of each week, the student will submit a time sheet for approval using USC’s online payroll system. Please note that University of South Carolina employees are paid on a pay lag, so refer to the University Pay Dates page to view the payroll schedule.

As these research projects often occur during the academic year, there are restrictions on how many hours students can work in a week. During weeks in which class is in session, students are allowed to work a maximum of 15 hours per week. During breaks, students are allowed a maximum of 30 hours per week.

Please note: USC student employees are allowed a total of 20 hours of work per week while classes are in session. As a result, students with a university job in addition to a research grant must cap their total working time per week at 20 hours. This includes work completed for the university job and the research work. For example, a student working 10 hours a week at the provost office would only be allowed to report 10 hours per week on their research grant.

The Honors College requires student researchers to complete a grant wrap-up near the end of their funding. The Honors College will provide additional details on this report to grant recipients through the Blackboard organization. The wrap-up is due two weeks prior to the end of the funding period.

Students are strongly encouraged to present their project at Discover USC in April. Some students are also able to co-publish the results of their project in a peer-reviewed journal with their mentor, and, if so, we ask students to notify the Honors College research coordinator of this achievement.

Prior to beginning work on any Honors College research grant, students are required to take a Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) course or equivalent training per their faculty mentor's recommendation. A specific course will be chosen by the student and their mentor. Proof of completion must be uploaded into the SCHC Blackboard Research organization.