Individual and Group Grants

To apply for a YSEA grant (individual or group) please submit all materials to the YSEA undergraduate grants committee at Grants@YSEA.org.

The application process for all grants has four required elements:

1. Abstract of proposed activities (typically 1-2 pages). The abstract should include detail on the specific deliverables associated with the project scope, the methods to be used in developing and validating project deliverables, and other goals for the scope of work to be funded. Each grant is intended to fund a single project with a clear indication of expenses for which the YSEA Grant funds will be used. The abstract should also provide an overview of project participants including students, advisors and any outside resources. The grant application must be the original work of the applicant or group (e.g. not taken from another individual or group’s prior grant application).
2. Itemized budget. The budget contains an itemized bill of materials for required equipment, supplies and other expenses needed to complete the project or experiment prior to the start of the next academic year. Details on the source(s) of any additional funding needed to complete the project or experiment will allow the Grants Committee to confirm viability of project scope and deliverables. Note that YSEA grant funding is not provided for teaching, travel, living expenses or general purpose equipment like computers or software.
3. Letter of support from a faculty advisor. The letter should demonstrate the commitment of the faculty advisor to support the student efforts as described in the abstract of proposed activities and to convey the faculty advisor’s confidence that the proposed activities are practical and achievable by the student(s).
4. Contact information for the department administrator to whom grant funds are to be sent. To facilitate correct allocation of YSEA Undergraduate Grant funds, YSEA generally coordinates disbursement through the faculty advisor’s department administrator.

We accept grant applications on a rolling basis! This means we will consider all complete grant applications regardless of what date they are submitted. However, you are encouraged to submit applications based on the following guidance:

Yes! To view a list of the individuals and student groups that have received our grants in the past and their projects, click here.

You can also view select abstracts and budgets from past grant applicants here.

• Applicants must be a current undergraduate at Yale.
• Budget expenses cannot be used for teaching, travel, living expenses or general-purpose equipment like computers or software.
• The work must be performed under the supervision of a Yale faculty member.
• Coursework and degree requirements, including capstone projects, are not eligible for YSEA Grants.

Not to worry! We have other available sources of funding for projects that may be applicable to your specific project. Contact us at Grants@YSEA.org with your name, affiliation to Yale, project description, and itemized budget, and we can see if we can work out the details of whether we can fund your project.

After receiving a grant application, we typically contact the applicant(s) within a week. How long it takes for us to process the grant may take up to a month. In some cases, the approval time may take longer depending on the complexity and nature of the project, as well as on available funding within the YSEA grants budget.

Note that if your grant application is not initially accepted, we will work with you to help bring the application up to our standards!