All applications will be due by midnight on Monday, January 27, 2025.
You do NOT need to apply to this program and the Minorities in STEM research program. Please only submit your application to one of these.
Faculty Letters of Recommendation are due Monday, February 3, 2025.
*NASA Media Release form – download here
Goals of the Program
The undergraduate research award is designed to increase the number of highly trained scientists and engineers and enable undergraduate students to conduct NASA-related research.
Awards
Research money awarded by the SC Space Grant Consortium will be administered as a stipend through your institution’s Grants and Sponsored Programs Offices. Indirect charges (IDCs) are NOT ALLOWED on any SC Space Grant student awards. See the table above for your Campus Director. The full research stipend amount is $7,500. You must perform 400 hours, or more, on the research project.
Outreach Requirement for ALL student awardees:
We are now requiring that you participate in at least one Outreach/Public Engagement activity event during your award period. SC Space Grant participates in many events each year, and you may join us at any time. Past events include the Charleston STEM festival, Camp Happy Days Summer camp, and the NASA STEM Expo. You may work with our main office or your campus director to locate an event of your choosing. These events will provide you with a great opportunity to share your enthusiasm for NASA and for STEM with the general public.
Please contact the main SC Space Grant office and your SC Space Grant campus director for information regarding upcoming outreach events in your area.
Application Requirements
- Resume
- Education Information to include unofficial transcripts
- Project Title and Research Term (Academic Year or Summer)
- Research Proposal (no more than 2 pages-references not included in page count)
- General outline of the project
- Research methods to be used
- Goals and expected results
- Project timeline
- Relevance to NASA
- Project Advisor
- Essay (500 words or less)
- Past activities
- Current Interests
- Future Plans
- 1 letter of recommendation, which MUST be from your faculty member research project mentor who will oversee your project. A post-doc or PhD student is not eligible to submit this letter.
Faculty Letters of Recommendation are due Monday, February 5, 2024.
Proposal Formatting Guidelines:
• Must be single-spaced, in English, use a font of at least 12 point (no more than ~15 characters per inch horizontally and 5.5 lines per inch vertically)
• Must use standard 1” margins on all sides
• 10 mb file size max for each proposal, must be an unlocked and searchable pdf file
Assistance in locating research mentors
Students interested in the Undergraduate Research Program who do not have a research mentor should contact the main office (contact information below). Please remember that you will need to travel to the campus that the mentor conducts their work. Students should be prepared to provide potential mentors with their resume, college transcripts, a description of any previous research experiences, and a listing of research interests. Students should also indicate whether they are seeking a mentor for an academic year or summer research award. The South Carolina Space Grant Consortium can not guarantee that a student can be matched to a research mentor or that finding a mentor will result in a successful award proposal.
Selection of Proposals
The awards are determined by the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium Director and the Space Grant Campus Directors. Selection for the awards are based on:
- the academic qualifications of the applicant
- one letter of recommendation
- description of past activities, current interests, and future plans concerning a space science or aerospace-related field
- faculty sponsorship
- a research proposal including its relevance to NASA’s mission
Eligibility
Students must:
- Be a citizen of the United States (see U.S. citizenship requirements here).
- Attend a consortium member institution or educational partner
- Have sponsorship from a faculty advisor
- Be a rising sophomore, junior or senior
- Have an interest in aerospace and space-related studies. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the basic sciences, science education, astronomy, planetary science, environmental studies, and engineering.
Equal Opportunity
Applicants will not be denied consideration on grounds of race, creed, color, age, sex, or handicap. We encourage women and minorities to apply.
Reporting Requirements
- SC Space Grant Awardees are required to submit a final report of their research and outreach activities at the end of the academic year.
- SC Space Grant Awardees are required to present their work at a research symposium or conference.
- If selected to participate in this program you agree to participate in the South Carolina Space Grant Longitudinal Tracking program that is designed to monitor student progress from award through first employment.
Obligation to the Government
While students who receive support through the National Space Grant Program do not incur any formal obligations to the government of the United States, the objectives of the program clearly will be best served if graduates from the program pursue further study or careers in science, technology, engineering, and support areas. *As required by NASA, all awardees will be tracked via email through their first year of employment.
For more information, please contact: Ms. Tara B. Scozzaro, MPA Program Manager
phone: 843.953.5463 | email: scozzarot@cofc.edu