Grant Submission Deadline: February 29, 2024 11:59PM

The Pennsylvania Academy of Science has funds available to support UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE COLLEGE STUDENT research in the natural, physical, or social sciences. Proposals should be written and submitted by the student under faculty guidance. Proposals will undergo review by professional referees, and evaluation by the PAS Research Grant Committee. Grant proposals for the upcoming cycle will be evaluated under a new schedule; proposals will be due no later than February 29, 2024 and notice of funding determination will be announced at the PAS Annual Meeting.  Grants are made in the amount of $750 or less, as requested in the proposal and, therefore, proposal budgets should take this limit into consideration.

All proposals must adhere to the proper conventions for citation of scholarly works throughout the proposal. As scientists, we must strive to uphold the highest standards in integrity and accountability in all aspects of our professional conduct.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and it is the role of the supervising PAS member to ensure the academic integrity of the proposal.  Consequently, any proposals that fail to adhere to appropriate standards will be returned without review, and the grant submitter will be prohibited from publication (including abstracts at the subsequent Annual Meeting) with the Pennsylvania Academy of Science for one year.  Additionally, the supervising PAS member will not be allowed to sponsor proposals to PAS for the next review cycle.

General Guidelines for proposal:

  1. Mentors/Principle Investigators must be active members of PAS (Paid dues for submission year); additionally, Mentors will be requested to assist with the grant review process.
  2. Mentors/Principle Investigators can submit up to 2 proposals for funding consideration.
  3. More than one student author may be on a single proposal; however, the specific roles of each of the student researchers towards the project, and towards writing of the proposal should be clear.
  4. Projects should be of such nature that they could be initiated and completed within one year.
  5. The PAS funds are to be used primarily for expendable supplies, small pieces of equipment, and travel associated with the study, living and/or housing expenses, if essential for the project. Travel to present at a conference will not be funded.
  6. Funds are not to be used for major pieces of equipment.
  7. Results of the project are normally communicated at the next meeting of the PAS following completion of the research. The student is encouraged to submit a manuscript for consideration of publication in the Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science. All awards will be publicized on the PAS website.

Proposal Format should include the following Sections:

  1. A brief ABSTRACT summarizing the study proposal.
  2. A titled INTRODUCTION describing the nature of the project and discussing the novelty or significance of the research. A general summary of the pertinent literature must be provided to demonstrate to the reviewers that the author has adequate knowledge of the research area. The Introduction should be heavily referenced and conform to the conventions of the proper use of cited works. Bibliographic references should be included at the end of the proposal, using the citation format used in the Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.
  3. A titled METHODS & MATERIALS describing how the research will be carried out; the kinds of materials and equipment used; the procedures to be employed regarding the care, use and disposition of research animals; the approximate starting and finishing dates of the research for which PAS funding is requested. The Materials and Methods section should give sufficient detail to be effectively evaluated by qualified external reviewers. Please note that any institutional approvals for carrying out research (Animal Care and Use Committee, Institutional Review Board, Biosafety Committee, etc) must be obtained prior to submission of your proposal and be indicated on the proposal submission website. Proposals using non-exempt animal test subjects, human subjects, or biohazardous materials without proper approvals either in process or completed will not be evaluated for funding. Approvals may be in process at the time of submission; however, no funding will be disbursed unless approval is documented.
  4. A titled STUDY PARTICIPANTS identifying the student(s) and supervising PAS member, their affiliation (e.g., academic institution or employer), and position or section status. The role of the student(s) must be CLEARLY identified. The previous relevant experience of the PAS member in supervising research must be discussed. A statement is required that the research supervisor is a current PAS member. A statement should be made regarding primary responsibility for writing the proposal, if not the author(s) given.
  5. A titled BUDGET will include an ITEMIZED budget showing how PAS funds are to be used and identifying the piece of equipment and facilities currently available to do the research. If funding is to be supplied by other sources, this should be identified.

Additional guidance regarding format can be found in the Guidelines for Authors in Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.

Submission via the website is required and should clearly list the area to which the grant most closely applies Biochemistry, Chemistry, Cell Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, Genetics, Geology, Microbiology or other. The PAS Research Grant Committee will evaluate all proposal reviews, and the proposals will be ranked for preference for funding. Only those proposals judged worthy of funding will receive funding to the extent funding is available.

Grants must be uploaded through the website submission form as a PDF or Word document through the PAS Grant Submission Form link below. PDF documents may be preferred to ensure that any formatting in your proposal is preserved as submitted for the peer reviewers. The new submission form has places to indicate the most recent IACUC and IRB approval dates if applicable. Additionally, an abstract of the proposal should also be included.

Grant submission for 2024 is now closed. The submission portal will open for new proposals on January 1, 2o25.

Contact for questions about the grant submission process:

Dr. David Singleton
Department of Biological Sciences
441 Country Club Road
York College of Pennsylvania
York, PA 17403-3651
dsinglet@ycp.edu