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Guidelines For Applicants

1. Eligibility

   • Richter grants are available to full-time graduate (eight hours per semester) or undergraduate (12 hours per semester) students at Â鶹´«Ã½ Fox who are actively pursuing their degree and are in good academic standing.
   • The applicant’s cumulative GPA at Â鶹´«Ã½ Fox must be at least 3.0.
   • Undergraduate students must have at least sophomore standing to be eligible for a Richter grant.
   • Transfer students are eligible to apply so long as they meet all eligibility criteria.
   • Must plan to enroll for at least one semester after their summer project.

2. Proposals

   Proposals are submitted by individual students, and separate proposals must not request funding for the same research or project. Individual students may submit separate proposals to work on individual components of the same larger team project, but each student’s submission must describe a full individual investigation.

   Students must plan to enroll for at least one semester after their summer project. A proposed project must be completed before an applicant’s graduation date. Funding is for research or projects that have not yet been conducted, and funds cannot be used to reimburse students for research that has already been completed.

   An applicant must have identified a Â鶹´«Ã½ Fox faculty mentor prior to submitting a proposal, and should consult with the faculty mentor in the preparation of the proposal.

3. Collaboration

   Collaboration with other students and researchers is encouraged, but the proposal should provide clear evidence of student leadership and involvement in all aspects of the proposed project.

   The proposal materials should include clear support from a Â鶹´«Ã½ Fox faculty mentor and may include additional professional mentors with expertise in the area of the proposed research or project. The research must be designed and conducted predominantly by the student.

   Faculty mentors will be required to approve monthly stipends for undergraduate students.

   Faculty mentors are also expected to be involved by providing general expertise, resources, and instruments that support the student’s proposed work, as well as guidance on:

   • Appropriate research methods, tools, equipment, instruments and project timeline
   • Discipline-specific and research-focused materials to support student learning (e.g. books, articles, protocols)
   • Project design, proposal development, data analysis, and research project dissemination

4. Funding

   Funding is awarded in the spring semester for research or projects that are usually conducted over the summer immediately following notification of the award. While data analysis and dissemination activities may extend into the following fall semester, most of the research effort should occur during the summer.

   Please note: Research may be done during the academic year; however, stipends can only be paid during the summer months.

   Also note that Richter research grants are specifically for the proposed research project and do not affect other Â鶹´«Ã½ Fox scholarships or grants.

   Undergraduate proposals may request funds for a stipend, supplies and equipment.

   • Stipends may not exceed $5,700, and are not assessed based upon an hourly rate. Thus, the stipend should not be seen to indicate the number of hours of work that should be dedicated to the research or project.
   • Stipends can only be paid during the summer months and not during the academic year.
   • Students may not work on campus as a student employee for more than 20 hours a week and be awarded a stipend. 
   • Students must provide their own summer housing. University housing is available to Richter students at a discount. It is the student's responsibility to apply with Student Housing.
   • Supply requests should be restricted to those supplies that are necessary for the proposed project and that are not available through university resources and would normally not exceed $2500.
   • Funds for domestic and/or international travel may be included in the initial budget request if the travel is necessary to collect data. Travel requests must be based on the most reasonable rates available for transportation, lodging and meals.
   • There is not a specific limit on the amount of funding per student, but funded requests typically do not exceed $8,200.

   Graduate proposals may only request funds for supplies and travel to collect data; graduate students are not eligible for stipends. 

   • There is not a specific limit on the amount of funding per student, but funded supply and travel for data collection requests typically do not exceed $2,500.

   Additional information on accessing funds, can be found here.

5. Travel Funds Policy

   Requests for travel funds to present research results at a conference or to disseminate the research through another venue should not be included in the original request. Funds may be made available to support travel to present Richter-funded research, projects, or exhibits at a professional conference. These funds may be requested after the original funding request has been awarded.

   Conference travel requests will be considered by the Richter committee as they are received. Requests should be made using the Travel Grant Application Form; completed forms should be submitted to Vetta Berokoff at vberokof@georgefox.edu, along with documentation confirming acceptance of the conference abstract, paper or poster. 

6. Final End Product

   At the end of the summer project, students are required to complete the following:

   1. Have their research/project presentation videographed during the early spring semester and are required to submit an electronic poster if they are a fall graduate and are unable to attend the video shoot in spring. Prior videos can be found on the university's YouTube channel in the
   2. Complete the Richter Scholars assessment.
   3. Participate at the Richter Banquet by presenting a poster or exhibit.