Student Opportunity Awards

Project Funds

Project Funds are provided by generous friends and alumni of Skidmore College. The Funds offer grants in support of student academic initiatives. Grants may be used to defray the cost of research materials and supplies, for travel to a research site critical to the project's completion, for preparing project results for publication or display, or for purchasing materials needed for a creative project. Student Opportunity awards are, in short, designed to give students the support they need to start a project (i.e., seed money) and move that project to completion.

Grant amounts are typically $400-$650 and depend on the availability of funds each semester. The Student Opportunity Funds Committee may grant partial awards in some instances because of budgetary constraints, a student's failure to justify certain expenses, or questions the committee may have about whether some of the proposed activities are necessary to advance the student's project. Teams of students proposing a collaborative project may be eligible for additional funding.

Equipment pruchased with a Student Opportunity award becomes the property of Skidmore College upon the project's completion and must remain with the sponsoring department or program.

For guidance on the project description, the budget, arts projects (if relevant), and research involving human subjects or vertebrate animals, see these application instructions. Please also read this document on criteria and procedures for further details. 

Application checklist:

Please name all files in the following style: Last name, First name - SOF - Document Name.

• Application form | Instructions
• Faculty sponsor recommendation and signature
• Project description (PDF) | Sample description
• Budget (PDF or Excel) | Sample Budget
• W-9 Taxpayer ID and certification Complete, date and sign (home address not Skidmore address). You must submit a W9 even if you are a student worker. 
• If needed: arts projects portfolio
• If needed: IRB approval, with date of submission (if pending, please indicate)