The 2024-2025 REA Student Project Grant Program

The Rice Engineering Alumni (REA) has established a grant program to support outstanding student-led
engineering initiatives at Rice. The focus of this program is to provide financial support to projects,
activities, and initiatives which are not directly related to class work or sponsored research. Undergraduate students are encouraged to apply to the program. Grant funding must be used to support a specific activity and may not be used to supplement a general operating fund for an organization or group. Student-led projects/activities/initiatives will be selected for funding based on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated need for financial support

  • Educational impact for the involved students

  • Societal impact of the proposed project or activity

  • Other Sources of support and amounts

  • Feasibility of the project or activity

The minimum grant amount is $500, and the maximum grant amount is $2,500. Grant winners will be required to provide a follow-up report and/or a 10-minute presentation at an REA event, such as at the Winter Social or at the REA Homecoming event, upon completion of the project. In addition, grant winners will be recognized at the annual REA Student Awards Celebration in April 2025.


Student project grants will only be offered in the Fall 2024 semester, not in Spring 2025.  The deadline for submitting an application to the program is September 22, 2024, at 11:59 PM.  NO LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED.  Our goal is to complete the review of all applications and notify award recipients by October 1, 2024.  Winners will be recognized at the REA Student Awards Celebration in April 2025.


Application Process

Applications are to be delivered by email to the REA Grants and Awards Chair prior to the announced
application deadline (reascholarships@gmail.com). Applications shall be in the form of an MS Word
document. The application is limited to five pages, single spaced, Times New Roman or Arial 12 point
fonts, with standard 1 inch margins. The application must include the following information:

  • Name and description of the student group applying for funding support

  • Names, majors, and years of all students involved in the project

  • Description of the project or activity under consideration for funding support

  • Detailed cost estimate for the project or activity, including a line-item budget showing how the grant is intended to be used, a description of funds raised to date (source and amount), the amount requested from the REA, and plans for raising any additional funds needed to cover the costs in the budget

  • Should expedited funding be required, please state clearly the urgency of the request and the
    necessary schedule for receiving funds

  • Assessment of the educational impact to the Rice students involved

  • Assessment of the societal impact of the proposed project or activity

  • Discussion of any major challenges associated with the proposed project or activity, and the
    group’s plan to overcome these challenges

  • 200-300 word summary of why the REA should support this activity

  • Contact Information (email, phone) for student leaders and the Rice School of Engineering faculty sponsor (or equivalent Rice authority figure providing guidance or support for the activity)

Grant Selection & Award Process

The REA Student Awards Committee shall select award winners based on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated need for financial support (25%)

  • Educational impact for the involved students (25%)

  • Societal impact of the proposed project (20%)

  • Feasibility of the Project (30%)

Should a funded project be cancelled or not materialize as expected after receiving the grant, all grant monies must be returned to the REA. Applicants must be Rice-affiliated, working on research or a project at Rice, and able to receive payment through the Rice payment system. Applicants cannot be a
company spun out from Rice technology research. All award winners must consent to their names and project/activity/initiative description being used on the REA website and other REA communications.


Questions?

Questions regarding the REA Student Project Grant Program should be directed to:
reascholarships@gmail.com