Smith Student Research Grant Application Directions 

Lake Louise Field Station 

Valdosta State University 

The Smith Student Research Grant is designed to help fund graduate and undergraduate student research at Valdosta State University’s Lake Louise Field Station (LLFS). Funding is available for students in the College of Science and Math at VSU to conduct research that includes LLFS in the study design. 

Applications should include a project description, budget with justification, and a letter of support from their faculty mentor. Grant materials should be e-mailed to the head of the Natural Areas Advisory Committee, Dr. Emily Cantonwine (egcantonwine@valdosta.edu). The spring application deadline is January 31 and fall application deadline is September 30. If awarded, money must be spent within one calendar year.  

Project Description should be limited to two pages, not including the literature cited, single- spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins and include: 

  • Project title 
  • Conceptual Framework (Abstract) 
  • Background/Rationale and Significance (Introduction) 
  • Research Question/Hypotheses 
  • Research Approach/Experimental Plan (Methods) 
  • Predictions/Potential Results/Broader Impacts 

Budget and Justification should be limited to one page (single-spaced acceptable). The anticipated range of budget request should be between $100 and $500. Funds can be used for supplies, lab expenses, and equipment. Funds may not be used for salaries, wages, conference expenses, or publication costs. Non-consumable supplies/equipment will become the property of VSU’s LLFS at the end of the project. Itemized budget should include detailed explanation, total cost of all items, funds to be provided by other sources, and funds requested from Smith Grant program.  

Required Final Products: 

At the end of the project, grant awardees will submit a final report, a list of oral/poster presentations, and data collected from LLFS. This information will be submitted electronically to Dr. Cantonwine. Format for the final report must follow that of a journal or thesis draft in the awardee’s field of study and include Introduction, Methods, Results with tables and figures, Discussion, and Literature Cited.  

 If awarded, money must be spent within one calendar year. Extensions will be permitted at the discretion of the Natural Areas Advisory Committee, if the project meets certain criteria. Limited to one award per student applicant.