MILES Seed Grants

Montana Integrative Learning Experience for Students (MILES) is pleased to announce the availability of MILES Seed Grants. Undergraduate students may apply for seed grants of up to $500 for activities related to initiating a research project. The grants are intended to support activities such as developing and implementing a short-term research project or gathering preliminary data with the intent that work supported by a seed grant will position a student to apply for more substantial and sustained support as a MILES Intern or MILES Fellow. Funds may be used for student wage (at the rate of $9/hr, up to 10 hours/week during the semester) and/or materials and <supplies > for research. Students who are awarded seed grants will also be invited to participate in the MILES Forum, a bi-weekly meeting of all MILES Interns and Fellows.

Students are eligible for one grant and are encouraged to apply for a MILES Internship or Fellowship when complete.

Application Process

Applications for Seed Grants may be submitted at any time. Your application must contain the items listed below. You can begin the application process by clicking on the link after the list

1. Information required in the online application.
2. Seed Grant proposal. Your proposal should contain the following sections, and be no more than 2 pages long. Please do not include a separate title page.
1. Title of your proposed project, your name, and your proposed mentor's name
2. General interest in research: Describe why you are interested in scientific research, in general. If you have previously conducted research, please briefly describe your experience (what you did and what you learned from the experience).
3. Specific interest in this research project: Describe why you are interested in working on the project you have chosen with the research mentor you have chosen.
4. Expectations: Briefly describe what you hope to accomplish with the funding from a MILES Seed Grant, including the knowledge and skills you hope to acquire.
5. Integrating biology with the computational sciences: A major goal of the MILES program is to enhance integration of biology with the computational sciences (computer science and the mathematical sciences), thereby helping students to develop the computational skills that are increasingly important in biological research. Your proposal should briefly describe how you will integrate biology and the computational sciences during the period funded by your Seed Grant, for example by learning skills in an area such as data analysis, modeling, writing computer programs, or visualization, or by learning or working with computational software such as MatLab. You may want to consult with your research mentor for guidance in developing this section of your research proposal.
6. Educational and career goals: Describe your educational and career goals, and explain how a MILES Seed Grant will help you meet those goals.
7. Budget: Your budget should detail the items for which you are requesting funding, including your hourly stipend. If you are requesting funding for supplies, you should list each supply, the quantity needed, and the cost for that supply.<Supplies Form>
3. Letter of support from your proposed research mentor (a UM faculty member or a researcher at a government or private laboratory or institute). In the letter, your research mentor must describe
1. How the research you will conduct fits into their overall research program
2. The mentoring you will receive during the period funded by your MILES Seed Grant
3. How they will help you integrate biology with the computational sciences.
4. Most recent college transcript (may be unofficial) with relevant lecture and laboratory courses highlighted.

« MILES Online Application »

Note: Projects integrating Mathematics and/or Computational Science and Biology will be given preference in the selection process.