Student Research Grants

The following in-house funds have been made available to current Harvey Mudd students.

Shanahan Project Fund

Projects directed by a single student are eligible for Shanahan funds, but those involving groups of students working together will be favored in the allocation of funding. Preference will be given to projects that do not require ongoing financial support from the College.

Decisions about the funding of projects will be made by the “Shanahan Fund committee,” composed of Harvey Mudd’s president, vice president and dean of student affairs, vice president of academic affairs and vice president of advancement, in consultation with students, members of the faculty and other College administrators.

Identifying Projects

Drawing on recommendations from the committee, a call for proposals will be issued by the Office of Academic Affairs during the fall semester and then again later in the academic year, if funds remain available. Calls for proposals may set forth additional criteria and preferences for applicants. The committee will ordinarily attempt to allocate all of the funds available in a given year by the start of the following fall semester.

The call for proposals will ordinarily be issued in early September with a normal deadline in early October for written proposals from students. The committee will work quickly to review the proposals and meet with applicants, if necessary, so that decisions can be made by mid-October and projects can begin before the end of the term. The committee may modify the proposed budgets of projects it approves.

  • The committee may recommend that a proposal be revised and re-submitted in a subsequent call for proposals.
  • Projects may be one-time events or may require a period of time for planning and execution. It is expected, however, that projects will ordinarily be completed by the end of the summer research period following the year in which they are funded.
  • The committee may elect under special circumstances (e.g. a major natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina) to modify the normal schedules and issue a special RFP or allow exemplary projects to extend across multiple years.

Guidelines for Funding

  • Each project must have a faculty advisor, in whose name a project account will be established and who will be responsible for managing the expenditure of funds. All College policies that would normally apply to the financial administration of faculty-directed projects will also apply to student projects funded by the Shanahan Fund.

Post-Project Reports

  • The individual student or project team will report on the project and its outcomes to the campus community following completion of the project. The timing and format of this report will be determined by the Shanahan Fund committee and the student(s). However, interim reports are, at minimum, always required 30 days before the end of each fiscal year.
  • The Office of College Advancement will be responsible for reporting to the Shanahans at the end of each summer on allocations from the fund. The College will also report on project outcomes as this information is available.

Student Travel Grants

Funding is available for student travel to conferences and scientific meetings. Requests for this funding must be made by members of the faculty and are reviewed by the associate dean of faculty.

In 2022-2023, students are required to present research at the conference and/or attend with a faculty member in order to be eligible for this funding.

To request funds, the faculty adviser should fill out the application for Leeds conference funds, and this call for applications is distributed to the faculty via email. Students who do not have HMC research advisors can ask any HMC faculty member to submit an application on their behalf.

Students should be prepared to write a brief report about their conference experience.

The Department of Mathematics offers its own student travel program.