Lakers Venture Grant
Supporting Student Inquiry Beyond Campus Borders
“Not all who wander are lost” ~ Tolkien
The Lakers Venture Grant provides undergraduate students at GVSU with up to $2,000 in funding for non-credit-bearing travel or research project supplies to conduct immersive, student-driven, original, and independent research.
The Lakers Venture Grant enables you to propose a research project to be conducted prior to graduation. The Grant is intended to support travel to and engagement in an independent research/inquiry experience that could not be accomplished on campus AND/OR to enable the purchase of supplies necessary to the proposed non-credit-bearing research project. The Grant also provides opportunity for engagement in a research question that is exploratory, exciting, and 'venturesome' (grounded in one's intellectual interests, prior coursework, and future plans). This is about exploration! Your Grant should lead to discovery – and help open doors to future possibilities (for graduate school, fellowships, and more).
The fall cycle of the Lakers Venture Grant award enables an undergraduate student to propose a travel-based project and/or project-related supplies for research to be conducted during the winter break or winter semester. The winter cycle of the Lakers Venture Grant award enables an undergraduate student to propose a travel-based project and/or project-related supplies for research to be conducted during summer. Awards will be made based on the quality of the proposals (see the rubric on the website for a guide to the evaluation criteria). Each award includes up to $2,000 for travel costs and supplies directly connected with the project (for example: museum passes, least-cost short-term accommodation at the research site, transportation to the research location, etc.).
About the Award
The Lakers Venture Grant program at GVSU provides students with up to $2,000 in funding for off-campus travel and/or research supplies to conduct immersive, student-driven, original, and independent research or to pursue experiential projects in the arts.
The Lakers Venture Grant award is an undergraduate research fund intended to support engagement in an independent research/inquiry experience that could not be accomplished without this funding. More specifically, this Grant is intended to provide opportunity for academic engagement in a research question that is exploratory, exciting, and 'venturesome' (while also being grounded in one's intellectual interests, prior coursework and future plans). This is about exploration! It should lead to discovery - and also, at its best, help open doors to future possibilities (for graduate school, fellowships, and more).
Award
The Lakers Venture Grant Program provides the following support:
- $2,000 for travel costs and research supplies directly associated with the project
- Some examples of incidentals are: museum passes, least-cost short-term accommodation at the research site, transportation to the research location, etc.
Eligibility
The program is available to full-time GVSU undergraduate students in good standing who have not yet completed the requirements for graduation. Successful students will have demonstrated a record of academic success in their discipline. Awarded recipients must continue enrollment at GVSU as full-time undergraduates for at least one full semester of study beyond the period of the award (i.e. the following Fall semester).
Example of a Lakers Venture Grant:
LVG has provided funding for student travel to the Library of Congress in Washington DC for research into maternity homes in twentieth-century America. LVG has provided funding for student travel to Nicaragua for research into communication issues arising between leaders of indigenous communities and the central government. Both of these research projects started under the mentorship of a GVSU faculty member and developed into the student's independent research project. Research work conducted with funding from the Lakers Venture Grant can help to set the foundation for a subsequent GVSU Summer Scholars award (collaborative research with a GVSU faculty mentor) or can be follow-up research AFTER a Sumer Scholars award. The LVG is excellent preparation for fellowship applications to Fulbright, Peace Corps, or another fellowship (depending on one's interests) and for graduate school applications.
Application Process
- Complete the pre-application. Pre-application is due one month before the proposal deadline.
- The application process must include TWO faculty endorsements.
The Pre-Application is due one month before the Proposal deadline. Feedback comes within seven days of submission of the Pre-application. Students will have three weeks to work on their final proposal with feedback in hand.
Laker Venture Grant Pre-Application Submission
A Good Proposal Describes -
- what you hope to accomplish
- why those objectives are important to your academic or artistic field
- how you intend to achieve your objectives
Items to think about -
- What do you plan to accomplish? What question or hypotheses are you exploring? For creative artists, what project are you pursuing? (250 words max)
- What’s the significance of your research question or creative project? How does your research question connect to current thinking in your field? (250 words max)
- How will you achieve your objective(s)? What is your Project Plan? What steps will you take? What methods will you use? What’s the timeline for your research plan or creative project? (500 words max)
- How are you well prepared for your project? What courses, undergraduate research experiences, internships, or other experiences have helped set the foundation for what you want to do? (250 words max)
- What resources do you need? What sources of information, supplies, travel funding, equipment, creative space, or other things do you need to do what you want to do? Note texts, observations, archives, datasets, source materials, interviews, etc., you will need to pursue your project. (250 words max)
- Budget: What items will you need to purchase? What travel costs and entrance fees will you need to plan for? (Don’t forget the cost of a passport, for example, and hotel stays!). (250 words max)
- How will you share your results? What’s your plan for dissemination? (250 words max)
After you have received feedback for the pre-application, complete the application by applying online. The proposal must include: a research/creative question, overview of significance, background literature survey if appropriate, sketch of preparation for success through prior coursework, internships or research, and projected outcome and dissemination plan, plus budget with documented estimates (for plane or train tickets, for example).
Limiting parameters include but are not limited to: the award cannot go toward activities associated with a credit-bearing course at Grand Valley or elsewhere; the award cannot go toward the cost of a private language tutor, a dance instructor, or other private lessons; the award cannot go toward the transportation cost of a return to one’s hometown or country of origin.
Laker Venture Grant Application Submission
Proposal Requirements
The Application Form will include the following items:
- Applicant Information
- Proposal (uploaded as part of online - follow the detailed Proposal Requirements when writing your proposal)
- Project Goals and Significance: What you hope to accomplish and why it matters! (max 2 pages)
- This prompt is from the pre-application, items 1 and 2
- Project Feasibility and Scope: (max 2 pages)
- This prompt is from the pre-application, item 3
- Student Preparation and Resources needed: (max 2 pages exclusive of resume & unofficial transcript)
- This prompt is from the pre-application, items 4 and 5
- Budget: (referencing the template in the Proposal Requirements document)
- This prompt is from the pre-application, item 6
- Dissemination Plan: (max 1 page)
- This prompt is from the pre-application, item 7
- Project Goals and Significance: What you hope to accomplish and why it matters! (max 2 pages)
- Budget Worksheet (template is in the Proposal Requirements document)
- Unofficial Transcript
- TWO Faculty Recommendations/Endorsements
Proposals will be reviewed by a faculty committee using this Lakers Venture Grant rubric. We encourage you to review the rubric carefully as you develop your proposal.
Academic Year Award Grant Cycle
Proposals for travel during the break between the 2026 Fall and 2027 Winter semesters, or the 2027 Spring Break must be submitted by November 18, 2026.
- Pre-application: Due one month before application deadline (mid-October)
- Application deadline: November 18, 2026
- Faculty review: concluded by December
- Award announcements: December 11
- Award disbursal: As required by budget and project timeline
Summer Award Grant Cycle
Proposals for travel during the 2027 Summer must be submitted by March 26, 2027.
- Pre-application: Due one month before application deadline (late February)
- Application deadline: March 26, 2027
- Faculty review: concluded by April 5
- Award announcements: April 9
- Award disbursal: As required by budget and project timeline
Grantee Responsibilities
Each undergraduate Lakers Venture Grant recipient is responsible for the quality of their research project and for their conduct as a representative of Grand Valley State University at all research locations. They should be self-directed in their research, mature, courteous, ethical in every aspect of their research program and aware of the impact of their actions within the communities and organizations they visit.
Each Lakers Venture Grant recipient must fulfill the requirements of the program. These include:
a) designing and presenting a poster or oral presentation at the next Student Scholars Day following the grant period;
b) completing a Student Scholars Day registration process with abstract (a succinct half-page about their project) and, *if appropriate* a final research paper by the designated deadline to submit to GVSU’s Institutional Repository, Scholar Works. The SSD abstract should be a brief (200 words maximum) report on the research project and its results or a note the plan and outcome of the creative project (an art installation on campus, or participation in a gallery exhibit, for example, or performance). And
c) completing a short reflection paper (see requirements and essay prompts below).
The Venture Grant Reflection Paper: This is a single-spaced one-page reflective essay that enables you to capture what you’ve learned as a result of your Venture Grand funded experience. Address the following prompts in the order that makes best sense to you (be sure to touch upon all of the prompts, changing them up a bit if necessary to help them fit your project and your experience):
- How has your understanding of the scope and/or significance of the project changed from the beginning of the project to now, at the end of the project? In what way(s)?
- What parts of your project would you do more of if you had more time?
- What new questions or possibilities are you now seeing because of the Venture Grant-funded work you’ve done?
- What ‘next venture’ will you/would you pursue if you had an opportunity to take another step in the process you started with this Venture Grant?
Budget Tracking
Students are responsible for monitoring their budget and initiating any reimbursements. The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship will reimburse the costs associated with the project up to the amount awarded. Please see the Budget and Reimbursement Information web page on the OURS Summer Scholar Programs website. We will follow the same process for Lakers Venture Grant recipients as we do for our summer scholars. We do not order supplies, make travel arrangements, etc. If you make purchases through another GVSU department, we will reimburse that department through inter-department OnBase transfer requests. Purchases should be processed through the faculty mentor's department first, then the department will request a transfer of funds through OnBase. The transfer request must include receipts showing the purchase(s).
Lakers Venture Grant FAQ's
Each award includes up to $2,000 for travel costs and supplies directly associated with the project (for example: museum passes, least-cost short-term accommodation at the research site, transportation to the research location, etc.).
The program is available to full-time GVSU undergraduate students in good standing who have not yet completed the requirements for graduation. Successful students will have demonstrated a record of academic success in their discipline. Awarded recipients must continue enrollment at GVSU as full-time undergraduates for at least one full semester of study beyond the period of the award (i.e. the following Fall semester).
The Lakers Venture Grant award is a competitive, prestigious research grant intended to support supplies and/or travel to and then engagement in an independent, non-credit-bearing research/inquiry experience or expressive art project.
Quite a bit – You don’t want to write a Lakers Venture Grant proposal at the last minute. You'll want to brainstorm and journal in preparation for the writing process and dig into the practicalities of required supplies and/or travel to your research location. You’ll want to consider your academic interests and graduate school/career aspirations – Some key questions to ask yourself:
- What academic subject or interdisciplinary issue sparks your passion? What questions have you begun to explore in classes, independent research projects, and/or collaborative research with faculty mentors that excite you?
- What ‘next thing’ do you need to do to better understand this question, this issue, in order to advance in thoughtful engagement with it?
- How might the most challenging and exciting courses you’ve taken so far at GVSU provide a foundation for your research experience and how might the research experience prepare you well for advanced courses and for graduate study or a gap-year fellowship experience before graduate study?
- How does your proposed research connect with your undergraduate research experiences at GVSU?
- What research foundation do you need to lay in preparation for your senior thesis or capstone seminar?
The proposal must include: a research/creative question, overview of significance, background literature survey if appropriate, sketch of preparation for success through prior coursework, internships or research, and projected outcome and dissemination plan, plus budget with documented estimates (for supplies, plane or train tickets, for example). Follow the detailed Proposal Requirements carefully when writing your proposal.
The Laker Venture Grant award cannot go toward activities associated with a credit-bearing course at Grand Valley or elsewhere; the award cannot go toward the cost of a private language tutor, a dance instructor, or other private lessons; the award cannot go toward the transportation cost of a return to one’s hometown or country of origin. The award cannot help to defray the cost of a study-abroad program.
Yes. Two letters of recommendation from faculty members are required.
Yes. Competitive applications include a carefully researched, detailed budget, itemized in your application and with supporting documentation of estimated costs.
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Summer Award Grant Cycle: End of MARCH
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Academic Year Award Grant Cycle: End of NOVEMBER
Yes. Students are responsible for monitoring their budget and initiating any reimbursements. The Center for Student Research an Scholarly Engagement (CSRSE) will reimburse the costs associated with the project up to the amount awarded.
No. We do not order supplies, make travel arrangements, etc. You will be responsible for this and submitting receipts for reimbursement.
Particularly with research-related travel, circumstances may change. You should stay within the allocated budget provided in your award but particular line items may shift. In this case, CONTACT the Center for Student Research and Scholarly Engagement (CSRSE) as soon as possible with an update and, if necessary, an amended budget.
Each Lakers Venture Grant recipient must fulfill the requirements of the program. These include:
a) designing and presenting a poster or oral presentation at the next Student Scholars Day following the grant period;
b) completing a Student Scholars Day registration process with abstract (a succinct half-page about their project) and, *if appropriate* a final research paper by the designated deadline to submit to GVSU’s Institutional Repository, Scholar Works. The SSD abstract should be a brief (200 words maximum) report on the research project and its results or a note the plan and outcome of the creative project (an art installation on campus, or participation in a gallery exhibit, for example, or performance).
c) submit a Travel and Expense Reimbursement Form to be reimbursed for your incidentals.
The Lakers Venture Grant award is a competitive, prestigious travel grant for GVSU undergraduate students in good academic standing intended to support engagement in an independent research/inquiry/creative experience by helping to fund associated supplies and/or travel costs.
See GVSU Fellowships to explore the many fellowship options for which the Lakers Venture Grant provides a sound foundation as one of the ‘stackable’ experiences (along with study abroad, undergraduate research on campus, language study and community service) that provide content (experience and knowledge) for a compelling fellowship or graduate school application.
If you are expecting a second source of funding, you will need to be clear about what parts of your research plan will be covered by the Laker Venture Grant award (if granted) and what will be covered elsewhere. If you receive funding from another source, you will need to update your budget. You can't receive funding from different sources for the same expense. This is unethical. You cannot receive funding from more than one of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS) programs or awards for the same project in the same time period.
For example, you cannot be a Summer Scholar or Undergraduate Research Assistant (which requires collaborative research with a faculty mentor) and also receive LVG funding for the same research project (which you are to pursue independently) in the same summer or semester period. The LVG could be a fine award for research in the semester after the experience of mentored collaborative research or in preparation for a Summer Scholars Award.
You should research your travel and supplies costs and be ready to provide evidence that your budget estimates are accurate and practical.