Shaheen Scholars: Student Grants Program

If you're an undergraduate or graduate student in the College, the Shaheen Scholars Program can help fund a variety of scholarly and creative projects. Are you looking for money to travel to your first professional conference? Are you ready to go global and need travel funds? Are you a first-generation student and ready to make your mark?

Read on to see how the program might benefit you and how to apply.

Types of Funding Available

As an undergraduate or graduate student in the Shaheen College, you’re eligible to apply for funding for things like:

• Travel expenses for conferences, workshops, research, etc. (registration fees, airfare, mileage, parking fees, etc.)
• Student scholarly activity, research, or project expenses (materials and supplies etc.)
• Service learning or community engagement expenses (project materials and supplies, publicity, printing, postage, equipment up to $500, minimum refreshment costs, etc.)
• Student study Abroad/Away expenses, like transportation, housing, food, and other expenses, including summer study. Please note Spring Term is not eligible for funding.
• You may apply individually or as a group of students with a joint project.

Process

Upon submission, your proposal will be reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee of faculty for recommendation to the Dean, who will communicate a final decision on your proposal. The committee works to balance the awarding of funds to a diverse set of proposals over the course of the year.

General Eligibility & Participation Requirements

Student applicants must have a major within the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences:

• Anthropology and Archaeology
• Art and Design
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Communication
• Criminal Justice
• R.B. Annis School of Engineering
• English
• Global Languages and Cross Cultural Studies
• History and Political Science
• Liberal Arts
• Mathematical Sciences
• Music
• Philosophy and Religion
• Physics and Earth Space Sciences
• Sociology

As part of receiving a Shaheen Scholars Grant, students agree to participate in a public presentation and write a thank you letter to Yvonne Shaheen, the program’s donor, at the beginning and end of their project.

Application Deadline

All proposals requesting funds are due at the end of the month to the Shaheen Dean’s Office (shaheendeansoffice@uindy.edu). Proposals will be reviewed and responded to by the end of the following month running September through March.

Application Process  

A complete proposal will include the following, all of which should be e-mailed to the Shaheen Dean’s Office (shaheendeansoffice@uindy.edu):

A proposal must be authored and submitted by a currently enrolled student (or group of students) in the College. Faculty are asked to provide a letter of support, but the grant will be considered under the student’s name. *Students attending the same event from the same department/unit must apply during the same review cycle (month). Please use the proposal template.

Completed online application, which includes:

• Project Introduction/Abstract
  A brief summary of the proposed scholarly and/or creative project. 
• Personal Narrative (500 word minimum)
  Please explain how the proposed project will enrich the student, as well as the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences. Shaheen Scholars is especially interested in supporting first generation college student success, leadership development (especially for women and minority populations), multiculturalism and global citizenship, community engagement, and the role of liberal arts and sciences in career readiness. Collaborative applications supporting multiple students must include a personal narrative (500 word minimum) from each student pertaining to how the proposed project will enrich their experience in the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences.
• Budget
  A detailed itemized budget, including total requested funds, should explain what the funds will be used for. Mention any pending or received additional/other funding source for this project. Individual applications are capped at $3,000. Collaborative applications supporting multiple students are capped at $5,000. Shaheen Scholars grants are intended to fund student initiatives, faculty and student stipends are not funded by this grant.
• Letter of Support
  A signed letter of support from a faculty member in the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences forwarded to the Dean’s Office (shaheendeansoffice@uindy.edu). Student applicants are responsible for ensuring the letter of support arrives before the application deadline and may inquire about the status of their letter. Faculty support of collaborative applications must indicate support for the entire group of students rather than only the applying individual.
• For Student Study Away/Study Abroad Only: Confirmation of Program
  Provide a letter from the Director of Global Education, Katie Kaiser (kaiserk@uindy.edu), Center for Global Engagement, that outlines the dates and location of travel, the total program cost, any payments already submitted by the student, and confirmation that the student is registered for the program. *Spring term travel is not supported.
• For Projects with Human Subjects Only
  If the project you are requesting funds for requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, you must provide evidence that IRB approval has already been granted. For more information about IRB, visit the HRPP website.

Only complete submissions will be considered in the review process.

Review Process  

Proposals will be reviewed by the Shaheen Scholars & Grants Committee. Priority will be given to students who have not received funding from this program in the last year. 

If applicable, the committee reserves the right to partner with other areas on campus for help verifying the competitiveness of applications. For example, the Center for Global Engagement (study away/abroad destinations) or Center for Service-Learning & Community Engagement.

Award Notification

Notification of award status will be sent according to the schedule detailed earlier in this document and will include further instructions to awardees regarding accessing awarded funds. Awardees/sponsors are encouraged to complete the Shaheen Scholars Content Request Form to promote scholarship activities.

Questions? Contact The Shaheen Dean’s Office at shaheendeansoffice@uindy.edu 

Benefactor

Yvonne Shaheen joined the University of Indianapolis' Board of Trustees in 1992, serving as chair from 2016 to 2018. She also served as chair of the institution's most successful comprehensive campaign "UIndy Starts with You: The Campaign for the University of Indianapolis."

Mrs. Shaheen's impact on the University reached new heights in 2015 with her gift of $5 million, at that time the largest single gift in the institution’s history, to support the College of Arts and Sciences. The University commemorated that gift with the renaming of the College as the Shaheen College of Arts and Sciences, in honor of Mrs. Shaheen and her late husband, Riad.

The University of Indianapolis is deeply grateful to Mrs. Yvonne Shaheen for her impact upon generations of both faculty and students.