Unpaid or Low-Paying Internships
Students may use award funds to cover living costs (room and board away from their  home or school address) and other expenses (travel to and from their work location, for example) incurred during unpaid internships. For low-paying internships, award funds may only be used to cover expenses exceeding the internship salary.  Funds may not be disbursed as stipends, wages, salary, or other categories that mimic compensation/remuneration.

Summer Research
Students may use award funds to cover costs associated with their research projects (e.g. supplies and/or consumables in the laboratory, printing and copying, etc.) as well as living costs (room and board away from home address) and other expenses (travel, for example) during the research experience.

This award is intended to support expenses that are specific to a student’s project and consumed through use in the student’s project.  This means that generally speaking, requests for funds for laptops, processors, lab equipment, etc., will not be approved.

The project may not be for a course that is a required element in the curriculum for the student’s undergraduate degree program (e.g., senior project for BFA students, design lab for Engineering students). However, students pursuing optional research projects that go beyond degree requirements (e.g., an Honors Thesis), and who may be enrolled in independent study credits or other academic coursework related to those projects, may receive funds to support their project supply costs.  Funds may not be used to pay tuition and fees for independent studies during the summer.

Students may not receive Presidential EA funding concurrently with other funding intended for the same purpose (e.g., SURF, Beckman Scholars, Holster, BOLD, Health Research Program, IBACS, MARC, McNair, other departmental summer research programs, UConn IDEA Grant). However, requests to use Presidential EA funds to cover eligible, project-related expenses that exceed the budgets of programs such as the ones listed above will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Research During the Academic Year
Students may use award funds to cover costs associated with their research projects (e.g. supplies and/or consumables in the laboratory, printing and copying, travel to collections, etc.)

This award is intended to support expenses that are specific to a student’s project and consumed through use in the student’s project.  This means that generally speaking, requests for funds for laptops, processors, lab equipment, etc., will not be approved.

The project may not be for a course that is a required element in the curriculum for the student’s undergraduate degree program (e.g., senior project for BFA students, design lab for Engineering students). However, students pursuing optional research projects that go beyond degree requirements (e.g., an Honors Thesis), and who may be enrolled in independent study credits related to those projects, may receive funds to support their project supply costs. However, unlike the summer, students may not receive funds for living expenses during the academic year.

Students may not receive Presidential EA funding concurrently with other funding intended for the same purpose (e.g., SURF, Beckman Scholars, BOLD, Holster, Health Research Program, IBACS, MARC, McNair, other departmental summer research programs, UConn IDEA Grant). However, requests to use Presidential EA funds to cover eligible, project-related expenses that exceed the budgets of programs such as the ones listed above will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Professional Development

Students may use award funds to conduct field-work, to travel for research purposes, and to attend pre-professional or academic conferences.  Pre-professional, professional, and academic conferences are the most common professional development activities supported by these funds.

Exceptions:  In 2020, to account for the dramatic contraction of professional development opportunities available to students due to Covid, UConn temporarily allowed students on pre-health professions tracks to request funding to offset costs of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certification programs as long as the programs in which students enrolled did not carry academic credit (from UConn or another institution).  At this time, these remain the only exceptions to this policy.  We will continue to update this website as the status of these “Covid exceptions,” which are set to expire in July 2023, evolves.   

Volunteer/Service Experience
Students may use their award to cover costs associated with approved volunteer or UConn-sponsored service activities.  These activities are usually immersive in nature, so this includes most service-orientated alternative spring break programs but does not generally cover volunteer work associated with local after school programs (unless those activities are directly related to the student’s degree program/professional aspirations).

Registration and test sitting fees, and costs associated with preparation for such tests, are not allowed if the exams are required and/or necessary steps towards graduate or professional school admission and/or professional licensure (e.g., MCAT, LSAT, GRE, and actuarial exams).

Tuition, program costs or fees that approximate tuition at other educational institutions or agencies (e.g., certification programs not covered under the “Covid exceptions” listed above).

Compensation, in the form of salary, wages, or stipends.

Applications must be submitted PRIOR to the enrichment activity and may not be used retroactively for past experiences