The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) welcomes your support of current LSU undergraduate researchers through donations. Your generous contribution can go toward funding student travel stipends or student project grants. Please read more below to learn about the two funds and how to donate. We thank you for your invaluable support of LSU's undergraduate research students!
Fall 2023 Travel Stipend recipient and Psychology major Will Decker presenting his research at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Neurobiology of Language in Marseille, France!
– Photo courtesy of Will Decker
OUR Travel Stipends provide reimbursement to students for costs associated with presenting at a professional academic conference. Since 2016, we have supported travel for over 150 undergraduate students, traveling both nationally and internationally!
Travel stipends are awarded to students that meet a set of criteria based on their participation in undergraduate research activities, standing with the University, and recommendation by their faculty mentor.
The amount of funding each student can receive for travel is based on the destination and current LSU travel regulations. The maximum reimbursement available to students ranges from $500 - $1,500.
If you would like to read more about the funding and view a list of past recipients, please visit our webpage for travel stipends.
Any contribution you are willing to make will increase our capacity to fund travel for undergraduate research students at LSU.
Donations can be made through the LSU Foundation's secure online portal.
Instructions for donating to the Travel Stipends fund:
If you have any questions or run into any problems during the donation process, please reach out to the LSU Foundation directly by phone, 225-578-3811, or via email, contact@lsufoundation.org
Biological Sciences major Dykia Williams received a Project Grant award during spring 2023 to work on her research project, "Characterizing Structure-Function Relationships on the Acceptor Side of Photosystem II," under the mentorship of Dr. David Vinyard.
– Photo courtesy of Dykia Williams
OUR Project Grants provide funding for undergraduate students to complete faculty mentored research or creative projects. Since 2017, we have supported 183 student projects from disciplines across all of the colleges!
Students complete a thorough application process that includes a proposal, personal statement, project budget, and faculty mentor recommendation. Applications are reviewed by a panel of faculty judges.
Project Grants are funded either for the academic year (fall and spring) or summer. Students that receive a Project Grant for the academic year are eligible for up to $3,000 worth of funding. Students that receive a Project Grant for the summer are eligible for up to $6,000 worth of funding.
If you would like to read more about the funding and view a list of past recipients, please visit our webpage for project grants.
Any contribution you are willing to make will increase our capacity to fund research or creative projects for undergraduate research students at LSU.
Donations can be made through the LSU Foundation's secure online portal.
Instructions for donating to the Project Grants fund:
If you have any questions or run into any problems during the donation process, please reach out to the LSU Foundation directly by phone, 225-578-3811, or via email, contact@lsufoundation.org
Our office participates in LSU's annual fundraiser, Giving Day.
What is Giving Day?
LSU alumni, students, parents, friends, faculty, and staff come together each year
for LSU Giving Day, a day-long online “event” that engages LSU supporters in making
contributions of $5 or more to the fund(s) they are most passionate about supporting.
Giving Day celebrates the impact of philanthropy, raises awareness of the university’s
opportunities and achievements, and provides a fun way for the LSU community to engage
with each other through a bit of friendly competition.
Who can participate in LSU Giving Day?
Everyone—alumni, parents, friends, students, faculty, and staff—is invited to participate
by giving $5 or more in support of LSU.
For Giving Day 2025, LSU OUR is raising funds for undergraduate student participation in the LSU Special Collections Summer Project.
In 2026, LSU will commemorate the 100th anniversary of its campus. To mark this milestone in our university's history, the Special Collections library has proposed two centennial-related projects for students to complete during summer 2025. Students will use the university archives and other resources within Special Collections, offering students a unique opportunity to engage with LSU's rich history!
Our goal is to raise $3,000 to fully fund one student's participation in the summer program.
This covers their hourly wage to complete the project between May 26 - August 15, 2025.
Your generous support during Giving Day will contribute to honoring the LSU campus centennial!
Instructions on donating to our fund are coming soon. For now, visit givingday.lsu.edu and save the date for March 19, 2025.
March 27, 2024
"This experience has opened so many doors for me, taught me what research looks like, and has allowed me to understand what I want to establish as my career. Geaux Tigers!"
- Sophie reflecting on her work on her research project, "Developing a culture medium for extending bovine embryo development in vitro"
"I don't think I can put words to what I gained from presenting at OVSC! I want to be a Shakespeare scholar, so getting feedback from professional Shakespeareans was a) just a marvelous experience and b) provided me excellent commentary that I will be able to vastly advance my research with... I won the undergraduate essay prize, and I got to participate in a seminar, which gave me the opportunity to ask and answer in-depth questions related to my paper and those of fellow undergraduates."
- Amy reflecting on presenting at the 46th Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference in October
