PEARL Award
Current juniors and seniors may apply for funding to support experiential learning activities that build upon a completed ELN project and digital badge.
Apply for the PEARL Award
ELN is excited to offer this competitive funding opportunity for advanced UB undergraduate students looking to leverage their completed ELN projects and badges in transformational ways. Funds can support research, travel, participation in conferences, workshops, or other approved activities that build upon their initial projects and integrate with their academic and professional goals.
Deadlines
- Nov. 12, 2025
- March 25, 2026
Please note, applications will be reviewed after each deadline closes.
Eligibility and Requirements
To be eligible, you must:
- Be a current junior or senior UB undergraduate student.
- Have earned an ELN Digital Badge for your completed project.
- Have a UB Faculty Mentor agree to oversee your proposed activities and administer the funds per the approved budget.
Additional requirements and expectations:
- Students may apply for awards up to $2,500.
- Students can only receive the PEARL Award ONCE throughout their time as a UB undergraduate student.
- Completed applications and signature forms are due by the given deadlines. We will NOT consider anything received after the given deadlines.
- Awardees are required to share their funded experiences through completing an additional ELN Digital Badge.
- Note: Funds must be used to directly support students' proposed activities and cannot be used to build out faculty lab or research infrastructure. If you are unsure if a specific budget item is allowable, please contact our office prior to submission for clarification.
Required Faculty Mentor
All students must work with a UB faculty mentor. The mentor must agree to oversee the experience and administer all funds awarded according to the approved budget.
Letter of Recommendation (Optional but strongly encouraged)
To support applications, students may request a brief letter of recommendation indicating support for the proposed activities as they relate to the student's academic and/or professional journey. The recommender must email letters to ELN directly at ubeln@buffalo.edu by the application deadline.
Signature Form
Signature Form
All applicants must submit a completed signature form via email to ubeln@buffalo.edu by the application deadline.
What You Should Know Before Starting the PEARL Award Application
1. Confirm you meet the eligibility requirements outlined above.
Use of Funds
Funds must be used to support student projects directly and cannot be used to build out faculty lab or research infrastructure.
ELN Funding cannot be used to purchase gifts or compensate anyone, including research participants, for their time. It also may not be used as income or wages for student researchers working on the project.
This funding opportunity is not meant to subsidize courses. Senior design projects and projects required for a course are NOT eligible to receive this funding.
Please contact our office before submitting your application if you are unsure whether a specific budget item is allowable.
2. Review the proposal evaluation criteria.
Please note, this is a highly competitive award and only materials submitted by the deadline will be considered.
Funding applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Completed application: Completed applications are received on or before the funding deadline.
- Signature page: Completed signature forms are received on or before the funding deadline.
- Quality of writing: All responses are well-written with evidence of proofreading. (Center for Excellence in Writing is available to support the development of your application.)
- Clarity of proposed activities: The proposed activities are clearly explained, and it is clearly stated how the initial completed project will be built upon in a meaningful way.
- Goals: The applicant is able to make a strong case for how the proposed activities will support their academic or professional goals.
- Transformational Learning: The applicant is able to explain how the proposed activities would be transformational for them.
- Overall budget quality: The proposed budget is itemized with showing proof of the exact cost for each item.
- Funding justification: A rationale for why each expense is justified and necessary is clearly stated.
Note: Funds must be used to support students' proposed activities directly and cannot be used to build out faculty lab or research infrastructure. If you are unsure if a specific budget item is allowable, please contact our office prior to submission for clarification.
3. Understand the funding timeline.
- After the deadline, ELN staff will review all applications and email applicants directly with a funding decision. All applicants will be notified via email within two weeks of the application deadline.
- Please note that the transfer of funds may take several weeks once funding decisions are announced.
4. Complete the ELN Digital Badge.
Awardees must complete an additional ELN Digital Badge for their funded experience.
If you start a funding application form and need to stop for any reason, you can click "Save and Resume Later" to generate a unique link. You can use that link anytime within 30 days to complete your submission.