Enrichment Award

• Students may receive the Enrichment Award once during their UB undergraduate career.
• Completed applications, including signature forms, must be submitted by the stated deadline (late materials will not be considered).
• Awardees must also complete an additional Undergraduate Research Digital Badge that reflects specifically on this funded experience.

All applicants must submit a completed signature form via email to undergrad-research@buffalo.edu by the application deadline. Unsigned or incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

To apply, you must:

• Be a current UB junior or senior undergraduate student.
• Have earned a digital badge through the Office for Undergraduate Research (formerly the Experiential Learning Network).
• Secure a UB faculty mentor who agrees to oversee your proposed activities and administer the funds awarded according to the approved budget.

Because this is a highly competitive award, only completed applications submitted by the deadline will be considered. Funding applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Complete application: All materials received on or before the deadline.
• Signature form: Completed and submitted on or before the deadline.
• Quality of writing: All responses are clear, professional and well-written with evidence of proofreading. (The Center for Excellence in Writing is available to support the development of your application.)
• Clarity of proposed activities: Explanation of how the initial completed project will be built upon in a meaningful way.
• Connection to goals: Clear articulation of how the proposed activities will support your academic or professional goals.
• Transformational learning: Thoughtful explanation of how the proposed activities will deepen your learning and growth.
• Budget quality: The proposed budget is itemized, accurate and well-documented with proof of the exact cost for each item.
• Funding justification: Clearly describe each requested budget item and explain how it supports or enables the proposed project activities.

Note: Funds must directly support the proposed activities and may not be used to build out faculty lab or research infrastructure. If you are unsure whether a specific budget item is allowable, contact our office before submission.

• Applications are reviewed after each deadline.
• A funding decision will be emailed to you within 1–2 weeks.
• After awards are announced, the transfer of funds may take several additional weeks.

Please note that there are no exceptions to this timeline. 

Awardees must complete an additional Undergraduate Research Digital Badge that reflects specifically on this funded experience.