Student FAQ

What if my project could be more than one activity type?

Sometimes students have trouble selecting just one activity type for their project in their SAFE search. For example, you may feel that your project is both an internship and a senior thesis research project. In this case, you should select the activity type which <i>best<i/> describes the project. If you cannot decide, you should separate the activities into 2 projects. You must be careful to clearly define what you are doing, exactly when, and precisely where in each project application, without overlap, so that funders do not perceive it as a duplicate request in SAFE. If you create 2 projects, you must not request funding for the same item in each project. For example, if you will be traveling to Spain to do an internship and then, at the conclusion of the internship, you will conduct independent research in Spain, you may only request airfare to Spain within one of these projects.

How do I create my project budget?

When creating your budget in SAFE, you should list all of the projects costs--even if you are not requesting funding for all of the costs. Funding administrators want to clearly understand the total cost of your project, what funding you have already received and what you still need. For example, if the airfare is $1800 but you are using frequent flyer miles and not requesting funding for airfare, you should still list $1800 for airfare as a budget line. Then, in the "amount requested" column, you should indicate "$0" for airfare. SAFE funding administrators will enter their awards into your project so other funders can understand what you still need. 

What if there is more than one location for my project?

If your project spans more than one location, you should select the farthest location from the drop down (on campus, domestic, international). If you select international, you may select more than one country from the drop down list by holding down the control key while making your selections. If any of your locations are flagged by the University as a destination of elevated risk, you must select that location. You will be presented with terms and conditions based on your selection. Therefore, if you select the wrong location or if there is a change in your plans that impacts the location of your project, you must withdraw the application and create a new one.

Why do I see different funding opportunities if I search with a different activity type selected?

Some funding opportunities are restricted to a particular kind of activity. They indicate the activity they will fund when they create the funding opportunity. You should search for funding in the activity type that best describes what you will be doing. You are not permitted to create more than one project for the same activity.

What should I enter for my project dates if my project is on-going for an entire year?

When you create an application in SAFE for a project that spans a long period of time (i.e. more than the duration of summer break, fall break, or winter break) you should view the application as a request for funding for just a specific portion of your larger, on-going project. Please be specific about the dates, materials, and/or travel itineraries for which you are requesting funding. The project dates you enter in your SAFE application are significant because after your project start date, you can no longer request additional funding nor can funders award funding to it.

Many students' research projects extend over several months or a year. It is very possible that you may want to request funding for different phases of your project. It is best not try to capture the entire span of your research project in one application; rather, break your funding requests up into specfic and distinct segments of activity for which you can request funding at different times.

Note: Students may not have more than one application for the same activity at the same time. However, it is permissable to request funding for different aspects/phases/time periods for the same long-term project. These additional applications would usually occur at distinct time periods during the year.

Why did my friend find a funding opportunity that did not appear in my search results?

When creating a funding opportunity, funding opportunity administrators set the criteria for eligibility. Funders are encouraged to set the eligibility requirements as broadly as possible but some funding is restricted for very specific activities. You will only see the opportunities for which you are eligible to apply. The criteria include:

Activity Type. (undergraduate internship, study abroad, senior thesis research, or independent project; graduate research, internship or conferences).

Class Year/Year of Study/DCE/Generals Status. The funding opportunity administrator can set narrow or broad parameters for each of these.

Concentration/Certificate/Division/Program/Degree. The funding opportunity administrator can select "no restrictions" or may limit eligibility to one or more of these parameters.

Activity Location. The funding opportunity administrator can select on campus, off-campus domestic, or off-campus international. The funder can further restrict the funding to projects in a certain region or country. Alternatively, the funder can select "all" to all applicants with any location selected.

Time Restrictions. Funding opportunity administrators can select All, Fall Semester, Fall Break, Winter Break, Intersession Break, Spring Semester, Spring Break, or Summer Break.

Duration. Funding opportunity administrators can select Any, Less than 4 weeks, 4 to less than 6 weeks, 6 to less than 8 weeks, 8 or more weeks.

My application is submitted and locked but I need to make some changes to it. What can I do?

Students can edit and save applications while they are working on them. Applications become locked immediately upon submission. After your application is "locked", you cannot change most of the entries on your form; however, you can upload documents, apply to additional funding opportunities, and enter text in the "Project Changes" text box at the bottom of your application. You may use the box below to enter any additional information about your project that may be useful to the reviewers. To make significant changes (such as changes in program, country location, project focus, or time period), you may need to withdraw your original application and submit a new one.

What should I do if I have to make significant changes and it’s too late to withdraw and submit a new application because the deadline has passed?

If you have to make significant changes to your project (i.e. changing the country of location, project focus or time period) then it is, essentially, not the same project and you must delete it and create a new, accurate one. It is important that significant aspects of your project do not change in SAFE because the system generates relevant application questions, terms and conditions, and reminders of appropriate requirements based on your responses in your SAFE application. Funders rely on the accuracy of your responses to track your compliance. If your original responses are no longer accurate, you may not even be aware of the relevant University policies and requirements associated with your new activity.

Deleting your project may result in you having missed the deadline for some funding opportunities. However, the funder would likely need to withdraw funding from your project anyway as it no longer accurately reflects what you will actually be doing.

If you delete a project, you are encouraged to inform your advisor and recommenders of why you need to create a new project.

My funding office requires me to upload receipts and a report to SAFE when my project concludes. Where do I do this?

Please visit the Post Project Actions/Complete My Project page.