Fund
Project Support and Funding
IATL provides funding and support for student-led research projects and, through the Education Fund jointly supported with WIHEA, for staff-led projects that support the university's Education and Student Experience Strategy.
Funding call information is below.
Contact us at IATL.ProjectSupport@warwick.ac.uk if you have questions. For projects IATL has supported recently, visit ProjectsLink opens in a new window.
Student Led Research Projects - apply by Wednesday 1 April 2026
Our Project Support scheme this year focuses on student research. See below for the Guiding Themes for this funding call and more. Apply by the end of Wednesday 1 April 2026 (23.59 UK time). The scheme provides funding and support for students to lead, produce and share their research. See the 'Contact us' tab in guidance below if you have a question or to book an online consultation about your proposal.
Staff Led Projects - support provided through Education Fund
IATL and WIHEA jointly support the Education Fund for staff-led strategic projects aligned with the . See the Education Fund website for guidance. The Education Fund replaces both departments鈥� open funding schemes for staff projects.
The IATL's Den
Open to all current students who have taken or are taking an IATL module or received IATL funding, the IATL's Den supports IATL students in advancing their entrepreneurial ideas. Watch this space for next year's application round.
Key Information for Student Applications (updated for 2025/26)
Students at any level of study can apply for up to 拢1,500 for a student-led research project.
All project proposals must address one or more of our Guiding Themes for this funding call.
All proposals must involve undergraduates. Particularly if a project includes both postgraduate and undergraduate students, the proposal must explain how all students on the project team will be substantially engaged in the research. If the lead applicant is a postgraduate, one or more named undergraduate(s) can either be included on the project team at application stage, and/or undergraduate(s) can be recruited to the team after funding is confirmed.
- See our co-creation page for resources to support and promote co-creative practice.
Proposals must include a detailed budget. See Funding and Budget Guidance for key information about what costs we do and don鈥檛 support and a sample budget.
To informally discuss your proposal before applying, click here to .
Please ensure you also review Approvals Required before you apply. Please note that a consultation with IATL does not replace a required approval and we cannot provide supporting statements.
Key points:
- Projects must be student-led and involve undergraduates
- Projects must be completed within 3 months of the lead applicant鈥檚 graduation at the latest
- Work funded through Project Support cannot be used for or contribute to any form of assessment
- Students can submit one application per funding call as the lead or co-lead applicant
- Consider if your research may or would require ethical approval; if it does, IATL has an ethics process for student research undertaken outside of a module, or you may be able to use your home department鈥檚 student ethics process. If you have a question or are unsure about ethical approval, you can .
- All projects will apply to share their research through the International Conference of Undergraduate Research (ICUR) and/or the journal Reinvention, alongside other forms of sharing that applicants propose.
- We may bring students together to work jointly if they propose similar topics.
Applications missing any required Approvals after the deadline will not be considered.
For the purposes of Project Support, PhD students are considered students (rather than staff), including if they are undertaking paid teaching work at the university, and so are eligible to apply for Project Support.
To learn about projects we have supported recently, please visit our ProjectsLink opens in a new window page.
Projects must align with at least one of the following Guiding Themes. The themes reflect IATL鈥檚 strategic priorities for a research-infused curriculum.
These themes are intended to support and orientate project design rather than prescribe project scope.
See also the next tab, Illustrative questions and starting points, offered as inspiration as you align your proposal with one of more of these Guiding Themes.
Guiding Theme 1: Access, Equity and Participation in Undergraduate Research
- Understanding the structures, barriers and enablers that shape who participates in undergraduate research.
Guiding Theme 2: The Undergraduate Research Experience
- Examining the motivations, challenges, identities and skills that define students鈥� research journeys.
Guiding Theme 3: Embedding Research in Taught Curriculum
- Exploring how curricular, co鈥慶urricular and hybrid models can integrate research into teaching and learning.
Guiding Theme 4: Research Cultures and Dissemination for Student Researchers
- Investigating how students engage with research cultures and how their work can be communicated, published or showcased.
Guiding Theme 5: Interdisciplinarity and Innovation to Support Undergraduate Research
- Considering how interdisciplinary work and innovative platforms 鈥� including ICUR and Reinvention 鈥� can support undergraduate research.
The following questions are offered not as requirements but as inspiration as you align your project proposal with one or more of the Guiding Themes for this funding call. These questions highlight areas of particular interest within IATL鈥檚 strategy for a research-infused curriculum.
Projects are welcome to interpret these questions creatively or move beyond them entirely.
In your application, you may use these prompts as starting points, provocations or points of departure, shaping research proposals that speak to your own contexts, academic disciplines and ambitions. We welcome proposals that will enable project teams to explore what may be working well and/or what could be improved and the reasons for this. We encourage innovative, exploratory and unexpected approaches that contribute to the wider landscape of student research at 糖心TV.
Illustrative questions:
- What are the barriers that prevent undergraduates from participating in research?
- How can undergraduate research be made more accessible, inclusive and equitable?
- What challenges do students face once engaged in research, and are these challenges experienced unevenly?
- What distinctive skills do students gain from research that differs from regular coursework?
- What challenges do undergraduate researchers face once engaged in research?
- How do students develop research identities, confidence, and autonomy through participation?
- Should student research take place within the curriculum, on the modules that students take; be co鈥慶urricular, taking place outside the formal curriculum but complementing/enhancing what students learn on their course; be extracurricular, unrelated to a course of study and more focused on personal development/interests; or a combination of these?
- How can research be embedded effectively into modules, assessments, summer projects or other structures?
- What are the implications of research being assessed as part of curriculum delivery?
- How well are students integrated into an institutional research culture, and how could this be strengthened?
- How can student research be shared, published or disseminated effectively?
- What platforms, formats or communication channels best support student researchers?
- What forms of interdisciplinary research are possible or impactful for undergraduates?
- How can IATL initiatives such as ICUR and Reinvention continue to innovate?
Applications must include a full breakdown of the budget, supported by detail to explain each proposed cost. The maximum funding award is 拢1,500.
FAQs
Project Support funding does not normally cover:
- purchase or use of equipment
- a project that involves delivering a course of learning
- fees to publish material in a journal or on a platform
- a project of yours that is the same or very similar to one we funded earlier. Contact us before applying if you wish to develop a project that has already received support.
Students, please note that funded activity/outcomes:
- cannot be used as part of any student assessment
- must be completed within 3 months after the project lead's graduation at the latest.
Please ensure you review guidance on key points for proposals and Guiding Themes for this funding call. If you are unsure whether we can fund an item or activity, please ask us before you apply.
If your project costs exceed the total amount available through Project Support, you must explain how you plan to cover the funding shortfall.
If you are (also) applying to another funding scheme, you must provide details and specify what costs would be covered by Project Support versus the other scheme. You must also explain what would happen if you do not secure another funding award.
We support students being paid for their project work when possible given the funding limit. There are two approaches to calculating student payments:
- calculate living costs (accommodation, food, etc.) during the project period, and list these costs, or a proportion of them if you plan to work on a project part-time rather than full-time. Be sure to provide a total figure supported by a detailed breakdown - OR
- calculate a hourly rate: the standard rate we support for student work is the equivalent of Unitemps FA4 spinal point 16. This is currently 拢15.77/hour (August 2025 rates). Student projects are funded through a bursary, so you would not actually be employed through Unitemps and there is no Unitemps fee.
- See the 'What does a good budget look like?' tab for a sample budget.
Project Support funding is provided via a bursary payment which is paid into your student account.
If your application is awarded funding, it can take up to 10 working days and sometimes longer for you to receive the bursary.
Ensure you allow for this timing, as well as for ethical approval if required, when planning a project.
Be specific, include details and don't generalise. We need to understand why you need the money you鈥檙e applying for and how you arrived at the figures in your budget. If you include an estimate, explain how you estimated that cost. For the Unitemps rate referred to below, see 'What rate should students be paid?'
Underestimating your costs, so that your total funding request is lower, does *not* make your application more likely to be successful.
An example of a budget without sufficient detail:
'I am applying for 拢1,200 from IATL. Basically, I need this amount to cover my travel and other project costs. I will need to travel out of town a few times to interview participants. I might also need to pay someone to help me with filming since I have no experience of this'.
Here is a stronger example of a research project budget. It draws on details, including the planned number of participants and hours of researcher work, that the applicant has already included in their proposal:
Example research budget
- Cost 1, Participant Compensation: for their involvement in the project, each participant will be offered a 拢20 voucher. Including 12 participants and compensating them 拢20 each = 拢240
- Cost 2, Materials Production: Each booklet given to participants consists of 16 pages. According to a quote from Smith Printing on 21 November 2025, printing one page costs 10p. So 12 booklets of 8 pages at 拢0.10 per page (12 x 8 x 拢0.10) = 拢9.60
- Cost 3, Student researcher costs:
- Student 1: 5 hours per week for 6 weeks = 30 hours
- Students 2 and 3: 4 hours per week for 6 weeks (2 x 4 x 6) = 48 hours
- Equivalent Unitemps rate is 拢15.77/hour, so the total cost for student researchers: 30 + 48 = 78 hours x 拢15.77 = 拢1,230.06
- Total budget: 拢240 + 拢9.60 + 拢1,230.06 = 拢1,479.66
Any examples provided here are to demonstrate the type of information to include, rather than indicating that we are able to support specific requests.
All applications require supporting statement(s) for the lead applicant, received by the deadline. The type of supporting statement(s) required depends on the level of the lead student applicant - see tabs below. Upload your statement to the application form or email to us at: IATL.ProjectSupport@warwick.ac.uk
Late submissions will not be accepted, and applications missing a required statement will not be considered. IATL cannot provide supporting statement(s) for applicants.
An Academic Supporting Statement is required for all undergraduate and Masters student leads.
Please take some time to discuss your proposal with an academic who can then provide you with a supporting statement.
Your supporting academic must complete the Supporting Statement template. We must receive the completed statement by the deadline.
Two approvals are required for a PhD student lead. These are:
- statement of support from your PhD supervisor;
- approval from your Head of Department.
For both approvals, please submit a brief email or document that includes their signature. An email will be taken as electronic signature. Your PhD supervisor does not need to complete the Academic Supporting Statement template. We must receive both approvals by the deadline.
Please ensure you have reviewed all guidance before you apply, including
- what types of project proposals and themes we support
- our funding process
- what approvals are required by the deadline.
We must receive all application materials including the online application form and approval(s) by the deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The Review Panel includes staff and students.
To informally discuss your proposal before applying, click on this link to .
- if you cannot find any open consultation slots, try refreshing the page
Timescales:
- Application deadline is noted on the Project Support webpage
- Review Panels usually meet 10-12 working days after a deadline
- After the Review Panel meets, we aim to contact you within 10 working days
- If projects are approved, it can take another 10 working days and sometimes longer for a bursary to be paid
- Please allow for all timescales above, and seeking ethical approval if required, in your planning.
Click here to access the Project Support Application Form (2025/26) Link opens in a new window
To discuss your proposal before applying, click on this link to .
For other questions, please contact us at: IATL.Projectsupport@warwick.ac.uk