Summer Research Mini-Grant Program

Program History

Dantrell Cotton conducted summer research in the Allied Drive neighborhood in 2018.

The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) supports UW-Madison graduate students through a summer research mini-grant program, made possible through generous donations from the Single Step Foundation since 2013. These awards support cutting edge graduate student research that aligns with the work of CIAS, using participatory action research, systems and transdisciplinary approaches.

Award Information

Grant proposals may be awarded up to $3,000. Funds may be used for student salary, travel required to conduct research, farmer & community honoraria and supplies. Funds cannot be used for travel to conferences and meetings. Funds must be spent before the start of the subsequent fall semester.

To Apply

  • Prerequisites:
    • Applicants must be current graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (While previous awardees may apply to fund new projects, priority will be given to first-time applicants).
    • Grant funded work must not extend beyond August 31st of that year.
    • Faculty advisor must currently be, or must be willing to become, a faculty associate of CIAS.
  • Application timeline:
    • February – Application opens
    • Late March/early April – Application deadline
    • Late April/early May – Award decisions released
  • Applications require:
    • A project narrative
    • A budget with justification
    • Your resume or CV
    • A letter of support from a faculty associate advising the project

Post-award

Summer researchers at a leadership workshop at the Leopold Shack.

Students accepting summer research awards must agree to provide a summary of their research findings, a public presentation of their research, and participate in a leadership workshop with their cohort. Other requirements will be detailed in the call for proposals.

Contact information

For any questions or for further information, please email Frankie Anderson at frankie.anderson@wisc.edu, or Center Director Erin Silva at emsilva@wisc.edu

Application Status

Applications are due April 5, 2024. The call for proposals is available below.

2024 Call for Proposals

Research projects

2024 - Amon, Fisher, Glynn, Hrycyna, Judd, Lewis, Lu, Oker, Robbins, Shoenberger, Terris 2023 - Canfield, Gobster, Huff, Lawler, Lebowitz, Lee, Pessereau, Shoenberger, Sommer, Yang, Yi 2022 - Baker, Bird, Henegan, Melone, Ncwadi, Schauer, Harnsberger, Wilson 2021 - Carvallo, De Marsh, Fochesatto, Iuliano, Janes-Ugoretz, Rana, Reynolds, Winkler-Schor 2020 - Becker, Cartoni, Crider, Geygan, Hayden, Keeve, Massman, Rice 2019 - Bembeneck, Blant, Campbell, Favre, Isidore, Janes-Ugoretz, Karwowski, Landis, McIntosh, Schindler, Wypler 2018 - Decre, Dirks, Kazer, Le, Leslie, Lierl, Lowe, McCluskey, Serrano 2017 - Bugel, Cotton, Dower, Eisner, Grace, Hemberger, Jessee, Lanker, Mino, Pfeiffer, Potter-Weight, Reynolds, Schreiber, Steussy-Williams, Suerth, Wang 2016 - Chavez, Dundore, Geiger, Hanson, Imhoff, Kniffin, Krishnan, Nardi, Nolden, Richards, Santiago-Avila, Wilson 2015 - Anderson, Berezowitz, Freidrich, Galleguillo, Keeley, Morgul, Peterson, Raynor, Stevens, Janes-Ugoretz 2014 - Amante, Geiger, Healy, Hemberger, Perng, Selen, Shelton, Sommerkamp, Stull, Warsaw, Zhang 2013 -Berezowitz, Conaway, Gurda, Hartley, Nolden, Pelton, Ross, Schatzberg