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Home Student Philanthropy and Grants Opportunities Student Impact Grant

Student Impact Grant

Student Impact Grants provide funding for a variety of University of Iowa undergraduate and graduate student activities outside the classroom, such as research, travel, and service projects. The goal is to enable students to pursue opportunities that might not otherwise be possible without financial assistance.

The President's Office has generously allocated $7,000 per semester to help enhance the student experience through these grants. The designated funds come from generous philanthropic gifts made by alumni and friends who have chosen to provide unrestricted support to the university.

Grants are awarded twice a year. Applications are typically accepted for the summer/fall semester beginning in January and for the winter/spring semester beginning in September.

Read the stories of previous recipients.

The grants are made possible by a partnership between the Office of the President and Student Advancement Network (SAN).

GRANT GUIDELINES

Award Application Process

Applications will be considered for funding based on the timeline below. An online form will be available for students and student groups to use when the application period opens. A maximum of $7,000 in total grants will be awarded. Grant amounts will range from $100-$1,000 awards.

Winter 2024 and Spring 2025 Semester Award Grant Cycle

  • September 2: Application opens
  • September 27: Application deadline (5 p.m.)
  • November 20: Grant recipients will be notified about funding requests for summer or fall semester.
  • December 4: Signed recipient agreement form due
  • December 3: Summer/Fall 2024 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant impacted the recipient’s Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.
  • December 23: Award transfers/payments for winter projects
  • January 21 : Award transfers/payments for spring projects
  • April 29: Winter/Spring 2025 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant impacted the recipient’s Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.

Student Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must be enrolled full time as a University of Iowa undergraduate or graduate student for the spring 2025 semester and be in good standing as defined in University of Iowa Code of Student Life.
  • Student groups or organizations must be recognized by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership or by a University of Iowa department.
  • If your program is funded in full by other programs or funding methods your program is not eligible.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with these guidelines.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university research guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines. Funding does not provide IRB permission for the project.
  • Funding requests must be shown to improve or enhance the student experience and may not be used to reimburse research subjects. Recipients will share about this outcome during a biannual Student Impact Grant Presentation event.
  • Once a student receives a grant, they are not eligible for another University of Iowa Center for Advancement student grant within the next three years.
  • Grants are not renewable.
  • Recipients must present during the winter/spring grant recipient presentation detailing how the funds were used and how your Iowa experience was enhanced because of this award. Presentations will be held on April 29, 2025.

Review Process

Members of the University of Iowa Student Advancement Network will review all submissions and make a recommendation. A University of Iowa Center for Advancement employee will oversee the scoring and review process. After review, recommendations will be sent to the Office of the President, which will make the final decision on all grant awards.

Awardees will then be notified of their selection to receive a grant, and payment will be provided by the Office of the President through a transfer to the student's U-Bill or student organization's account. The University of Iowa Office of Student Financial Aid will be consulted to ensure that funding does not affect other financial aid that a student may receive.

If you have questions, please contact Hannah McClintock at hannah.mcclintock@foriowa.org.

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A Fellowship for Future Discoveries

Alzheimer?s disease is one of the fastest growing threats to Americans? health, but University of Iowa researchers like Guanghao ?Max? Liu?a neuroscience graduate student within the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)?are determined to discover the mechanism that causes this debilitating neurodegenerative disease. In collaboration with Gloria Lee, MD, a professor of internal medicine at the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Liu is studying the function of tau, a protein, in the healthy brain and how it interacts with other proteins. ?In patients with Alzheimer?s disease, tau forms neurofibrillary tangles, which cause neuronal death and memory loss,? says Liu. ?My goal is to find a therapeutic intervention involving tau, and ultimately, slow down and prevent Alzheimer?s disease progression.? Tau and beta-amyloid peptides?which form plaques and tangles that are considered informative predictors of Alzheimer?s disease?change how the brain works many years before the first sign of memory loss. For the more than five million Americans living with Alzheimer?s disease, recent research on tau provides hope that breakthroughs may be on the horizon. Assisting Liu in his discoveries is the recently established Kwak-Ferguson Fellowship. Liu is the first recipient of the award, which is helping him advance his research, travel to conferences, and meet with other scientists in the field. Photo: Mark Stastny Pictured from left are Ted Abel, director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Guanghao ?Max? Liu, a neuroscience graduate student; Donald Timm, who created the Kwak-Ferguson Fellowship; and Gloria Lee, professor of internal medicine. ?We are facing an enormous increase in the number of people afflicted by conditions like Alzheimer?s disease,? says Dan Tranel, the head of the UI neuroscience graduate program. ?Investments in research, like the Kwak-Ferguson Fellowship, continue to transform the understanding, prevention, detection, and treatment of Alzheimer?s disease and other neurological disorders.? The Kwak-Ferguson Fellowship was established by Donald Timm (73JD), a Muscatine, Iowa, native who spent more than 30 years working for the U.S. Department of Defense as an expert on international law. He created the fellowship in honor of two individuals?his friend and mentor, Mr. Myung-Duk Kwak, a Korean attorney and statesman, and his aunt, Louise A.M. (Amelia Marie) Brown Ferguson, an educator and missionary?both of whom died due to complications from Parkinson?s disease. Timm also says he was motivated, in large part, by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust?s gift to establish the Iowa Neuroscience Institute at the University of Iowa, which is developing new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer?s disease and Parkinson?s disease. ?Parkinson?s disease is truly a horrible disease, since the individuals suffering retain their intellectual capability but find it increasingly difficult to communicate their insights and feelings,? says Timm. ?This seemed to be a perfect opportunity to help fight Parkinson?s and other diseases such as Alzheimer?s.? For Liu, the fellowship is helping him become an even better physician-scientist and writer. ?Because of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute and the Kwak-Ferguson Fellowship, I am ready to tackle any challenge in the future,? says Liu. To learn more about how you can support neuroscience research at the University of Iowa, please check out their website.

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