Students responding to this request for proposals (RFP) must:

• Be a full-time graduate student in good academic standing, attending an accredited North Carolina college or university. Undergraduate students are not eligible to apply, but we encourage research projects that include undergraduate participation. 

• Have a faculty mentor willing to ensure the project and required reporting will be completed.
• International students are eligible to apply, but NC Sea Grant-WRRI will have to utilize a different funding model than noted below. This alternative model will require additional time to coordinate and implement and the project start date will be delayed.  

WRRI and Sea Grant strongly encourage proposals from students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), students from underrepresented or underserved communities, and students who can demonstrate how their research and related outreach will benefit underrepresented or underserved communities.

Research must take place in the state of North Carolina and can be in the fields of social science, education, communications, natural science, engineering, economics or policy, or a combination of these disciplines (as applied to the focus areas above). Research that addresses the link between environmental and human health as related to the focus areas above is also acceptable (which may require IRB approval from the applicant’s campus).