• The open and coastal ocean;
• Coastal zones (bays, estuaries, beaches);
• Coastal watersheds: the organism, material or process being studied in the watershed must have a clear and direct impact on the downstream marine environment (e.g., anadromous fish, surface and groundwater flow, water quality).

• Advertise the opportunity broadly to colleagues and students.
• Actively recruit and promote inclusion of students from groups that have been historically excluded from marine and coastal science, including students who are Hispanic, Latina/o, Black or African American, Asian, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, American Indian, Alaska Native or a combination of ethnicities; noncitizens; female; LGBTQIA+; first-in-family; economically disadvantaged; veterans; have disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants of any race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, immigration status, national origin, age, dis/ability or veteran status should be welcomed and encouraged to participate in STEM research.
• Determine criteria for appropriate use of funds on their campus that are consistent with the guidance provided and requirements set forth in this document.
• Develop a procedure for allocating the funds that promotes equity of opportunity and transparency.
• Ensure the funding is used according to the principles and procedures developed in response to this document.
• Report details of the activities supported and outcomes to COAST.

COAST Undergraduate Student Research Support Program allocations will be directed to the Science Deans’ offices. The Dean may choose to distribute funds to the appropriate department(s) once awards have been made or to retain the funds and manage the awards at the College level. Funds can be used to support activities occurring September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2025. Remote work is allowed if agreed to by both the student and the research advisor.

In order to increase the likelihood that all AY 2024-25 funds are successfully awarded, program implementation should begin immediately. Any unused funds will roll over into the following year. Campuses will be permitted to accumulate up to $10,000 in Undergraduate Student Research Support Program funds if Campus Representatives have made a good faith effort to award the funding but awards cannot successfully be made.

Recipients of funding through the COAST Undergraduate Research Support MUST

COAST requires that students receiving funding through this program must work on or contribute to clearly defined research projects. Ideally, a student should be able to articulate the details of the project (context, hypothesis, methods to be employed, etc.) and describe how the support will facilitate participation. Work on joint projects is allowed but each student must be awarded a discrete amount of funding that can be tracked and reported. Each student must apply separately, be awarded funds individually, and write his/her own final report personally. It should be clear to the selection committee what each student is contributing to the project. Please see the following examples of awards that are and are not acceptable for work on joint projects.

COAST encourages all types of research and related activities that relate to the open and coastal ocean, coastal zones (bays, estuaries, beaches), and coastal watersheds (links between organism, material or process being studied in the watershed has a clear and direct impact on the downstream marine environment). It is up to the Campus Representatives and other involved faculty members and/or administrators to determine what activities are appropriate for funding through this initiative. The campus may determine additional considerations or criteria it wishes to employ, such as

Funds should be managed by the faculty advisors on behalf of the student awardees. The College Budget Analyst should be consulted during announcement development to advise on allowable expenses and categories (e.g., hourly wages) and notified when awards are made.

COAST encourages campuses to leverage this funding to engage a diverse array of students in marine science and related disciplines and to increase CSU student success. Undergraduate research is a high impact practice (HIP) shown to increase undergraduate students’ interest in studying STEM and improve STEM bachelor’s degree completion rates. Undergraduate research is also more effective in generating positive outcomes the earlier it occurs in the student’s career (i.e., it can be most effective in the first and second years). This funding is an opportunity to engage students from historically excluded groups including students of color, low-income and first-generation students who may be at significant risk for dropping out of STEM programs.

Although the project period does not end until August 31, 2025, it is expected that all funding will have been allocated in time for the Campus Final Report submission. The reporting templates can be found above, at the top of this section. Campus Representatives will be asked to describe how the opportunity was advertised and how funding decisions were made. Please note: The Campus Final Report is due on May 1, 2025, regardless of whether the student awardees work over the summer. 

Campus Representatives will also be asked to provide the following information in the Campus Final Report for each student supported:

COAST will also request an individual report directly from each student including a budget summary describing how the award was used and an impact statement describing how the award affected them personally. The Individual Student Report template can be found above, at the top of this section.

In both cases, we understand that students might not be completely done with their project by the time their report is due. However, they should hopefully have done enough work to be able to complete the report.