Student Activity Grants

General Information

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts offers three types of competitive grants to support activities for students enrolled in one of the college’s degree programs. Those grants include:

Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant 

Provides funding to create new work or do research leading to a publication or presentation.

Presentation Activity Grant

Provides funding to perform, compete, exhibit, or present your work.

Study Activity Grant

Provides funding to study or learn by attending a formal program of study.

Helpful Links & Information

Questions? 

Contact us!

Scholarly and Creative Activity Grant

There are separate grants for graduate students and undergraduate students. Graduate project awards up to $4,000; undergraduate project awards up to $2,000. For full information, please download the graduate guidelines or undergraduate guidelines.

Deadlines

September 27, 2024, 5:00 pm for activities between November 15, 2024 – August 15, 2025

March 3, 2025, 5:00 pm for activities between May 1 – Dec. 31, 2025
 

Presentation Activity Grant

This grant is available to both graduate and undergraduate students. Awards up to $2,000. For full information, please download the guidelines.

Deadlines

September 27, 2024, 5:00 pm for activities between Jan. 1 – Aug. 15, 2025

March 3, 2025, 5:00 pm for activities between May 1 – Dec. 31, 2025

Study Activity Grant

This grant is available to both graduate and undergraduate students. There are separate grants for domestic study (within the US) and international study (outside the US). Awards up to $2,000. For full information, please download the guidelines.

Deadlines

September 27, 2024, 5:00 pm for activities between Jan. 1 – Aug. 15, 2025

March 3, 2025, 5:00 pm for activities between May 1 – Dec. 31, 2025

How to Apply for Grants

  1. Download and read carefully the guidelines for the grant for which you wish to apply.
  2. Find a faculty member in the Hixson-Lied College who will sponsor your activity and write a letter of support.
  3. Log onto NuRamp and begin filling out your application. A guide to applying for a student grant on NuRamp can be found here.
  4. Each grant application requires a project description as outlined in the grant guidelines. Remember to address all the information required, keeping within page limits, and writing clearly so that someone outside your discipline can understand your proposed project. Look at the review criteria in the guidelines and think about how your application will measure up to those criteria.
  5. Each grant requires a budget, using the required budget template. The budget should contain as much detail as possible and be based on realistic expenses (e.g., airfare quotes from an online travel site or material costs as listed by an online vendor). The budget must be uploaded to your NuRamp application as an Excel file.

Applying for Grants FAQs

Can I apply for more than one grant?

Yes. Students are limited to one Scholarly/Creative Activity Grant at any given time, but there are no limitations on applying for other grants.

Do I have to be accepted to an activity before I can apply?

No. If you have applied to a program, competition, conference, etc., and are still waiting to hear about your acceptance, you can still apply for grant funding for that activity. If you are awarded grant funding, it will be dependent on your acceptance. If you apply for a grant and hear about your acceptance status before you are notified about your grant, please contact HL-Grants@unl.edu with an update so that this can be considered in the grant review process.

What if I’m applying to multiple festivals or workshops?

Students frequently apply to more than one activity during the summer months and wish to apply for grant funding for one of them, depending on where they are accepted. In this case, we ask that you submit a separate application for each of the activities you might want funding to support, and indicate in your narratives which might be your top priority. As you learn more about acceptance into your activities, we can update this in the review process, or take it into account when awarding funding.

How do I know when the application is complete?

You will not receive an email notifying you that your application is complete. If you have completed the application and entered your electronic signature by entering your UNL ID and password, the status of the grant should change from “Preparation” to “Routing”. If you encounter problems with submission, please contact HL-Grants@unl.edu.

Should I drive or fly?

Current reimbursement rates for personal vehicle mileage may be found at https://nebraska.edu/travel/lodging-and-transportation. If mileage reimbursement for your trip would be more expensive than an economy airfare to the same location, you can only be reimbursed for the amount of the airfare. Occasional exceptions may be made – for instance, if you are traveling with a group, or need to transport large instruments or artwork that would otherwise be expensive or prohibitive to ship. Rental of a university vehicle is also possible and may be less expensive than reimbursement of mileage for a personal vehicle.

Can we apply as a group?

Yes. The application form online allows for adding co-applicants. However, if your group is larger than about 4 people, we may need to see if there are other ways to fund your activity. If you are looking for support for a group of 5 or more students, please email HL-Grants@unl.edu for guidance.

When will I be notified?


You will receive notification within approximately 6 weeks after the application due date.

What if I have other questions that aren’t answered here?

Please email HL-Grants@unl.edu.

Guidelines & Additional Documents

Additional Documents

Using Grant Funding

If you have received funding through a Hixson-Lied grant, the following offers information about how you can use that funding. If you do not find your questions answered here, please email HL-Grants@unl.edu.

General Information

If you have received Hixson-Lied Grant funding, an award letter should have been sent to your huskers.unl.edu email. Please be sure to read this letter carefully and keep a copy for your records.

How Funding is Distributed

Your funding will not be given to you as a check or appear in your student account. Expenses related to your project will either be paid directly by the university or reimbursed to you after you have purchased something.

If activity expenses do not add up to the total amount awarded, you will not receive any “leftover” funding. Funding that you have received for a specific project may not be transferred to a different project.

If significant changes to your submitted budget become necessary, please contact HL-Grants@unl.edu for approval of expenses related to these changes. Although the total award amount cannot be increased, changes to the way the award is used may be possible if warranted.

All activities and expenses must be complete before you graduate.

How to Have the University Pay Expenses Directly

Contact the Big Red Business Center at bigredbusinesscenter@unl.edu.

How to Request Non-Travel Reimbursement

If you have purchased an item related to your funded activity (e.g., art materials or other non-travel expenses, etc.), you may request that the university reimburse you. You will need to submit an itemized receipt for your purchase. To do this, contact the Big Red Business Center at bigredbusinesscenter@unl.edu.

University deadline for reimbursements is 60 days, however it is highly recommended to submit reimbursement requests as soon as possible to allow enough time for review and submission to the Accounting Office. Requests received by the Accounting office after 60 days will NOT be paid. We recommend that you submit receipts no later than 30 days after your purchase.

Travel

All travel is approved and arranged in consultation with the Big Red Business Center (bigredbusinesscenter@unl.edu). The Big Red Business Center can assist with individual questions regarding travel booking and reimbursements. Student Trip Insurance is required by the university; the Big Red Business Center will assist in arranging for this.

University deadline for reimbursements is 60 days, however it is highly recommended to submit reimbursement requests as soon as possible to allow enough time for review and submission to the Accounting Office. Requests received by the Accounting office after 60 days will NOT be paid. We recommend that you submit receipts no later than 30 days after your last day of travel. Itemized receipts are required.

Since plane tickets are not transferable, if you cancel travel after a ticket has been purchased you are responsible for refunding the cost of the ticket back to the Hixson-Lied Endowment. If you are unable to follow through with planned travel, please contact the Fox World Travel and/or The Big Red Business Center immediately. Fox World Travel is available 24/7.

You must adhere to all University travel policies. Please visit nebraska.edu/travel for complete information.

Travel policies and information:

International Travel

If international travel is required, please pay special attention to the requirements of the International Travel Registration—Professional (ITRP) policy at travel.unl.edu/international-travel-registration-professional. In accordance with the Chancellor’s Policy Memorandum 2013–10 on Education Abroad and International Student Travel Sponsored by the University, all student international travel sponsored by UNL (in name or through funding, coordination, and/or faculty/staff advising) must be registered with the UNL Education Abroad Office (EAO). The International Travel Registry is a confidential and secure online database maintaining essential travel information for all students traveling internationally in association with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. All undergraduate, graduate, and professional students are required to register their university-sponsored international travel no later than two weeks prior to their expected departure date.

Funding Acknowledgement

Please acknowledge the support of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts in any printed or online materials related to your activity, using the following language: This project was made possible, in part, with support from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts' Endowment Fund.

Final Reports

You are required to submit a final report on your activity within 30 days of completion or within 30 days of the end of the funding cycle. The due date for your report appears in your award letter. Please mark your calendar.

Use the final report template.

If your final report has not been submitted by the deadline, you are not eligible to apply for future Hixson-Lied funding until it has been submitted.

Final reports are shared with the Hixson-Lied Advisory Board and with Ms. Christina Hixson, the major donor who made these grants possible. It is important that they receive information about the activities they are funding so that they can continue to be supportive of student activities in our college.