Grants-in-aid of research are offered by the national body of Sigma Xi, funded in part by annual dues from members. Below we provide some basic information about what these awards are for, and some very recent statistics on how successful people have been in getting them. For more precise information including formal application procedures, see the link near the bottom of this page.

At this time, the awards are limited to undergraduate and graduate students in degree programs. (There has been some discussion about allowing consideration to high school students, as well as post-docs, but as of now these other students are ineligible.)

Support is intended for research-related expenses. Items not allowed include educational programs; curriculum development; stipends for applicants or their assistants; manuscript preparation costs; purchase of equipment that would be considered standard in an institutional research facility; or travel to scientific conferences.

During fiscal year 1995, 2369 applications were reviewed, with 865 (37%) receiving full or partial funding. The average grant size was $493, and represents funding at a rate of 54.6% (ie of those awarded grants, the total money granted was 54.6% of the total requested.). Gender data: 52% of applicants were male; 53% of awards went to males. Student level: 88% of applicants were graduate students; 88% of awards went to graduate students. Fields: Behavior ecology had 31% of its 263 applications funded; cell biology/biochem had 50% of its 338 applications funded; chemistry had 31% of its 35 applications funded; computer science/math had 30% of its 10 applications funded; ecology had 33% of its 446 applications funded; paleontology/sedimentation had 38% of its 128 applications funded; physics/astronomy had 69% of its 71 applications funded; psychology had 40% of its 185 applications funded.

For more detailed information, please consult the national headquarters page on this, here.