Seed Grant

Established in 2017, the New Harvest Seed Grant is designed to provide researchers-in-training at the undergraduate and master’s levels with short-term funding for short-term projects in service of educational goals.

This award is currently closed. In a rapidly changing ecosystem, we are rethinking and redesigning this award to be most impactful for the years ahead.

  1. Fast Facts

    Application Due Date: We are not accepting further applications for this grant.

    Average Acceptance Rate: ~50%

    Length of Award: 3-6 months

    Average Award Total: $5,000 USD

  2. Who is this application for?

    Undergraduate students (working on a summer or capstone project)

    Master’s students finishing their final year of a program

    Despite a similarity in name, the New Harvest Seed Grant is not intended to launch independent ventures in biotechnology and should not be confused with “seed funding.” Seed grants are specifically for publicly-funded research conducted in an academic setting.

  3. What is a complete application?
    1. Proposal (4-8 pages, on average)
    2. Anticipated budget
    3. Anticipated timeline
  4. Application Timeline

    Before the due date:

    Candidates should first identify a professor at their institution with whom they would like to work and who is willing to help in preparing a proposal.

    After identifying a professor, please email Research Operations and Outreach Director Breanna Duffy at breanna@new-harvest.org to request relevant application materials.

    We encourage applicants to set up a call with Research Program Director Jeremiah Johnston in advance of applying. Candidates may also submit draft proposals for feedback before their final submission.

    After the due date:

    New Harvest will announce decisions to fund on a rolling basis until the seed grant application period is closed. We expect to award at least five seed grants per year.

  5. Decision Criteria

    The New Harvest Seed Grant is intended to help students take their first steps toward gaining the technical proficiency necessary to be competitive in subsequent graduate school applications.

    Successful seed grant applications will demonstrate a keen understanding of experimental design and clear effort to seek adequate mentorship.

    Put another way, the experiments or technical steps proposed in the application must sufficiently answer the research question or technical parameters at the heart of the proposal.

    Note: A candidate’s proposal must be designed for completion within 3-6 months.

    Seed grant applicants will also be evaluated on the content of their personal statement.

    Preference will be given to individuals who express a desire, interest, and practical plan to continue their academic training in cellular agriculture upon completing their seed grant project.

  6. How do we support New Harvest Seed Grantees?

    New Harvest will invite all seed grantees to:

    • Slack, our online channel, in order to connect with the rest of the New Harvest research community
    • Monthly check-ins with the research program director to discuss the highs and lows of their research

    Upon the completion of their project, New Harvest Seed Grantees must submit a formal evaluation of their research and research experience.

    If staying away from home for the summer, candidates are responsible for arranging their own lodging and meals.

Looking for other forms of funding?

In addition to the New Harvest Seed Grant, we offer the following funding opportunities.

Fellowship Grant Dissertation Award

Apply for Funding

Does the Seed Grant seem right for you?

Apply