PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s Student Science Enrichment Program, which is limited to nonprofit organizations in BWF’s home state of North Carolina, provides $1 million in grants annually. Individual grants provide up to $60,000 per year for three years.

The goals of BWF’s program include improving students’ competence in science, nurturing their enthusiasm for science, and interesting them in pursuing careers in research or other science-related areas.

The program is intended to support projects that provide creative science enrichment activities for students in the sixth through twelfth grades who have shown exceptional skills and interest in science, as well as those who may not have had an opportunity to demonstrate conventional "giftedness" in science but are perceived to have high potential. The projects must enable students to participate in hands-on scientific activities and pursue inquiry-based avenues of exploration--an educational approach that BWF believes to be an effective way to increase students’ understanding and appreciation of the scientific process.

The deadline for receipt of all application materials by BWF is April 10, 2005. The grants will be announced in early November 2005, and projects may begin in or after January 2006.

Awards are restricted to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations in North Carolina. This could include museums, zoos, scientific and educational organizations, colleges, universities, and other organizations that provide experiential programs for middle school and high school students. Project activities must take place outside of the usual school environment, such as after school, on weekends, or during vacation periods.

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