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Fellowships and Research Funding

Students in the  Saint Louis University Honors Program can apply for competitive grant funding through the Investigative Learning Experiences Grant, as well as other competitive fellowships and scholarships.

Investigative Learning Experiences (ILEX) Grant

The Saint Louis University Honors Program offers competitive grant funding to students to pursue scholarly, research, or creative practice projects. Funding amounts vary, but are generally between $500-800, and are intended to defray project costs, enabling students to focus on the development and implementation of their project. The academic opportunities available through the ILEX grant are as wide-ranging as the students in the honors program.

Interested in applying for funding? Read the ILEX Funding Proposal Guidelines.

ILEX funding has supported:

  • The purchase of geospatial information systems (GIS) software to study homelessness in St. Louis
  • Travel abroad to South Africa, Belize and the Galapagos Islands for research
  • Travel to archives across the United States and international conferences
  • The purchase of research supplies

Featured ILEX Projects

Julia Griffin standing in front of her ILEX project poster

Julia Griffin, Class of 2020
Project: A Comparison of the the United States, Peruvian, and Spanish Health Care Systems Through Medical Immersion

Joseph Richard outside on a rock near a body of water on a clear day

Joseph Richard, Class of 2020
Project: Argentine Wine: Analyzing the Relationship Between International Distribution and Enotourism in a Politically Volatile Environment

Raymond Moylan with a large group posing outside a building on a clear day

Raymond Moylan, Class of 2020
Humanity in Action Fellowship

Other ILEX projects have included:

  • Creation of a podcast series that promotes civil discussion among people with disparate views
  • Development of active learning outreach materials that inspire local young people on Galapagos to better understand and conserve biodiversity.
  • Formulation of ideas and suggestions as to how the Grateful Dead and their fans’ unorthodox approach to an economic system can be used and exist in harmony with the current Capitalistic society

The ILEX grant allowed me to research public health practices in South Africa. Over the course of several weeks, I not only studied various approaches to public health crises, I also found a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices people make for advocacy movements."

Ester Gilbert, Class of 2019

Competitive Fellowships and Scholarships

The Saint Louis University Honors Program also houses the advising function for competitive fellowships and scholarships. Our program manager assists students as they develop their application materials for prestigious awards like the Rhodes Scholarship, the Truman Scholarship, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant and many others. All students are eligible to apply for these awards, but SLU's honors program students are particularly competitive because of their academic performance, their ambition, and their attitude towards service to society. 

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