A great Comps can be completed without any cost whatsoever—except, of course, the cost of thought, time, and energy. If, however, a student proposes a comps project that requires consumable supplies, special equipment or possibly some analyses, then they can request a grant (up to $750) from the Geology Department to help cover these expenses.
These grants are made possible by the generosity of our alums, their parents, and our friends who have donated to the department to foster student and faculty research and field experiences.
Recently, there has been an explosion of internship-type summer funding opportunities for undergraduates (Keck, REUs, Career Center internships, etc.), and we strongly encourage you to pursue these opportunities. BUT, such an undertaking is not at all necessary to complete a comps project. Indeed, many high-funded opportunities do not lead to very satisfying individual research projects (but the experiences themselves can be rewarding).
The Geology Department does not have the funds to compete with these national programs, and so we cannot provide summer stipends for students to do research. Many students do stay around Northfield for the summer (arb crew and other campus jobs), and during their off-hours, can collect data for a local research project; these have been very successful in the past.
Funding may be requested from the Geology Department for the following:
- Consumable supplies such as glassware, chemical, syringes, vials, sample bags, etc.
- Some instruments/equipment needed for field or laboratory work; the equipment will be the property of the Geology Department.
- Cost of sample preparation or analyses that cannot be done at Carleton.
- Use of a college fleet vehicle to study local-regional outcrops or to go to the University of Minnesota to perform analyses.
We do not provide funding for other expenses, such as travel, room and board, or incidental expenses while away from Carleton (bus fares, etc.). So, if you plan to need supplies or equipment which fall under these funding guidelines, please make an estimate of that and include it in the “Brief Synopsis” section at the bottom of the Comps Planning Sheet.