URCA Grants are intended to fund research expenses and cannot be used for conference expenses. The only exception is the printing of 24x36 posters to be displayed at the URCA Week Poster Colloquium using our group rate.

URCA has an agreement with the SBPrinter.com in the UCen to print URCA Week posters at a discount. To take advantage of this option, students must include it in their budget form under the appropriate section. 

Students who wish to print their posters separately are responsible for the associated expenses and cannot include these in other sections of the budget. 

Consumable Goods

Consumables are goods that must be replaced regularly because they wear out or are used up. They can also be defined as the components of an end product that is used up or permanently altered in the process of manufacturing such as semiconductor wafers and basic chemicals. Consumables require recurrent replacement because they are used up or transformed in their use, like office supplies, robot parts, or single-use lab equipment.

What to write in your budget form

Durable Goods

A durable good or a hard good is a good that does not quickly wear out or, more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed or transformed in its use. For example, while a workbook you write in is a consumable good, a textbook is a durable good. A flash drive used to store data is a durable good, whereas a raspberry pi component built into a robot is consumable because the use is transformed.

URCA does not fund durable goods. Items like computer parts, flash drives, cameras, or voice recorders can not be purchased with URCA funds. In the event your project requires the purchase of a durable good that cannot be rented, you may request an exception before the deadline and agree to donate it to your department at the end of the funding period.

What to write in your budget form

Payment to subjects over $150 must be listed as a department expense and students must work with the department financial staff to arrange payment and reimbursement. We cannot send more than $150 to BARC accounts for payment to subjects or services or to be used on gift cards.

To be considered, the budget must include the number of subjects and how they will be paid. Before submitting your application, please discuss with your department if they have any additional limitations such as providing identifying information about subjects or what cards may be purchased. You may not pay subjects in cash, Venmo, or similar direct payments.

What to write in your budget form

URCA funds are meant to support students pursuing independent research and creative projects. As such, they cannot be used to fund others doing significant work for your project.

However, if there is a highly specialized task that needs to be completed for your project to be successful and this is not a skill you have, there are some cases in which a professional can be hired, these are decided on a case by case basis and must be approved by URCA staff before the application deadline.

In cases when AI transcription software is not sufficient, such as when subjects have strong accents or the recording is not of good quality, a professional transcription service may be used.

What to write in your budget form

URCA funds cannot be used to purchase books or articles available through the UCSB library.
Books that cannot be borrowed through the library may be purchased with grant funds; however, they must be donated to the department at the conclusion of the academic year.
All books must be listed in the budget form with title, author, and ISBN.
Academic articles must be listed with title, author, publication, and DOI.
Newspaper paywall’s must be identified with cost and the dates a subscription is being sought, please be aware the funding period ends at the conclusion of the academic year.
Data sets and subscriptions to data repositories must be clearly identified

What to write in your budget form

Software can be subscribed to on a limited basis according to the project timeline. For example, if your timeline shows focus groups will be conducted in March, transcription software will not be funded for January and February. Furthermore, the subscription length is limited to the funding period of the grant, which ends with the academic year. Annual subscriptions will not be funded if monthly subscriptions through the end of the academic year are more cost-effective.
Software that is available free to students, such as Microsoft Office and Canva, will not be funded.
 

What to write in your budget form

URCA will fund travel that is needed for the successful completion of the project that is done within the funding period. URCA funds may not be used for conference travel.
All travel must follow UC Travel Policies (consult with the departmental Financial Officer PRIOR to the proposal submission and again PRIOR to actual trip).
URCA will not cover any expenses related to international travel.
URCA will not cover any expenses related to travel within the commuter area (Santa Barbara/Goleta).
Will not approve multiple trips to the same site.
URCA funds cannot be used for conference travel.
Mileage reimbursement is 65.5 cents/mile. This is the standard rate, regardless of what car you drive or current gas prices. It is a standard rate that includes insurance and maintenance cost. Funding for car travel not using this standard rate will not be considered.
URCA will only fund economy travel.
 

What to write in your budget form

The expenses listed must not add up to more than $750. If your project is more expensive, only ask for some of the expenses

• Requesting payment for 50 subjects when the proposal describes a small focus group
• Requesting transcription software when the method described only includes written surveys from subjects

• A flight to LAX when Amtrak is cheaper
• Professional transcription when AI software would work on high-quality audio recording
• Books that are available at the library
• Canva Pro when free Canva would serve the same purpose

• Travel costs within Santa Barbara or Goleta areas
• Durable goods like flash drives or voice recorders
• Payment to subject gift cards to BARC account
• Subscriptions that exceed the funding period
• Conference travel and fees. URCA funds cannot be used for any costs associated with presenting at conferences. The only exception is the URCA Colloquium, participation in which is a condition of accepting the grant. Applicants may request up to $25 in poster development expenses for the Colloquium.

• Books are not itemized with title, author, and ISBN
• Car travel cost is not listed using standard mileage or specifying the destination