Fellowships and Research Funding
Students in the Saint Louis University Honors Program are eligible to apply for competitive grant funding through the Investigative Learning Experiences Grant. Honors students are also excellent candidates for nationally competitive fellowships and scholarships.
Investigative Learning Experiences (ILEX) Grant
The Saint Louis University Honors Program offers competitive grant funding to honors students and Presidential Scholars to pursue scholarly, research, community or creative practice projects. Applicants may request up to $1,200 for the grant, which may be applied directly to the execution of the project, or towards travel to disseminate the results of the project investigation. Students may apply for an ILEX grant to support research, creative or community projects completed for a course or capstone project; or they may apply for a grant to help fund an independent project. Students must be in good academic standing with SLU and with the Honors Program (if applicable). Undergraduate students of all ranks may apply for an ILEX Grant.
Interested in applying for funding? Read the ILEX Funding Proposal Guidelines.
ILEX grants are awarded on two application cycles. The fall cycle runs from the start of the fall semester until November 15. The spring cycle runs from the start of the spring semester until April 15. Funding is awarded on a rolling basis, and we aim to make awards within a few weeks of receiving the application. Applications are reviewed and approved by the faculty members serving on the Honors Program Faculty Advisory Council.
Applicants must complete a full application, budget proposal, and secure a faculty mentor letter as outlined in the guidelines above. Completed applications should be emailed to honors@slu.edu by the cycle deadline for full consideration
ILEX Winners Announced
Congratulations to the Honors Students and Presidential Scholars who were selected for Investigative Learning Experience (ILEX) Grants for the Spring 2026 semester.
- Jessi Abraham, “Deciphering the Role of Serglycin Expression in Pain”
- Pranavi Athota, “Hormones and Emotional Response Follow Up Study”
- Levi Bandananam, “MyPlate Discovery Day”
- Paige Bostic, “Budding Botanists: Facilitating a Lesson Plan to Introduce Middle Schoolers to the World of Plant Science”
- Jesse Driese, “Bill Severity and Passage Behavior of Nullification Legislation in State Legislature”
- Hannah Johnson, “Optimization of super-libricious copolymer-coated hydrogel microspheres for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis”
- Nathan Krugman, “ESKAPE Antibiotic Resistance: Identifying Environmental Microbes Producing Antibiotic Agents Effective Against Multi Drug Resistant Pathogens”
- Athulya Nair, “Longitudinal Assessment of Social Rejection Sensitivity in the Hormones and Emotional Response”
ILEX Funding Application Cycle Closed
The Honors Program is currently not accepting ILEX grant applications from honors students and Presidential Scholars in good standing. The cycle will re-open in the fall semester. Applicants must then submit their cover letter, budget proposal, and a mentor letter by November15. Once the cycle opens, proposals are considered on a rolling basis.
Featured ILEX Projects
Jenna Halawa, Class of 2025
Project: G(ear) Up!: Examining The Relationship Between Frequent Flying and Auditory
Health in Student Pilots
Description: Jenna and her co-investigators surveyed the student aviators in SLU’s undergraduate aviation program to assess their knowledge of their own auditory health and career-related risks.
Jenna’s Reflection: “One of the most rewarding parts of this project was its interdisciplinary nature. Working with students in flight science and focusing on a topic that bridged communication science with aviation allowed me to view hearing health through a different lens. Pilots and frequent flyers operate in high-noise environments, and many are unaware of the potential long-term effects on their auditory systems. By initiating this project, our team aimed to raise awareness while also collecting data that could inform future education or intervention efforts.”
Ashley Marietta, Class of 2025
Project: Sports for Student Success: The Impact of an MLB Urban Youth Academy on Academic
Success in St. Louis
Description: The project aimed to determine whether or not the St. Louis Cardinals should establish an Urban Youth Academy by assessing their efficacy in supporting education and meaningful impact on impoverished youth.
Ashley’s Reflection: “In the competitive world of professional sports, having tangible experience with research and knowing how to network are two of the most important skills to break into the industry. My capstone/ILEX project expanded both my abilities to research and to communicate effectively about topics I find fascinating – sports and community engagement initiatives.”
Jesse Driese, Class of 2026
Project: Bill Severity and Passage Behavior of Nullification Legislation in State
Legislatures
Description: The project created a classification scale of nullification legislation based on the severity of the proposed tangible action, and argued that a more nuanced coding scheme is necessary for tracking state legislature behavior. The grant funded travel to attend the Southern Political Science Association Conference, where Jesse presented his work.
Jesse’s Reflection: “Through these [conference] interactions, I was also able to reflect on my career aspirations. Unfortunately, the conference did not produce an epiphany about the direction to take in my career, but it did provide some insights….Overall, I was left with a lot more contextual and experiential information to analyze my choice between law and academia.”
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
Competitive Fellowships and Scholarships
The Saint Louis University Honors Program also houses the Competitive Fellowships and Scholarships Advising Office. The office assists SLU undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni 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. While all students are eligible to apply for these awards, SLU's Honors Program students are particularly competitive because of their academic performance, their ambition, and their attitude towards service to society. Learn more about these prestigious opportunities here.