Skip to Main Content
California State University, Chico

CSU Coast

Undergraduate Research Support

COAST Logo - CSU Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology

CSU Chico is soliciting undergraduate research grant proposals to support activities in coastal, watershed, and/or marine environments for the 2025-26 academic year. Any project that can be linked to the coastal and/or the marine environment will be considered.  

Funding for establishing marine research at CSU Chico has been provided by CSU COAST, a CalState-wide program that supports activities in coastal, watershed, and/or marine environments. If you can argue that your project is related to research on coastal and/or marine environments, this program could support you. This program is open to all students. Awards can support a wide range of needs, including student wages, materials and supplies, software expenses, sample analysis, and travel.

Applicants of any race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status are encouraged to apply.

Description

We are awarding 2 undergraduate research awards of up to $1500 to undergraduates conducting research or research-related activities that focus on any of the following research areas/environments:

  1. Watersheds that ultimately articulate with the coast (locally, this includes activities related to the Sacramento River and associated drainages, such as the Big Chico and Butte Creeks);
  2. Coastal zones such as bays, estuaries, and beaches;
  3. Open and coastal ocean;
  4. Modeling of ocean-related processes;
  5. Societal impacts related to a changing ocean;
  6. Ocean and coastal hazards.

Activities may focus on organisms, materials, natural processes, and/or human impacts. Projects may include on-campus, field-based, and/or remote research components.

More information can be found on the CSU COAST website.

Requirements

Students must

  1. Be a CSU Chico undergraduate student in good academic standing,
  2. Have a clearly defined project aligned with one or more of COAST’s goals, and
  3. Work with a CSU COAST faculty advisor.

Become a COAST Member
Joining COAST as a faculty member is simple; faculty must subscribe to the COAST listserv & have a profile in the FRESCA database.

Application

Chico State COAST Application (requires Chico State login)

Contact

For further information regarding the application please contact:

Dr. Jochen Nuester
jnuester@csuchico.edu 

Timeline

  • Review Start: February 23rd, 2026*
  • Notification of Award: February 25th, 2026
  • Start of Project: February 25th, 2026
  • Project report date: May 4th, 2026 for students not working during summer 2026
  • Project report date: August 5th, 2026 for students working during summer 2026
  • Project end date: August 31st, 2026

*Rolling review process thereafter if funds are available

Reporting Requirements

The final report will include a 1-2 page report on the results obtained from the funds requested and should address the impact of the support had on their research project and overall undergraduate education. For students doing research only in the spring semester, the final report is due May 4th, 2026. For students working on projects that extend into the summer, the final report will be due by August 5th, 2026.

Financial Aid and Tax Liability

Awards are considered when determining a student's financial aid package.

For discussions about impacts of award acceptance please contact:

Students are also advised that they may be liable for State and Federal income tax on any funding provided directly to them as a stipend or wage.

Previously Funded Proposals

2021-22 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Carlos Melchor, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Monica So), 2021-22: Cleaning up oil-contaminated water with metal-organic framework-coated melamine sponges
  • Madison Payne, Chico (Advisor: Dr. David Stachura), 2021-22: Examining the negative effects of camp fire toxins on the immune system
  • Adil Sayed, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Sandrine Matiasek), 2021-22: Distribution and seasonal variability of metal accumulation in bioswale plants

2020-21 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Andrea Villegas-Fregoso, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Sandrine Matiasek), 2020-21: Continuous monitoring of water quality in Big Chico Creek

2019-20 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Will Dowell, Chico (Advisor: Dr. David Stachura), 2019-20: Examining the effect of chemicals generated by the Camp Fire on the immune system of fishes
  • Aleeza Namit, Chico (Advisor: Dr. David Stachura), 2019-20: Examining the effect of chemicals generated by the Camp Fire on the immune system of fishes
  • Cora Piper, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Cawa Tran), 2019-20: Asexual reproduction of the sea anemone Aiptasia under artificial moonlight

2018-19 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Brooke Hoffe, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Cawa Tran), 2018-19: Establishment of symbiosis in the model sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida: analyzing host specificity of dinoflagellates under heat stress
  • Cora Piper, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Cawa Tran), 2018-19: Asexual reproduction of sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida under varying light conditions

2017-18 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Karissa Cunningham, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Amanda Banet), 2017-18: Effect of temperature fluctuation on fall-run Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) embryonic development
  • Gavin Monges, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Cawa Tran), 2017-18: Light variation in the marine environment and its effect on cnidarians and their algal symbionts

2016-17 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Linda Drobatz, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Amanda Banet), 2016-17: The effects of incubation temperature on salmonid egg and alevin survival and growth
  • Sophia Phillips, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Emily Fleming Nuester), 2016-17: Determining the relationship between biological iron oxidation and mercury mobility in an estuarine salt marsh

2015-16 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Kevin Kunkel, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Amanda Banet), 2015-16: The effects of cortisol and temperature on salmonid egg survival
  • Ravi Shankar, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Sergei Fomin), 2015-16: Numerical modeling of tsunami wave dynamics over complex seafloors

2014-15 Undergraduate Student Research Support Program Awards

  • Charles Brooke, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Emily Fleming Nuester), 2014-15: Connecting mercury methylation and the iron cycle in a California estuarine system
  • Ravi Shankar, Chico (Advisor: Dr. Sergei Fomin), 2014-15: Tsunami wave propagation over an underwater shelf