Funding can reimburse students for travel and supplies, and also provides a stipend for students not receiving course credit for their work. Often such independent work becomes the basis for a senior thesis. With the help of the HCRP, students have investigated Beethoven sonatas, Australian aborigines, urban children and standardized tests, censorship in Poland, French gardens, rap music, the reparation bill for Japanese-American internment survivors, contemporary women artists, elastic stress domains on crystal surfaces, and many other topics. HCRP grants have purchased photography equipment, metal for sculptures, parakeets, frogs, chemicals, books, computer time, small lab equipment, research subjects' time, and tuition for programs at other institutions. Students apply for HCRP funding through the SEO by submitting a research proposal, budget, and letter of recommendation by a faculty member willing to serve as mentor.
Funding is available for the summer and the academic year.