How to build a research budget

Whether you apply to us, to a campus fund, or to a summer program, someone will ask what the position costs. Here is how to answer with a number you can defend.

The five lines

1. Housing. Rent for the weeks of the position, at the rates near the lab, not near home. Add a deposit if the lease needs one.
2. Living costs. Food and transit per week, times the number of weeks.
3. Travel. Getting to the lab at the start and home at the end.
4. Materials. Textbooks, software, or equipment the lab expects you to bring.
5. Lost income. The hours you would have worked at a paying job, times your wage. Some funders count this line and some do not. Show it either way, because it is real.

Check against the federal benchmark

The National Science Foundation expects its summer research sites to pay students about $700 a week and to budget for housing, meals, and travel on top, with total costs under about $1,550 per student per week.¹ If your ten-week budget lands far above $15,500, check your rent line. If it lands far below $7,000, you have probably left out your living costs.

Show your work

Next to each line, write where the number came from: a listing, a lease, a bus fare, a pay stub. A reviewer who can check one number trusts the rest.

Ask for the gap, not the total

If the position pays a partial stipend, or your campus fund covers part of the cost, subtract those first and ask for what is left. Funders like a budget that shows other people are already paying.

Use the calculator

The calculator on the hidden cost page does the arithmetic for lines 1, 2, and 5. Add travel and materials by hand, then apply.

Sources

1. U.S. National Science Foundation. Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), program solicitation NSF 23-601. Stipend and cost guidance for REU Sites. nsf.gov

Sources checked September 21, 2026. See every source we cite.