Student Challenge Awards Program (SCAP) projects differ from conventional Earthwatch projects in the following ways:
- The research can be laboratory and field based
- Technology must play a key component in data collection or processing
- The location for these projects is limited to North America, Hawaii or the Caribbean (the funder strongly prefers sites in the United States)
- These projects field only during the summer months (starting no earlier than June 15 and ending on or before August 15)
- SCAP projects are no less than 12 days but may be as long as 18 days
- Projects involve one team of 6 to 8 students (The PI may field other Earthwatch teams in the same field season, but volunteer teams shouldn't be on site at the same time as the SCAP team)
- Projects must outline both daytime and evening activities
- SCAP team members are high school students (age 16 to 18) who have gone through a rigorous and competitive selection process
- The SCAP team's expenses (field grant) are covered by our grant from the funding foundation and, therefore, do not require retail recruitment
- SCAP grants include stipends for graduate students or other staff hired to help provide 'round the clock supervision
- SCAP proposals are shorter than a typical full proposal, and are not peer reviewed
- The per capita grant for SCAP projects averages $1,750-$1,800
- The funding organization and Earthwatch are both involved in the review and selection of SCAP projects as well as awardees