USciences Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (USURF)

Request for Summer Research Applications

Application Deadline:  March 31, 2017

 

Purpose of Grant:

The USciences Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (USURF) has been made possible through the donations of Mr. Marvin Samson, CEO of Samson Medical Technologies and Chairman of USciences Board of Trustees. USURF is a mechanism to support deserving undergraduate students interested in conducting summer research under the mentorship of a faculty member. 

 

What constitutes research?

Research is broad in scope and can be conducted in all undergraduate academic disciplines that are offered at USciences. In addition to laboratory experiments in the “bench sciences,” research also includes data collection, archival research, structured interviews, community research or service learning projects, to name a few.

 

Who is Eligible to apply to USURF? 

Undergraduate students from all four colleges are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will have a strong academic record and have completed at least one laboratory/research course prior to submitting the application. Students entering their junior or senior year will be given preference. Previous recipients are also eligible to apply.

 

Who is NOT eligible to apply for the USURF?

Recipients are expected to complete their projects before graduation with Bachelor’s degrees.

 

What are the expectations of this research grant?

•        USURF grants will be used to pay the stipend of students conducting summer research.

•        Students may opt to spend 6 to 8 weeks during the summer working on a research project under supervision of a faculty member. 

•        The period of summer research begins on May 8, 2017, ending no later than August 11, 2017. 

•        Each student will be expected to conduct research at least 20 hours a week, unless enrolled in classes.

•        Apart from engaging in their research activities, student awardees are expected to participate in any USURF programmatic activities (seminars, career-building workshops and similar activities).

•        It is anticipated that the research findings will be disseminated beyond USciences, e.g. research article, publication, presentation, etc.

•        Students will present their research findings at the Undergraduate Research Symposium and USciences Annual Research Day in the following year.

•        USURF recipients' names, faculty mentors' names, research descriptions, and photos may be included in the annual Research Day booklet, CUR materials, and in other online and print promotional materials including the University’s website.

•        A final research report is required (see below).

•        The maximum award a student will receive is $2,240.00. Students are encouraged to view these awards as stipends for research work, rather than subscribing to the “hourly salary” mentality.

USURF Grant Proposal Content:

The proposal format is given below. Proposals that do not adhere to the requirements will not be considered.

• 4 pages maximum, including letter of support, but not cover page and other supporting materials
• Use one of the following fonts: Arial (font size 10 or more) or Times New Roman (font size 11 or more).
• Line spacing: 1 line or more.
• Margins (both left and right): ¾” or more.

 

1. Application Cover Page
   • See below.
2. Project design (2 pages max)

• Describe the proposed project.
• Include procedures and protocols that will be employed.
• Demonstration of strong student academic record and interest in research.

3. A letter of support from faculty research mentor (2 pages max) addressing the following points:

• Student's enthusiasm for research and academic qualifications.
• Endorsement of student’s ability to conduct research over the summer.
• Certify that student will have received appropriate training and completed all research compliance requirements.
• Impact on student learning/experience.

4. Other Support

• Please list financial resources currently available to the student and faculty research mentor (grants, contracts, startup funds, departmental support, etc.).

 

Expenses:

•        Funding should be used to cover (fully or partially) the student’s stipend and should not be a substitute for financial aid nor used for the mentor's compensation/salary.

•        Students will be paid at the rate of $10.00 per hour.

•        Materials & supplies will be the responsibility of the mentor/department.

 

Payroll

• Student will submit a timesheet that is signed by the mentor and forwarded to payroll.

 

Research Compliance Requirements:

• Responsible Conduct of Research Training (RCR): Faculty research advisors should ensure that their students have received appropriate training in RCR before funds can be released to the lab.

•        Assignment of Inventions Agreement: All Intellectual Property conceived of, developed, created, or reduced to practice, in whole or in part, by faculty and students in the course of participating in research projects funded by USURF shall be owned by USciences.

•        Human or Animal Subjects:  Research involving human or animal subjects may require additional approval from USciences IRB or IACUC board.

• Radioactive or hazardous materials:  Research involving radioactive or hazardous materials must also be submitted for approval by the relevant University oversight committees.

 

 

The Review Process:

Proposals for these grants will be evaluated by the Center for Undergraduate Research (CUR). The primary criteria upon which the grants will be awarded include:

• Potential impact on the applicant’s learning and experience
• The applicant’s enthusiasm for research, qualifications, and academic standing
• Feasibility of the proposed project design and timeline
• Letter of support by the advisor (USciences faculty member) that covers merit of the project, describes the work in the context of the advisor’s research, and provides all pertinent information about the applicant.

 

Final Report Requirements:

Due no later than 60 days from when the project is completed. Final reports must be submitted to the Center for Undergraduate Research via CUR@usciences.edu . Please submit the report as a single PDF document. The final research report should include:

 

1. A summary and discussion of the work generated during the summer research project; include results (including tables, graphs, figures, photos) and references (between 500- 1000 words max).
2. A copy of any presentation or publication that was or will be submitted from the research project.
3. Feedback assessing the outcomes of the research experience by addressing the questions below:

• What did you learn from your summer research experience?

• Has this experience influenced your future plans?

 

Student whose studies are published or presented at a conference must acknowledge that funding support for the research was provided by the USURF Grant Program and notify the CUR via CUR@usciences.edu .

 

Note:

• Failure to submit a final report will result in billing the student for all funds received.
• Failure to repay the grant will result in future registration and transcript holds.

 

Submission Process:

Proposals should be submitted directly to the Center for Undergraduate Research at CUR@usciences.edu.

 

Deadline for submission of proposals for USURF 2017 is March 31, 2017 at 11:59 PM.  Incomplete or late applications will NOT be considered.

 

USURF Summer 2017

Deadline for proposal	Award notification date	Research period	Final report due
March 31, 2017	April  21, 2017	May 8-August 11, 2017	October 13, 2017

 

 

 

USURF 2017

 

APPLICATION COVER PAGE

 

Complete and submit the entire application to CUR@usciences.edu by March 31 2017.  Applicants, faculty research mentor and department chairs will be notified of the decision by April 21, 2017.

 

 

Applicant: ________________                Email: ________________        Date: _________________

 

Major: ___________________               College: ______________         Department: ____________

 

Academic status in the Fall 2016?  U1-U4, or P1-P3 :__________________________

 

Applicant’s GPA: ___________________

 

The faculty research mentor listed in this application will provide oversight of the proposed project:

 

Faculty Research Mentor Name: ________________________________________

 

Email: _____________________           Telephone: (____)  _____________________

 

College: _______________                       Department: __________________________

 

Project Title: 

 

 

 

 

Number of weeks of support student is requesting:  6        8

 

Estimated number of hours per week (a number between 20-35):  

 

Abstract (explain the overall goals of the project in less than 250 words in lay terms, type written, single space in space provided here. Use terminology for an educated non-specialist)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project design

The structure of the project description provided below is for guidance only, please modify accordingly. Figures/graphs are acceptable if properly formatted.

 

Objective

 

Introduction/Background

 

Proposed experiments

 

Expected results/Conclusion

 

References

 

Personal statement. (Please specify your qualification, the impact the USURF award will make in your academic progress and career goals. Also, provide any other information that you think may help to score your proposal.)