Call for Proposals Reminder: Summer 2025 Collaborative Grant

The Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholars (OURS) is committed to funding up to 13 student-faculty collaborative teams engaged in a wide range of research and creative projects. These funds are available to students and faculty from all disciplines and are distinct from the traditional departmental allocations. OURS recognizes the importance of centering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in our on-campus research and creative efforts; therefore, we will prioritize projects that emphasize DEI work.

In alignment with our mission as a Liberal Arts & Sciences institution, we are pleased to welcome applications for interdisciplinary team research projects. These projects involve faculty from two different disciplines exploring an interdisciplinary topic while supporting two student collaborators.

If you are interested in mentoring a student collaborator over Summer 2025 and have a well-designed project, please apply by Feb. 7, 2025.

Please click here to view the prompts and submit your proposal.

The grant funds student stipends for 10 weeks of full-time paid research worth nearly $6,500. After projects are approved, students also have guaranteed access to $600 in Production Grant funding through the OURS Grant Program. Faculty mentors may apply for a stipend up to $2000 for mentoring one or multiple students during the summer. (Note: the stipend amount does not increase for mentoring multiple students from other funding sources.)

Proposals will be Evaluated on the Following (Please note word count):

1. Clarity and feasibility of goals and potential outcomes

2. Quality of student role

3. Benefits to the student (please include specific examples)

4. Quality of faculty mentorship, including considerations for addressing DEI topics/barriers. For example: expose students to DEI issues in the field through discussion and reflection, create an inclusive students research experience and group, build and support a team of students from diverse backgrounds, ensure hours of research are flexible enough to support students who may need to incorporate other things into their summers.

5. Clarity and feasibility of timeline (please include week by week)

6. Benefits to faculty

To ensure equitable access to research experiences, Student Collaborator positions will be posted through Student Employment and students will be invited to apply. Proposals should also include a short job description and characteristics/skills that would make a student a good fit for this position. Faculty mentors will have autonomy in the Student Collaborator selection process.

Proposals will consist of written responses to prompts in Forms Manager. Please note the word count limits.

Review Process

Applications are due Feb. 7, 2025, and will be reviewed and vetted by the Undergraduate Research Faculty Advisory Committee. Succinct responses are appreciated. Our goal is to notify faculty members by mid-February. Faculty members whose projects are approved for funding may then proceed to recruit students for the funded position.

Other Guidelines for your Proposal:

· Proposals must account for 400 hours of summer work, recognizing that the students may not log more than 40 hours per week.

· Any project involving Human Participants must apply for IRB approval, and you must address this in your proposal. Note that these timelines take longer during the summer, and no full reviews occur during the summer.

· If the proposal requires a Full IRB review, the project must be IRB-approved by May 1.

· If the proposal requires Expedited or Exempt review, please account for the IRB review process taking approximately 2-3 weeks.

· No more than 1 project proposal will be considered per faculty member

· No more than 1 student researcher will be granted per project. It is ok to have a student collaborator in mind, please DO NOT include their name in the proposal.

· Non-tenured faculty members will be given priority (tenure status to be indicated by applicant on the form), as well as never before funded faculty.

· Faculty members whose departments do not have other summer funding available (i.e., departmental lines dedicated to research, grants, etc.) will be given priority (other funding sources to be indicated by applicant on the form).

URFAC encourages you to utilize our Collaborative Grant Proposal Development Support Page. This resource provides faculty with access to the evaluation rubric, a downloadable copy of the application questions, and connections to faculty liaisons across various disciplines. These liaisons are available to answer questions and share ideas as you develop your proposals.

If you have questions, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholars for additional support.

Thank you for supporting undergraduate research!