- Travel expenses to present at conferences
- Supplies or materials to conduct research (for example, software, materials for the arts, scientific supplies, books/journals that cannot be provided by the library, etc.)
In order to provide as many opportunities for undergraduate researchers as possible, URCA funds will be limited to a maximum of $1,000.00 per student per academic year.
Faculty mentors may be associated with a maximum of 3 proposals per funding round and receive a maximum of 3 awards per year (July 1 – June 30).
The undergraduates will be required to present their research at the annual Symposium of Student Scholars. Students who have completed a presentation or exhibition at an off-campus venue as a result of this program will be designated as an Undergraduate Research Scholar and presented with an Undergraduate Research Honor Cord prior to graduation.
Upon the completion of the project(s), recipients are required to send a final report to The Office of Undergraduate Research that includes abstract(s) of the project results and a list of the presentations/ publications/ exhibitions from the work completed.
Application Due Dates
- Friday July 12, 2019 at 11:59pm EST
- Friday September 13, 2019 at 11:59pm EST
- Friday January 17, 2020 at 11:59pm EST
Amount
Up to $1,000 per student.
Review Process
All funding proposals will be reviewed by a panel consisting of faculty experts in the field of study. The Director and/or Associate Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research will serve as program director for individual funding rounds, selecting panel participants according to the content of the submitted proposals. This process is modeled after the National Science Foundation (NSF) review process (described here) and is applicable to these funding opportunities.
The review process will be updated with a “return without review” option for proposals that do not adhere to the proposal guidelines, consistent with the NSF process. It is crucial that PIs strictly adhere to the submission guidelines as no exceptions will be considered. Panel review will allow for more technically written proposals and review by experts in the field of study, increasing the focus on intellectual merit. Panel comments will be aggregated by an assigned scribe and provided to submitters, assisting in future proposal development.
URCA submissions are evaluated to the following criteria:
- Quality of writing
- Scholarly merit
- Impact on undergraduate researcher
- Faculty mentor track record (or potential track record for new faculty members)
If you have questions about the panel review process or would like to participate as a panelist, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at our@kennesaw.edu.
Eligibility
- Faculty mentors must be under contract at Kennesaw State University.
- Faculty mentors may be associated with a maximum of 3 proposals per funding round.
- Faculty mentors may be associated with a maximum of 3 URCA awards per year (July 1 – June 30).
- Individual students may receive only $1,000 maximum per academic year.
- Each URCA application must contain one student only.
- Students who are not funded the first time they submit are strongly urged to apply again the following round if they can address the review committee's concerns.
- All submissions must be in the form of the appropriate submission template with all sections completed.
Requirements for conference travel funding
- Students must be enrolled at KSU during the time period of the travel or have graduated the previous semester.
- The travel must be completed between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020.
- Travel must involve a presentation (conference travel template) or direct research activity (research travel template).
- Acceptance to present is not required in order to submit an URCA conference travel application; however, the funds are specific to the proposed conference and may not be reallocated if the presentation is not accepted for that conference.
- For projects with multiple student authors, only the presenting author may seek funding support through URCA.
- Funded students must complete all travel-related paperwork no later than four weeks after their trip (or four weeks after receiving notification of funding if their travel occurred prior to the URCA deadline). Students who do not complete the paperwork in this timeframe will forfeit the funding.
- Students who travel in the months of May and June must submit their paperwork more quickly to meet University deadlines regarding funding; paperwork is due no later than one week after the trip or the funding will be forfeited.
Requirements for supplies/materials funding
- Students applying for supplies/materials must be currently enrolled students.
- Requests for materials that could be obtained in another manner (e.g., a book available at the library, software available for free at KSU) will not be funded.
- There is a plan for completing the research while the student is still an undergraduate.
- The student and faculty mentor have completed the Research Support Template fully and accurately.
Overall requirements
- All KSU-supported research projects are administered in accordance with established University fiscal procedures and research policies. These include all travel regulations, policies relating to the protection of human subjects, and policies related to intellectual property rights. All publications and presentations must acknowledge the assistance of Kennesaw State University.
- The faculty member and students are expected to obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to collecting any data if the project includes research involving human or animal participants.
Selection and Application Process for Office of Undergraduate Research URCA Awards
Electronic Proposal Submission Guidelines
Applications must be submitted in the form below.
The form consists of two sections: Faculty Section and Student Section. The faculty section should be clearly written by the faculty mentor; the student section should be clearly written by the student. Student sections that appear to have been written by the faculty mentor will not be considered.
Faculty Sections (3)
(1) Faculty Member Statement (written by faculty mentor; 300 words max): Describe your research portfolio (manuscripts, grants, presentations, awards, etc.) as well as your experience incorporating undergraduates into your research activities.
(2) Institutional Impact Statement (written by faculty mentor; 200 words max): Describe the benefit to the institution related to this research activity (preliminary data for pursuing external funding, plans to publish/present, development of intellectual property, collaboration with reputable institutions, etc.).
(3) Student Impact Statement (written by faculty mentor; 400 words max): Describe how this work will positively impact participating undergraduates immediately and in their future endeavors.
Student Sections (3)
(1) Project Narrative (700 words maximum):
Description of Presentation Session (for a conference travel URCA: Is it a poster, oral presentation, visual arts display, performance? Is the student the sole author or are there co-authors on the presentation?)
Background (provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context, including citations, that demonstrate how the research makes a unique contribution to the area of inquiry)
Key Research Question and/or Creative Project Goal
Methods
Results (or anticipated results)
Conclusion/Discussion
(2) Budget Table and Justification of Budget Items
(3) References (include references for the citations provided in the Narrative section)
It will be the responsibility of the individual submitting the proposal to ascertain that the proposal materials are complete when submitted (all requested information is included; no materials missing). The funding committee will not consider late or incomplete applications.
HOW TO SUBMIT