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Undergraduate Research Support Program

Undergraduate Research Support Office
Duke University
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Accepting Fall 2007 applications beginning Monday, September 3, 2007

URS, the Undergraduate Research Support Program, was established to encourage involvement of Duke undergraduates in research and original scholarship with faculty. Approximately 50 awards are made each fall and spring semester to students engaged in research with full-time faculty in any of the schools of the University. All Duke undergraduates in residence in Durham or Beaufort are eligible to apply. Awards of up to $350 are made as assistantships or grants (see below). An individual student is eligible to receive one URS award in a single semester, and faculty are eligible to sponsor one or two URS recipients each semester. Applicants should ensure that their research sponsors receive a copy of this program information.

URS Assistantships provide limited salary to students whose research is separate from a course or course credit. The hourly wage may not exceed $9.00, and a maximum of $350 / semester may be requested. Additional research time is encouraged, but must be on a volunteer basis or compensated by the faculty sponsor from other sources. The assistantship may serve as the base salary for a work/study position when that position involves research. [top of page]

URS Grants are provided to help defray research expenses of up to $350 for students enrolled in faculty-supervised independent study courses. A grant makes funds available to purchase approved supplies and equipment (which become the property of the University) for the research project. When strongly recommended by a student's faculty research advisor, the URS Program will consider supporting a student's travel to use a unique resource collection within the continental United States. Grants may not be used to buy personal books or personal items or to pay salaries. Again, students eligible to apply for URS grants are those whose research is part of a concurrent independent study course.

URS Travel Grants are available for students who have conducted research at Duke and who have the opportunity to present their research results at a national or regional meeting of a professional organization. Inquire about the availability of travel funds through the URS Program. [Top of page]

URS applications may be downloaded from the web (see above). Completed applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis each Monday beginning the first Monday following the end of the drop/add period. Past experience suggests that students should submit applications within the first four weeks of the semester to ensure consideration before program funds are fully committed. Applications will not be accepted after the mid-semester break. Notification of awards will be mailed to students and faculty sponsors within two weeks of submission.

Reporting requirements. All students receiving URS grants during Academic Year 2007-2008 must present their work at the 2008 spring semester Undergraduate Research Days known as Visible Thinking on April 15, 2008. This presentation takes the place of a written report. Students receiving URS assistantships may either present at Visible Thinking or may contribute an hour of assistance. Note that every student is required to have presented or submitted a report of previous URS-supported research before applying for new or renewed funding. Visible Thinking Web site: http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/research/vt/ [top of page]

Period of Support : Funding for both assistantships and grants is allocated through the final day of classes for the semester in which the award is made; unused salary or grant funds may not be spent in a subsequent semester. [Top of page]

Criteria used in evaluating applications are:

1. Clarity and completeness of the application; students write a short research proposal describing the nature of and rationale for the work they will be doing and, for grants, must include an itemized budget for proposed expenses.

2. Research projects in the creative arts. The URS Program welcomes requests for support for undergraduate research in all disciplines. Many projects in the natural and social sciences are easily characterized as research activities; they begin with a statement of a problem or question which can be addressed through well-defined methods known to other investigators in the discipline. Projects in the creative arts may not be as readily identified as research, but they are eligible for support through the URS Program when they are set within a wider disciplinary context and are based on scholarly inquiry as well as focused personal expression.

3. Support by the faculty sponsor as indicated in a required brief statement on the reverse of, or attached to, the application form. The sponsor should also confirm the student's anticipated work schedule or the supply/equipment budget.

4. Adherence to stated guidelines for proposal preparation including statement of support by faculty sponsor and proposed budget. Incomplete applications cannot be evaluated.

5. Calendar. Applications will be reviewed starting on the first Monday following the end of Drop/Add and each Monday thereafter. Applications will not be accepted after mid-semester break. [Top of page]

Undergraduate Research Support Office, 011 Allen Building, 684-6536, fax 660-0488
http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/research/

Updated 10/3/07