The goals for this initiative are to provide students with funds necessary to conduct research during the summer term at UI.  OUR recognizes that UI students are conducting cutting edge research on campus, but that funding for research is sometimes lacking.  OUR hopes that this competition will both broaden and deepen the types of research being conducted by undergraduate students on campus, and that the recipients are able to use this opportunity as a way of engaging with their fields. 

Eligibility Requirements:

*Students must be current UI undergraduate students, and be in good academic standing.  GPA will be considered during the selection process.

*Applicants must have faculty support or mentoring during the duration of the summer employment.

*Research must be conducted on the UI campus; students cannot use the money to work in an off campus lab or to fund an outside internship.

*Funding is provided for students pursuing their own research projects or working on a faculty-led project. 

Additional Requirements:

*A letter of support must be provided by a faculty member. For students doing an independent research project, the letter should come from a faculty mentor familiar with the student’s research plans. For students doing research as part of a larger faculty-led project, a letter of support must come from a faculty member directly involved in the project who will supervise the student.

*If students use their own research as the basis of a presentation at a conference or campus event, there must be an acknowledgement of the Office of Undergraduate Research for its support on the poster or in the paper.

*Students must provide a 3-5 page summary of their research, suitable for website posting, to OUR following the completion of the project.

Funding Restrictions:

*The application must itemize how the students will spend their time and how the employment is important to the student and the project on which the student will work.

*Funding will be given to the student as a lump sum, and use of the funds and the conduct of the student research must meet all UI employment and safety standards.

Application:

*Applications are available at http://go.illinois.edu/surf2015.

*The deadline for applications is 20 February 2015, with winners notified by 9 March 2015

Thanks to the Office of Undergraduate Research  for this information item.

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