The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) sponsors a competitive Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship for undergraduate students at UIUC. The goals for this initiative are to provide students from all disciplines with funds necessary to conduct research or creative projects during the summer term at UIUC. OUR recognizes that UIUC students are conducting cutting edge research on campus, but that funding for research is sometimes lacking. We hope 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. Summer Fellows receive a stipend of up to $2,500, intended to cover living expenses (though some materials costs may be considered).
Eligibility Requirements:
- Students must be current UIUC undergraduate students, enrolled in both the semester before (Spring) and the semester following (Fall), and be in good academic standing. GPA will be considered during the selection process.
- Applicants must have faculty support or mentoring for the duration of their summer research.
- 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.
- The application must include a project proposal (3-5 pages) that must also itemize how the student will spend their time and how the fellowship is important to the student and the project on which the student will work.
- 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 are expected to be resident at UIUC for the majority of their research; proposals with a component of the research being conducted off-campus will be considered. However, students cannot use the money to work in an off campus lab or to fund an outside internship.
- Research projects typically are for an 8-week period with at least 20 hours per week; variations on this may be considered.
Funding Restrictions:
- Funds used to conduct of the student research must meet all UI employment and safety standards.
Application:
Application is available at http://go.illinois.edu/surf2016
The deadline for applications is 19 February 2016
