URSA Grant Guidelines

Research Grant Program Guidelines

The Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement (URSA) Research Grant Program is part of the Office of Engaged Learning. Together with other programs, URSA seeks to nurture students and link transformative academic studies to real world opportunities. The URSA program administers grants for students working one-on-one with a research mentor, as well as grants for faculty who are developing course-based research opportunities or mentoring larger groups of students. 

Purpose

• To promote and expand meaningful research participation by undergraduate students.
• To engage students in faculty/student collaborative learning relationships.
• To expose students to resources and facilities that may stimulate their interest in pursuing advanced degrees and research careers.

Student and Mentor Eligibility

The student research proposals are submitted by a single undergraduate student. Students should work with their mentors to write a clear and concise proposal. Students are required to be in good academic standing and provide an unofficial transcript. If more than one student is working on the project, please choose 1 student to take the lead and submit the grant. Please include any information concerning the research team in the Proposal. 

Full-time Baylor faculty, regardless of rank, are eligible to serve as faculty mentors for students applying for these research funds.  Faculty mentors are required to provide supporting information concerning the student’s role on the project. In addition, the budget will be administered by the faculty.

Student Research Proposals

These research proposals are submitted by a student with assistance from a faculty mentor. Applications are competitively reviewed and awarded as funds allow. The previous research awardees are posted on the OEL/URSA web page. 

$5000 Research Grants

The URSA Research Grant will fund up to $5000 for the next fiscal year for Equipment, Supplies, Services, Travel, and/or Student employment

• Deadline: last Friday of January 
• $2500 for summer or fall or spring;
• Maximum $5000/year
• RG Proposal Template
• URSA Research Grant Application 
• URSA Research Grant Faculty Support Form

$2500 Research Grants

The Spring URSA Research Grants will fund up to $2500 for the spring semester for Equipment, Supplies, Services, Travel, and/or Student employment

• Deadline: Friday before Thanksgiving 
• $2500/semester
• Spring-RG Proposal Template
• URSA Research Grant Application 
• URSA Research Grant Faculty Support Form

$500 Research Grants

The URSA Mini Research Grants are available for the current semester. Students are eligible for 1 per semester. These grants may fund  Equipment, Supplies, or Services, Travel, publication costs for papers that include undergraduate authors, and Student Employment.

• Deadline the 15th of June, August, October, January, and March.
• Proposals reviewed and awarded on the 1st of the following month.
• $500/student/semester
• MRG Proposal Template
• URSA Mini-Research Grant
• URSA Mini Research Grant Faculty Support Form

Faculty Proposals for Undergraduate Research Projects

In order to support and encourage course-based research or other larger-scale research programs, faculty may also apply for a full year, spring, or summer URSA award.  These are called "authentic large-scale undergraduate research experiences" (ALURE grants) to emphasize the courses or  programs should incorporate activities and experiences that engage students in "authentic" research.  The  proposals are submitted by a faculty member or faculty team to support research initiatives, ideally with 10 or more students, but this may vary.  Please ask us if you have an idea or any questions. This could be a cohort of students for a single over-arching project or a course-based research activity, a summer program, community-based projects, or faculty supervised internships. Funding will be available for student employment, travel, or supplies and equipment required for the project. Funding may not be used for faculty stipends or support. 

• Spring Proposals due the Friday before Thanksgiving
• Proposals for the next academic year are due the last Friday of January
• $2500/semester and up to $5000/year
• ALURE Guidelines

Institutional Compliance 

• Institutional compliance is required. Projects utilizing human subjects, animal subjects, radioactive materials, or recombinant DNA must have established protocols approved by the relevant institutional compliance committee(s). Funds cannot be dispersed until your protocol is approved.
• Any website or online database proposed with College of Arts & Sciences funding must follow the Baylor ITS Guidelines and Policies. 

Budgetary Considerations

Travel 

Student travel is reimbursed through Student Financial Services and Scholarships since it is included in “Payments, prizes or winnings because of enrollment at the University for the purpose of aiding a student’s study, training or research.”  This process takes around 5-7 days to place a student in the system and requires Direct Deposit information. Student research travel is an allowable expense only when it is essential to accomplish specific grant objectives. Reimbursement for transportation, lodging and meals will be in accordance with current university travel policy. Receipts for travel should be submitted to the OEL/URSA.

Equipment 

Minor equipment requests required for the undergraduate student's research project are allowable. Upon project termination, any equipment purchased with project funds will remain under the jurisdiction of the department of the faculty mentor.

Duplicate funding 

Please report additional funding for this project in your budget. We understand that multiple small grants may be required to support research projects.  This type of over-lapping funding is permitted. If duplicate funding is awarded for the approved research after the URSA grant has been awarded, all remaining funds in the URSA grant must be relinquished.   

Student Wages

Students may receive wages for research activities. All students in the same department should be paid equitably. Please remember to budget for FICA (social security) charges of 7.65% if the students are not enrolled in classes, such as for summer projects. Work-study hours for research follow the same guidelines as other types of student employment.  Please determine if students are eligible for work-study before including this in the budget. Mentors should work with the OEL to set up Ignite accounts for hiring and paying student researchers. 

Funds may not be requested for the following:

• Faculty salaries and fringe benefits;
• Supplemental pay for full-time Baylor faculty and staff;
• Faculty travel to professional meetings or conferences to present project results;
• Maintenance & service contracts for equipment;
• Expenses incurred prior to the beginning of the project period.

Proposal Review

A broadly representative faculty review committee will evaluate URSA small grant proposals for substantive merit according to the following major criteria:

• Scholarly merit of the research and its appropriateness as a vehicle for undergraduate research;
• Extent to which the project engages undergraduates in meaningful research experiences;
• Likelihood that the project will lead to opportunities for undergraduate publication or other professional presentation of project results.

Additional considerations will be:

• Qualifications and experience of the faculty mentor and other key personnel that indicate the ability to engage undergraduates successfully in meaningful research experiences;
• The extent in which the project uses existing resources and programs to expand undergraduate participation in research;
• The extent in which the project shows promise to extend student benefits of participation beyond the period of the URSA Research Grant.

Award Conditions

Grant Administration 

• Awards will be set up as Ignite accounts and administered through the Office of Engaged Learning.
• Each justification should refer to the student’s project and use of funds. URSA Research Grant Awards will be for a maximum of 12 months and will coincide with the university fiscal year, from June 1 through May 31.
• All project funds must be expended during the fiscal year in which they are awarded.
• No-cost extensions are allowed.

Project Revisions and Final Ownership of Equipment

• Awardees are required to conduct the project in accordance with the proposal and budget approved by the URSA grants review committee.
• Any change in research objectives or scope of work or a major budget revision requires the prior approval of the Office of Engaged Learning.
• If a student leaves the project for any reason, the remaining funds return to the URSA Grant fund.  They do not transfer to the faculty member or to another student or project.
• Upon project termination, any equipment purchased with project funds will remain under the jurisdiction of the department of the faculty mentor.

Final Report Guidelines

Faculty mentors are responsible for the Final Report. Awardees are required to submit a final project report to URSA@baylor.edu no later than 60 days after the project expiration date. Failure to comply with this requirement will render the faculty mentor ineligible for future funding from the URSA grants program.

1. List the name(s) of the undergraduate students that were supported by the grant and the role that each student played in completing the work.
2. Were the Specific Objectives of the grant met?  Please explain.
3. How much of the budget was spent? If less than 100%, please explain.
4. Were there any publications or presentations that were completed by the undergraduate? Please provide citations or links if available.
5. Please include any other relevant information concerning the students that were supported.  For example, are they continuing in research?  If they have graduated, are they in a graduate program?
6. Please provide a short video and/or picture with caption of you and your student(s) for a “News Story” or social media posting. 

Scholars Week Participation

URSA Research Grant recipients, both faculty and students, are expected to participate in Scholars Week in the spring semester. The schedule and details will be provided on the URSA web page. Students may present a poster or give a platform presentation.  Faculty mentors may serve as judges and participate in sessions for faculty members interested in learning more about URSA.

Acknowledgement 

Any published work supported in whole or in part by an URSA grant should acknowledge such support in the publication. Other publicity related to the project, such as Baylor PR articles, should also carry acknowledgment. An example acknowledgement is: “This study was supported in part by funds from the Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement Research Grant Program and the Office for Engaged Learning at Baylor University.”