Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Fund (URSCA Find)
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Grant Guidelines
Grant application deadlines for 2015-2016 are as follows:
October 23, 2015
February 19, 2016
Students must complete the URSCA Application form and budget detail worksheet on
the URSCA website, print and obtain signatures. The hard copy of these documents
and attachments should then be submitted to (ORSP), Room 208 Old Main, no later
than 12:00 noon on the Friday due date. LIMIT ONE PROPOSAL PER STUDENT.
Undergraduate individual student projects are eligible for awards up to $1,000. If you
are working on a student research team, each student may earn up to $1,000 per
project. For example, if there are four student researchers you may request up to
$4,000 for the project ($1,000 per student).Undergraduate students are permitted to
earn a maximum of $3,000 from the URSCA Fund throughout their undergraduate
experience.
For information on funding opportunities for Graduate Student Research, please contact
the URSCA Coordinator, Lisa Theo, at ltheo@uwsp.edu
The funds requested must be expended within 90 days of the project period end date.
This grant application information sheet contains the following:
General guidelines for all grant proposals.
Instructions to the grant applicant.
A description of the URSCA fund program including purpose, guidelines, and
evaluation criteria.
Application check-off sheet. (Do not include as part of submission).
NOTIFICATION OF AWARDS: Ordinarily grants are reviewed ten days after the
deadline for submission. Following the meeting at which the URSCA Advisory Council
reviews proposals, the Accounting Office is notified and account numbers assigned for
all successful grants. As soon as accounts have been set up, letters are sent from the
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs notifying applicants whether their grant
request has been funded. This process may take up to a month after the deadline for
submission.
9/14/2015
PURPOSE:
The URSCA Fund is intended to facilitate undergraduate student research, scholarship,
and creative activities. Awards include funds for supplies, services, and project travel
(excluding meal costs). This application is for requesting funds to perform research or
a creative activity.
Research is broadly defined as the systematic, scholarly investigation of some
phenomenon or series of phenomena. This includes the creative pursuit’s characteristic
of the arts and humanities. It is expected that the student will conduct this research,
with guidance provided by a member of the faculty. To be eligible for support from the
URSCA, a student must be enrolled for a credit-bearing experience at UWSP when
applying for the grant and conducting the research.
The URSCA Fund is supported by the Academic Affairs office and Student Government
Association.
GRANT APPLICATION GUIDELINES:
Students should complete the application form and budget detail worksheet on the
URSCA site, print and obtain signatures. The hard copy along with required
documentation and a letter of support must be submitted to the Office of Research
and Sponsored Programs, Room 208 Old Main, no later than 12:00 noon on the Friday
due date.
All awards by the URSCA Fund must be expended within 90 days of the project end
date. It is important, therefore, to indicate when the money is needed that you are
requesting from the Fund. Be sure to link your financial needs to your research
timeline.
While writing your grant request please remember to:
(1) follow the format and guidelines that are contained in the application and
worksheet,
(2) make sure your proposal is understandable to an intelligent layperson from
any discipline,
(3) obtain the endorsement of the faculty mentor you will be working with
through a supporting letter attached to your proposal,
(4) have approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Institutional
Animal Use and Care Committee (IACUC) if your research concerns human or
animal subjects.
Don't be afraid to ask your faculty mentor for help in preparing this application for
funding. It should be your proposal prepared with the advice and guidance of a faculty
member.
ELIGIBILITY:
Students conducting independent research must be an enrolled UWSP student at the
time of applying and when conducting the research. The faculty member who provides
the guidance for the research will provide a letter of support as part of this application.
This support letter should certify the nature of the research, the needs as expressed in
this grant application, the ability of the student to conduct the research, and the
expected outcome(s).
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
Grant applications will be screened by a review committee of faculty and students
selected to represent each college at UWSP. This URSCA Advisory Council will make
funding recommendations to the URSCA Coordinator who will approve the final awards.
The intent is to support as many worthwhile student research projects as possible with
the limited resources available.
When writing your funding requests, remember that the URSCA Advisory Council
members represent a wide variety of disciplines. Your proposal should be written for
readers who may have no direct professional knowledge of your academic subject, that
is, it should be self-explanatory for an intelligent reader outside your field of study. In
addition, your proposal should be a complete document that can stand alone. Proposals
that are incomplete, do not follow the guidelines, or are not submitted in the proper
format may not be evaluated, subject to the Review Committee's discretion.
All proposals will be evaluated on the basis of organization, completeness, clarity, rigor
of design, value of the experience to the individual, and strength of the faculty mentor's
support. A critique of your grant request will be returned to you after the proposal has
been reviewed. A copy of the rubric used by the review committee is posted on the
URSCA website for your reference.
Other sources of direct financial support for the research project (departmental
support, a faculty mentor's grant support, personal out-of-pocket contributions, etc.)
should be identified in the grant request. It should be noted that the URSCA Advisory
Council views identifying other sources of support, if they are available, positively.
FORMAT GUIDELINES:
All URSCA Fund request must be submitted using the application form and budget
detail worksheet on the URSCA site.
The proposal should be presented so that it is understandable to an intelligent
layperson.
I.
GRANT APPLICATION – The application includes: cover sheet, narrative, timeline,
VITA and a check-off sheet. Please be sure to complete all information requested
and provide all signatures needed.
II.
BUDGET DETAIL – The Excel worksheet contains a summary of expenses (including
match). If more room is needed for justification, please attach a separate sheet.
Grant awards will be made up to $1,000 per student. All expenditures must have
prior approval of the faculty member who is serving as your research mentor.
Undergraduate students are permitted to earn a maximum of $3,000 from the
URSCA Fund throughout their undergraduate experience.
The use of grant funds normally will be restricted to supplies, services, travel
(excluding meals), and small items of equipment. The URSCA Fund will not fund
salaries, nor pay for the typing or duplicating costs for research papers.
Please provide detail and justification for each item requested. Itemize all services
and supplies that you are requesting. Do not use categories such as "other" or
"miscellaneous." Include quantity (when appropriate) and the unit cost of each
item. Travel includes transportation fares and tolls and lodging. Provide a brief
explanation of any unusual or out-of-the-ordinary expenses. Registration fees
should be listed under services and supplies.
If you are supplementing this request with personal and/or other sources of funds
(a grant obtained by your faculty mentor), identify these funds. That is, your total
budget for your research project may well exceed $1,000. Provide the total
budget then identify which parts will be funded by URSCA Funds and
matching/personal funds in the space provided.
IV.
PROPOSAL NARRATIVE (no more than 2 typewritten)
A. Introduction – The introduction should provide a concise description of the
proposed research or creative work and define the project objective, problem
statement, or research question in a clear coherent way.
B. Introduction/Background - What is the significance of the research or creative
work? How does the proposed research fit into what is already known? What
new knowledge do you hope to discover with your research or what different
perspective will you use in you creative activity?
C. Objectives - What do you expect to learn from the proposed research or
creative activity? What is the contribution to your discipline?
D. Methods – Clearly and concisely describe your methodology. How will the
research be conducted, the data gathered and analyzed? How will you
communicate this knowledge to others? Or, how does your creative process fit
in with the work of previous artists? What processes will you use to create
your work? How will you present your creative endeavor?
E. Literature Cited – Include only those cited in the text. If no appropriate
literature exists, your faculty mentor should include such a statement in
her/his letter of support.
V.
TIMELINE - (see form) When will the research begin, when do you plan to
complete each task (literature search, fieldwork, lab analysis, statistics, report
writing) and how do these activities fit your budget request? The whole project
may take a year or more even though you may not require funding for the entire
period.
VI.
VITA SUMMARY - Give a short, professional description of yourself including an
indication of how this research project will benefit you personally and fit into your
future career goals. Also list courses you've taken that provide a background for
your research.
VII. LETTERS OF SUPPORT - Include a letter of endorsement from your faculty mentor.
If your mentor is providing supplemental funds to support your research, it should
be indicated/verified in their letter.
VIII. CERTIFICATION OF IRB/IACUC APPROVAL – If your research includes human or
animal subjects, be sure to include IRB or IACUC approval.
FINAL REPORT:
Students are expected to present the results of their URSCA funded research at UWSP
college symposiums or UW-System Symposium for Undergraduate Research and
Creative Activity (hosted by UWSP April 22, 2016). If neither of these options are
possible, students must submit a final report to the Office of Research and Sponsored
Programs within 90 days of the project end date or prior to graduation.
GRANT APPLICATION CHECK-OFF SHEET
The grant application should include the following sections in order. This form is
provided to insure completeness of the grant application. Do not include this check-off
sheet with the application at time of submission.
_____Application form completed and signed by the applicant's faculty mentor.
_____Budget detail worksheet completed.
_____Letters of Support.
_____IRB/IACUC Approval (if appropriate)
_____Supporting Documentation