Honors Undergraduate Research Award
2009-10 Guidelines
*DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 10-9-09*
The Office of Undergraduate Research in collaboration with the Honors Program is pleased to accept applications from Honors students who are completing their Honors thesis to conduct research during the 2009-2010 academic year. Honors students in all disciplines are eligible. Students with a current General Undergraduate Research Award are not eligible. The study must be conducted under the supervision of a UNR faculty member and must be completed during the 2009-2010 academic year. The funding for each award is up to $2,000. The project should be planned in close collaboration with a faculty mentor. Students may submit a proposal to both the NSF EPSCoR and the Honors undergraduate research programs. However, they may receive only one grant.
Research award recipients must prepare a final manuscript and present a poster or paper at either the Nevada Undergraduate Research Symposium (NURS), held at UNR during the spring of even-numbered years (i.e., 2010, 2012, etc), or the Nevada Undergraduate Research Symposium (NURS), held at UNR during the spring of odd-numbered years (i.e., 2011, 2013, etc.). The exact dates of these symposia will be provided to the participants. Both the manuscript and the poster/presentation should represent the research completed during the course of the funded project period. Award recipients and their mentors are also required to provide feedback on the program by completing a questionnaire provided by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Applicants are required to submit a proposal that consists of the following:
PROPOSAL: Each proposal must include the following sections:
- COVER PAGE: Completed cover page form.
- PROJECT DESCRIPTION: 2 page limit; 12-pt. font, single-spaced, 1” margins. Must include the following sections and headings: 1. Abstract (50-100 words), 2. Introduction, 3. Objectives, 4. Plans for research and/or creative work, 5. Bibliography, 6. Two-semester timetable, 7. Plans for dissemination of results and 8. Qualifications of the student. The proposal must be written in a way that is understandable to reviewers whose backgrounds may be outside the applicant’s field.
- BUDGET: 1 page limit. Provide an itemized list of all proposed expenditures.
The total budget is limited to $2,000. Allowable expenses include materials, supplies, travel costs (up to $750), postage, specialized software (if not already available at UNR), copying costs, etc. Purchase of equipment (e.g., laptop computers) and hosting is not allowed. Up to $500 of stipend is allowed for faculty mentors. The non-stipend expenses should not exceed $1,500. Include a justification for each of the proposed budget items. Travel expenditures need to follow the UNR rules for travel and a travel request has to be submitted well before the actual trip (Consult with your faculty mentor). All expenses must be spent by the end of May 30th.
- OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS: of work completed at UNR, including a list of courses taken during Fall 2009. Scan the transcripts and include in the proposal.
- SUPPORT LETTER(S): The proposal must include a letter from the supervising faculty mentor(s) indicating their approval of the proposal and describing their level of involvement in the project. Note that this is not merely a reference letter. It is a letter that describes the mentor’s endorsement of the proposal and the student in addition to commitment to oversee the project. The letter should also indicate if the faculty member(s) have directed any projects funded by HURA in the past 5 years and include the name(s) of the student awardee(s), if any.
Questions regarding the proposal format and contents should be sent to ugresearch@unr.edu or visit the website at http://www.unr.edu/undergraduateresearch/HURA.html. The completed proposal must be submitted in a single pdf file by 5 pm on Monday, October 9, 2009, with the subject line reading “HURA Proposal.” The entire email should not be larger than 5 MB or it will bounce. Proposals that do not conform to the format requirements, are late, or are incomplete will not be accepted for review.