Fall, Spring, and Summer Student Project Awards

Eligible undergraduate students may apply for several types of awards, including:

 

2020-2021  Application Schedule


 
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Applications for the Fall Project Awards open April 12, 2021.

 

General Information

​Project awards are for undergraduate students planning to conduct research or pursue creative projects. These awards may be used to cover: student stipend, tuition, travel (for conducting field work - pending on COVID-19 restrictions), and supplies or services.

URSA offers undergraduates at UAF 3 different  Project Awards:

Fall and Spring Project Awards:

  • Up to $2,500 for an individual.
  • Up $5,000 for a group of two or more students.

Summer Project Awards:

  • Up to $5,000 for an individual.
  • Up $5,000 for a group of two or more students. 
 
  • Must be a Degree-seeking undergraduate student (Associate's Degree or Bachelor's Degree)
    From any discipline, any year of study, any UAF campus.

  • Fall and Spring Awards: Student must be enrolled in at least six credits at any UAF campus for the funded semester.

  • Summer Awards: Student must be enrolled for at least six credits during spring semester 2020 and planning to enroll in at least six credits for fall semester 2020.

  • GPA of 2.3 or better (students on probation are not eligible).

  • Must have a mentor (faculty, post-doc or graduate student) and an established project. 

  • Students may only apply for one award each round.

  • During any academic year (e.g., AY 2020 - 2021); fall 2020, spring 2021 and summer 2021, an undergraduate student may not receive more than one travel award (fall, winter or spring), and one project award (fall, spring or summer).
    This policy will allow for a greater number of students to receive awards with limited URSA funds.
  • During any academic year (e.g., AY 2020 - 2021); fall 2020, spring 2021 and summer 2021, an undergraduate student may not receive more than one travel award (fall, winter or spring), and one project award (fall, spring or summer). 
    This policy will allow for a greater number of students to receive awards with limited URSA funds.
  • Students that have graduated, unless they are enrolled in a second degree program

  • Students that have received full funding from another UAF program for a specific project are not eligible for additional funding from URSA (for example BLaST, INBRE amongst others)
  • Your Mentor must complete the URSA Mentor Confirmation form prior to the award deadline.

  • Student must complete a final evaluation after travel/project completion.

  • Student must present results at URSA's Research & Creative Activity Day in April of that academic year.
    *Summer students will be expected to present the following April.
  • Student must create a poster of their project at the end of the semester in which they received funding.
    (For other types of displays or performances, please contact URSA).

  • For the 2020-2021 academic year, because of the impacts of COVID-19, we ask that all awardees also record a voiceover video of their poster to be used on Research and Creative Activity Day on April 6-8, 2021.

  • Students must provide a photo of themselves and at least one of your project and/or travel to URSA upon completion of your award.

  • Student must provide a short 2-3 minutes video of your conducting your work to URSA upon completion of your award.

Failure to provide the above, to submit a final evaluation, or to participate in Research & Creative Activity Day and will make the student ineligible for URSA funding the following year.

Process

For any given round of URSA funding, 25–70 proposals are submitted. With limited funding we award between 8 and 12 proposals in each call. The competition is high.

Once all the proposals are received, they are distributed randomly to four members of the URSA Review Panel. These faculty members come from all disciplines in the arts/humanities/social sciences and natural/life and engineering sciences. One of the reasons that we request that students write their proposal for a broad audience is because there is a high probability that several of their reviewers will not be in the same discipline as the proposal.

The reviewers score the proposals using our rubric and they also provide written comments. We fund those proposals, in ranked order, until our allotted amount of funding is no longer available.


Evaluation Criteria

Evaluations are made by a minimum of four faculty members on the URSA Review Panel using the scoring criteria detailed below. Each of the following are evaluated on a scale from 1 (high/exemplary) to 5 (low/insufficient):

  • The purpose of the student's proposed project/travel

1. to conduct or present a research/creative project (projects) OR to present a research/creative project (travel)
2. to compete in a scholarly activity
3. to participate in an internship/immersion
4. to attend a workshop or acquire training that will facilitate a project
5. not clearly expressed

  • The explanation of the significance of the proposed project/travel
  • The explanation of the proposed project or travel's contribution to a scholarly discipline is
  • The potential for the proposed project or travel to effect student learning or scholarly development is
  • The written quality of the proposal is
  • The feasibility of the proposed project or travel seems
  • The articulated goals and/or expected outcomes of the project or travel seem
  • Through articulate writing and inclusion of details, the student's case for funding appears
  • The faculty mentor's role and/or participation in the project or travel is

 Proposals are also evaluated based on:
  • Written quality of the proposal—write for a general audience
  • Purpose of the project or travel with respect to potential for academic/research development for the student
  • Potential for student learning and development as a result of the project or travel
  • Adequate faculty involvement in the project or travel
  • Emailed acknowledgement of support by the mentor to URSA by the application deadline