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Office of Undergraduate Research
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Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities (U-RSCA) Grants

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) provides funding to undergraduate researchers to support their research, scholarship, and creative activities (RSCA). Funding for materials, equipment, software, and travel will be awarded to undergraduate researchers (up to $1500) and their mentors ($500). Applications will be accepted twice each academic year on October 15 and February 15. If these dates fall on a weekend or holiday, the deadline will be the following business day.   

Grant proposals are reviewed by a panel of faculty members from a wide variety of departments. Applicants should ensure that proposals can be understood by an educated non-expert.  

Eligibility

There is no GPA requirement for funding, but students must be enrolled at UNF and registered for classes during the semester in which they apply and must be in good academic standing. 

All applicants must have a UNF faculty mentor to receive funding. It is suggested that applicants work with their faculty mentor when preparing the U-RSCA application. 

Applications will be accepted from individual undergraduate researchers or groups of no more than three undergraduate researchers. The total funding amount remains the same regardless of the number of applicants. 

Students are eligible to receive two U-RSCA grants during their undergraduate career, including both individual and group applications.

More than one application from students working with the same faculty mentor can be submitted at each application deadline; however, a maximum of one application will be awarded per faculty mentor in each funding period (one student per fall and spring semesters). 

Requirements

Projects that require oversight of compliance must be addressed as such and grant funds cannot be released until all research compliance issues are satisfied. Please keep in mind that research compliance issues may take several weeks to be resolved and must be resolved within one month of notification of selection for funding. 

Funds awarded will be dispersed to the home department. 

Students awarded a U-RSCA grant will be required to sign an acceptance letter prior to disbursement of the funds to their home department. 

Students awarded a U-RSCA grant must submit a final report by the deadline designated on the acceptance letter and must present their data at an annual UNF SOARS (Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship) conference. 

Students who do not use their funding must coordinate with their mentor’s department to have the funding returned to the Office of Undergraduate Research by the end of the semester. 

Guidelines

Each application includes several sections: Title, Summary, Proposal, Literature Cited, Roles of student(s) and mentor, Timeline, Budget, and the Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation. It is important to prepare the sections before beginning the application process. All sections must be uploaded as a word or pdf file. After submission, the faculty mentor will be contacted to submit the Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation. All application materials must be received by the application deadline. 

Summary – 200 word maximum - Provide a summary of the proposed project. The summary should be clear and concise and should be written in language that is understood by reviewers from other disciplines. It should “sell” your proposal to the reviewers. 

Proposal – 2000 word maximum – Provide a brief literature review, the research question or problem, the proposed methodology, the significance of the study, and the anticipated products or outcomes. Include pertinent references or citations in the style utilized by your academic discipline (APA, MLA, Chicago). 

Literature cited - Include the references or citations used in the proposal in the style utilized by your academic discipline. 

Roles of student(s) and mentor – 500 word maximum - Provide information regarding the responsibilities of each student and the mentor. 

Timeline – Provide details of the timeline for implementing the various steps of the project.  This can be provided as a graphic or in paragraph form. 

Budget – Provide an itemized budget to complete the proposed project. Consult the Budget Guidelines before submitting the budget section of the proposal. 

Faculty Mentor Letter of Recommendation – Provide comments on the feasibility of the project; the initiative, tenacity, and abilities of the student(s); your previous experience working with students on RSCA and willingness to provide oversight of the project. The letter should be signed and dated. Department letterhead is preferred. 

 

Budget Guidelines

Grant funds awarded to students must be applied to tangible research expenditures. Applicants should discuss research needs with their faculty mentor before submission of their proposed budget.  

Examples of allowable expenses: 
  • Costs for laboratory or artistic supplies, software and databases, and small equipment. 
  • Costs for training programs directly related to the project. 
  • Travel to offsite locations to conduct research, such as archives, libraries, companies, museums, or collections containing materials related to the project. Make sure to use the Florida Statutory mileage rate for trips involving the use of a personal vehicle. 
  • Photocopying of research-related materials of purchase of books not otherwise available at or through the University Library. 
  • Program fee costs associated with a research-intensive study abroad program to include materials and supplies needed to conduct the research abroad. 
Examples of non-allowable expenses include, but are not limited to: 
  • Costs associated with attendance or presentations at professional meetings. 
  • Gas and food expenses associated with travel. 
  • Stipends, living expenses, tuition, or laboratory fees.
  • The hiring of assistants or other external services. 
  • Lessons or cost associated with professional development. 

Review Procedures

Grant proposals are reviewed by a panel of faculty members from a wide variety of departments. Applicants should ensure that proposals can be understood by an educated non-expert. Proposals will be evaluated using a rubric. Faculty evaluators will discuss the proposals and make their recommendations for funding.  The Office of Undergraduate Research will then make the final selections. Feedback will be provided to students whose proposals are not selected for funding. 

 

Grant Proposal Rubrics

Review Item 

Score of 5 

Score of 3 

Score of 1 

Research Question or Problem 

The question/ problem is clearly stated and the significance to the field is demonstrated. 

The question/ problem is stated and the significance to the field is implied. 

The question/ problem is not stated and/or the significance to the field is not addressed. 

Methodology 

The methodology is written in a manner that is explicitly understood by reviewers from any discipline. 

The methodology is written in a manner that is vaguely understood by reviewers from any discipline. 

The methodology uses jargon and/or technical language that is not understood by the reviewers. 

Roles of Participants 

The roles of the student(s) and mentor are explicitly outlined. 

The roles of the student(s) and mentor are adequately outlined. 

The roles of the student(s) and mentor are poorly outlined. 

Timeline/ Budget 

Explicit and compelling reasons are provided to believe the project will be successfully completed on budget in the time frame. 

Weak reason(s) are provided to believe that the project will be successfully completed on budget in the time frame. 

No reasons are provided to believe the project will be successfully completed on budget and in the time frame. 

Faculty Support

The project and student(s) are strongly supported 

The project and student(s) are adequately supported. 

The project and student(s) are weakly supported. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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