Initiated by The Smallwood Foundation

The William W. and Ida W. Taylor and Lawrence and Carol Gellerstedt Mentored Research Fellowships

 

The Office for Undergraduate Research is pleased to announce support for undergraduate research, mentored scholarship and creative performance during the summer of 2013.

Eligibility:

All currently enrolled UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduate students in good academic standing who will graduate after November 2013 and who wish to engage in undergraduate research, scholarship or performance for at least 9 weeks, with a minimum 20 hours/week, between May 13, 2013 and August 16, 2013 are eligible to apply. The projects must be carried out under the supervision of a UNC-Chapel Hill faculty research advisor, and additional collaboration with a postdoctoral fellow or graduate student mentor is encouraged.

Students wishing to submit a proposal for an Honors Carolina SURF should follow the instructions on this page and submit their materials to the Office for Undergraduate Research. All successful SURF applicants who are in Honors Carolina will be considered for Taylor and Gellerstedt awards.

All successful SURF applicants whose projects are in LGBTQ Studies and who are need-eligible as determined by the Financial Aid Office will be considered for the Pine Tree Fund SURFs.

Each student may submit only ONE SURF application per year. Students who have received a SURF award in previous years are not eligible to apply. SURF recipients may not accept a Burch Fellowship or a NASA grant for the same summer.

Anticipated Number and Amount of Awards:

We expect to make at least 60 individual awards of $3,000 each. Selected students will receive $2,000 at the start of the summer, and the remainder of the award after they have submitted the required final materials.

Honors Carolina expects to make at least 8 Taylor and Gellerstedt Fellowship awards of $4,000 each. Taylor and Gellerstedt Fellowship recipients will receive $2,500 at the start of the summer, with the remainder awarded after the required final materials have been submitted.

The Program in Sexuality Studies expects to make at least two Pine Tree Fund SURF awards of $4,000 each for work in LGBTQ studies. Pine Tree Fund SURF recipients will receive $2,500 at the start of the summer, with the remainder awarded after the required final materials have been submitted.

If a graduate student will be involved in mentoring the undergraduate, then the grad student should be encouraged to apply for the Graduate Student Mentor Award. If a postdoctoral fellow will be involved in the mentoring, then s/he should be encouraged to apply for the Postdoctoral Scholar Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduates.

Proposal Development:

You are encouraged to identify a suitable and willing faculty research advisor for your work. Discuss your initial ideas with your faculty research advisor, narrow or expand the scope of your work as appropriate, and ask for feedback on your written statement from your faculty research advisor and/or a postdoctoral/graduate mentor. In addition, SURF Peer Advisors will be available by appointment to assist you with the application process and with communicating your proposal more effectively. These peer advisors are former SURF students who have received training from the Writing Center. For more information, see the SURF Peer Advising Program (pdf).

To sign up to meet with a peer advisor in your area of interest, please submit the short, online SURF Peer Advisor Request Form. Note that you will need a rough draft proposal for your first meeting with your peer advisor. You may also want to look at our Proposal Writing Resources page. We will begin assigning Peer Writing Advisors effective December 3, 2012. No Peer Writing Advisors will be assigned after February 20, 2013.

Application Materials:

There are four parts to a complete application. All parts must be received by Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 4:00 pm.

1. The On-line application, which includes information about the student, faculty advisor, and the project title (100 character maximum).
2. The written statement should be 1200 words maximum, excluding items g and h, and should include the following:
    
   1. the goal of the work: the research question or a description of what you will create or invent
   2. the potential significance of the project
   3. any preliminary work accomplished and/or relevant experience of the applicant
   4. the methods or theoretical/critical frameworks you will use, with appropriate citations
   5. a statement noting if IRB approval is needed or not needed. This statement is required for all proposals. For more information about the IRB requirement, please visit the IRB guide for students and faculty
   6. an optional statement concerning the relevance of your project to community-based research, or the entrepreneurial potential of your project. Include this statement if you have indicated on your online application that your proposal is relevant to community-based research or entrepreneurship.
      
      definitions:
      
      -- Community-based research encourages mutually-beneficial collaboration among students, community members and faculty in the design and implementation of research projects that address a community issue and, ultimately, promote social action and the common good. International, national and projects that benefit North Carolina are welcomed.
      
      -- Entrepreneurial projects have the potential to lead to a product or service with commercial, social, artistic and/or educational value.
      
      
   7. a list of the references you cited in your proposal. This list is not included in the 1200 word limit.
   8. a list of all scholarships and other awards that you have received at Carolina. If you have received none to date, please say so. This list is not included in the 1200 word limit.
      
3. A letter of support from the faculty research advisor who will oversee the research project. This letter should include your advisor's assessment of the potential significance of your project as well as a review of your qualifications to carry out the project. The advisor's letter must also include a statement noting if you need or do not need IRB approval. This statement is required in all letters of support. Advisors may wish to review the rubric used by the selection committee.
   
4. A copy of your official UNC transcript from the Registrar's Office
   

Format Requirements:

1. Your written statement and letter of support should be single-spaced and printed on only one side of each page. Please paperclip all your application materials together.
2. Please put the title of your application on the first page of your written statement, and include your name and PID number on each page. Please do NOT include a cover page, Appendix materials, separate CV, or budget.
3. Please adhere to the 1200 word limit (excluding the list of references you cited and the list of any scholarships and awards you have received at Carolina).

Application Submission:

Please complete the on-line application, and then bring your written statement and transcript to:

The Office for Undergraduate Research
Room 015 Graham Memorial
CB # 2800

Faculty may send the letter of support via the student in a sealed envelope, mail the letter directly to OUR, or send letters via e-mail to our@unc.edu.

The deadline for receipt of all materials is Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

Selection Process:

A multidisciplinary faculty committee will meet to select the SURF recipients based on the written application and the faculty research advisor's recommendation letter. The committee will assess each proposal based on the criteria described in this rubric. The committee also aims to have a balance of disciplines represented, and also a balance of students at all stages of their academic careers. Once the SURF selection committee has chosen which projects to fund, a sub-committee of the Honors Carolina Faculty Advisory Board will select the Taylor and Gellerstedt Fellowship recipients from the group of successful SURF applicants. Representatives from Sexuality Studies will select the Pine Tree SURF recipients from the group of eligible successful SURF applicants. All applicants will be notified via e-mail of the SURF selection committee's decision by April 1.

Acceptance Checklist:

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships are paid in two installments, one at the beginning of the summer, and one at the end. In order to process your first payment, we must receive all required items listed on checklist #1.

Final Payment Checklist:

In order to process your second payment at the end of the summer, we must receive all required items listed on checklist #2.

Reporting Requirements:

At the end of the summer, each student must submit a summary statement and evaluation. In addition, each student must prepare a PowerPoint presentation for display on the OUR website. To view previous PowerPoint displays, please visit the Past Student Projects page on this website. In addition, successful applicants will be expected to participate in an undergraduate research symposium, UNC's Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research, prior to graduation to discuss their results. Finally, successful applicants should acknowledge support from the Office for Undergraduate Research in any publications resulting from the project. Please see our guidelines for acknowledging OUR support for information on formatting acknowledgments.

Sources of Financial Support for the SURF Program:

Please visit the SURF contributors link on this website to read more about the many contributors to this program.