Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF)

2012 SURF Award Competition
The UConn Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) supports University of Connecticut full-time undergraduate students in summer research or creative projects.

SURF awards are available to students in all majors at all UConn campuses. SURF project proposals are reviewed by a faculty committee representing all schools and colleges, and SURF award recipients are chosen through a competitive process.

The maximum total amount awarded for SURF awards is $4,000.00 ($3500 stipend for the student researcher and up to $500 for consumables associated with the research project).

Printable SURF Call for Proposals (PDF)

Application due:
All application materials must be submitted in hard copy to CUE 416 by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

Notification of award: Monday, March 20, 2012 (TENTATIVE)

• Eligibility
• Tips on successful proposal writing
• Preparing your SURF application
• Tips for preparing a budget
• Tips for preparing your timeline
• Info for Faculty Advisors and Recommenders
• Application Cover Sheet and Checklist
• Criteria for Review
  

ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to apply for the SURF program, students must:

• Plan to graduate no earlier than May of 2013.
  
• Must be supervised by a UConn faculty member. (You don't have to work on campus, but someone at UConn must be supervising your work.)
  
• Agree to present SURF-funded project findings at Frontiers in Undergraduate Research in April, 2013.
  
  

TIPS FOR PROPOSAL WRITING

The strongest SURF applications show a thorough understanding of a research project. Plan to spend some time working through your proposal both on your own and in collaboration with your research advisor. Starting early and planning ahead will make the process a lot less stressful!

Successful SURF proposals:

• Describe the project in a way that is clear, concise, and free of grammatical and spelling errors.
• Follow application instructions carefully, and have appropriate University IACUC or IRB Approvals, if needed.
• Demonstrate the student's knowledge of the subject and the research to be conducted.
• Outline a clear timeline for research or creative activities to be completed
• Show how the budget requested will be spent and used in as much detail as possible.
• Show a connection between the student's project and the supervising faculty member's area of expertise.
• Reference letters indicate how a student will be mentored by their faculty advisor.
  
  

PREPARING YOUR SURF APPLICATION

Your application must not exceed 10 pages (letters of recommendation and transcript are NOT included in the 10 page limit). This page limit includes the cover sheet and any pictures, graphics, etc. included in the proposal.

1. Application Cover Sheet and Checklist (PDF)
   Students should type their information on the form, print the form, and include it as the first two pages of their application.
   
   
2. Research Project Proposal –This section must be double-spaced in 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins.
   • What is the basic idea, problem, or question your study will examine?
   • What is the purpose of this research or creative project? Describe the steps you will take to conduct your project, and provide evidence that your project is feasible within the time frame.
   • Describe where your work will be performed and the materials you will need to use.
   • What will the outcome of this work be? What do you expect to accomplish?
   • This part of the proposal can include any necessary graphs, charts, pictures, etc. which will help the reviewer better understand your research.
   • Please do not write in third person.
     
     
3. Citations – List appropriate scholarly citations and references to demonstrate your understanding of the field. References should be formatted in the style appropriate to your discipline.
   
   
4. Timeline – You may single-space this section.
   Provide a timeline of your project, including start and end dates and a week-by-week listing of planned project milestones.
   • Sample Timelines
     
5. Budget – You may single-space this section.
   You must submit a detailed budget for your project with information about your request for both the SURF stipend (up to $3500) and the SURF Research Expense Grant (up to $500). If you do not anticipate research expenses with your project, you do not need to request funds for the SURF research expense grant.
   • Sample budgets.
6. Faculty recommendations -- (letters of recommendation and transcript are NOT included in the 10 page limit).
   Students must include two letters of recommendation from faculty members. It is the student’s responsibility to contact these individuals, discuss the SURF proposal, and secure their willingness to complete and submit the letters of recommendation by the deadline. Recommendations must be collected by the student in SEALED envelopes with the recommender’s name SIGNED across the back flap of the envelope; both letters must be submitted with the student’s other application materials by the due date.
   • Your first letter of recommendation must be from the faculty member who will serve as your research advisor and will supervise the summer work.  Please ask him/her to address the following in the letter:
     • His/her knowledge and familiarity with your research project;
     • His/her role in the research project – Is this a project that you created and the faculty member is serving as an advisor? Or is this project a subset of a larger research project that is part of the faculty advisor’s ongoing research?
     • His/her estimation of your academic and personal traits which would contribute to a successful summer research experience;
     • His/her ability and availability to supervise you and commitment to advise you throughout the research project. If you and your research advisor will be working in different locations over the summer, your research advisor should also outline a plan for communication with you and supervision of you from a distance;
     • His/her assessment of your chances for success and why your research project proposal would be important to your field and/or your development as a scholar.
   • Your second letter of recommendation must be from another faculty member. This person should know you well enough to address the following in his/her letter:
     • Your academic qualifications for this award;
     • The quality of  your proposal and contributions your research might make to the field;
     • Your personal characteristics that would contribute to your success as a SURF researcher.
7. Official University Transcript (letters of recommendation and transcript are NOT included in the 10 page limit).
   Students should request an official transcript from the Office of the Registrar (this can be done through the StudentAdmin system). Have the transcript should be sent directly to you, the student. Include the transcript in its original, sealed envelope with your application.
   

APPLICATION COVER SHEET AND CHECKLIST

Students are responsible for ensuring that ALL components of the SURF application are submitted by the due date

Paper copies must be clipped together in the following order and turned in to CUE Room 416 by 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

1. SURF cover sheet. Please note that these two pages are the first two pages of the total 10 pages allowed in the SURF application (Letters of recommendation and your transcript are NOT included in the page count)
   
   
2. SURF research project proposal
   
   
3. Citations for Proposal
   
   
4. SURF Timeline
   
   
5. SURF Budget

All of the above elements may not exceed the 10 page limit. Clip to those:

6. Letter of recommendation from research project advisor; Must be in a sealed envelope with advisor’s signature across the back flap

7. Letter of recommendation from second faculty member; Must be in a sealed envelope with faculty member’s signature across the back flap

8. Official transcript from UConn in the original sealed envelope

CRITERIA FOR PROPOSAL REVIEW

All SURF applications are reviewed by a committee of faculty members representing all Schools and Colleges at UConn. Primary and Secondary reviewers with expertise in the subject area of the student’s proposal are assigned to each SURF application.

Reviews and recommendations to fund SURF research project proposals are made by the SURF faculty review committee.
All projects are reviewed based on the following criteria:

Quality of the proposal:

• The proposal is well written, well defined, and convincing.
• The proposal is thorough and complete. All parts are clearly explained.
• The proposal is manageable and appropriate for the time frame; if the research is part of a larger project that will extend beyond the summer, this is noted in the proposal and the goals for the summer are delineated in the timeline.
• The proposal is grounded in the research of the field.
• The student has secured or is securing IRB/IACUC approval if necessary for the research.
• The budget is clear and uses funding appropriately according to SURF funding guidelines.

Qualifications of the applicant:

• The qualifications, preparation, and experience of the student are adequate for carrying out the project.
• The research experience, as described, will contribute significantly to the student’s education.
• The academic record of the student indicates the potential for success.

Support from faculty letters of recommendation:

• Strength of letters of support by faculty recommenders.
• Assessment of the student’s ability to undertake the project in the time period allowed.
• Assessment of the significance of project and its potential educational value for the student.
• Evidence that relationships exist between the student’s project and the faculty mentor’s own research or areas of expertise.
• Evidence that the student will be supervised during the project period by the faculty mentor.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR SURF RECIPIENTS

• If research plans include international travel, accepted students are required to contact the Office of Study Abroad and agree to abide by all Study Abroad regulations.
  
• Students must submit a summary report of research activities to the OUR (our@uconn.edu; 416 CUE) by August 30, 2012.