Program information

Students in URAD assist faculty with their research.

• The program is intended to introduce students to research, and students are not expected to generate their own independent research projects.
• There must be a clear academic benefit to the student, and the student's role in the project must be intellectual rather than administrative. This is an academic experience, not a job.
• The program does not match students with faculty. See UGAR's tips and resources on how to find a faculty research mentor.
• The nature of the work and skills required will vary depending on the project, and students should communicate with their faculty mentors about the expectations prior to the start of the assistantship.

Students engage in the research part-time throughout the academic term.

• It is expected that students devote the equivalent time/effort to what they would for an academic class. That is estimated to be an average of 10 hours a week during a 10 week term (approximate total of 100 hours during the academic term).
• Students receive a stipend at the end of the term of research, contingent on confirmation by both the student and faculty research mentor.
• Timesheets are not required since payment is via stipend rather than hourly wages, but students should maintain a document tracking the time spent on the research and the tasks accomplished.
• More information about payments is on the UGAR stipend webpage.

This is a competitive program; priorities for funding are as follows:

• Sophomores and juniors.
• Students who have not yet been funded for 3 terms of URAD.
• Projects that are clearly aligned with the student's academic trajectory.
• To ensure that faculty across departments and programs have equal access, the number of funded terms of URAD may be limited to 12 per faculty member per fiscal year (summer through spring).
• If you are eligible for other programs or funding sources, it is recommended that you submit applications for those as well in order to increase your chances of being awarded funding.

Other offices that provide funding for part-time faculty-mentored research:

• Neukom Scholars
• Lovelace Research Program (Computer Science)

Students are eligible for a total of 5 terms of UGAR funding for part-time research assistantships.

• Students are eligible for URAD once they have completed two terms of enrollment.
  • For most students, this will be spring of their first year (application in the winter for research in the spring).
• Seniors may apply for URAD but priority goes to sophomores and juniors.
  • Once students have completed 35 credits, they are no longer eligible for URAD.
  • Seniors are only eligible for URAD in their last two terms of enrollment if it is to continue work on an ongoing project.
  • Applications to continue an ongoing project in the last term of enrollment will be considered but are the lowest priority for funding.
• For students participating in UGAR research assistantship programs:
  
  • Presidential Scholars: the first term counts toward the total terms of URAD but the second term in the program does not.
  • WISP Sophomore Scholars programs (Crute/Folt): the first term does not count toward the total terms of URAD eligibility.
  • Other part-time research programs (e.g. WISP internships, Neukom Scholars) do not count toward URAD eligibility.
  • Students may participate in only one UGAR program (for one research project) per term.

Students apply for URAD in the term prior to the term of research.

• Selection as a URAD Scholar is for one term (for the term following the term in which students apply).
• Students who would like to continue a project in a subsequent or later term must submit a separate application each term.
• There are no restrictions on the number of faculty mentors and/or projects per student, up to a maximum of 5 terms per student.

Students may not receive URAD funding for research associated with academic credit.

• This includes independent study, thesis research, culmininating projects and projects for classes.
• Seniors are only eligible for URAD funding if the project is not related to any requirement of their major or minor (thesis, culminating experience, etc.). This restriction applies even if the URAD term is not the same term as the term in which students are receiving academic credit.

Students may not receive funding from more than one source for the same research.

• Students receiving wages for the research or participating in other funded undergraduate research programs (e.g. Neukom Scholars, Human Development Fellowships,  E. E. Just Fellows, Stamps Scholars) are NOT eligible for funding for the same/similar research as URAD during a URAD-funded term.

URAD funding is not awarded for research done remotely.

• Students must be on campus throughout the term of research and are expected to be enrolled in classes (R term).
• Students who will be on campus but on a leave term may request an exception to the enrollment policy. Do not email UGAR to request an exception as there is a section for this on the application form.
• Students who are on an off-campus program or transfer/exchange program are not eligible for URAD.
• It is expected that the faculty mentor be on campus during the term of the project. If that is not the case, there must be an on-campus supervisor who is involved in the project (graduate student, post-doctoral fellow, etc.)

Be sure to also review the general eligibility guidelines for UGAR programs.