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Program information

COVID-19: Implications for UGAR programs

  • Travel: if your research involves any travel (within the U.S. or abroad), you must comply with the College policies on travel.
    • Dartmouth continues to discourage all nonessential travel for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, given that, when people are on the move, so is the virus. More information regarding travel policies can be found here.
    • UGAR may extend its ban on funding for travel even if the college lifts the institutional ban.
  • Campus access: undergraduates are permitted access to Dartmouth-affiliated buildings and facilities, including libraries and research labs, only if they register for campus access (which requires participation in the COVID testing protocol). See the policy on undergraduate research for academic year 2021-2022.
  • Student status: if students withdraw from the College for any reason (in good standing or not), they are not eligible for UGAR programs during the terms in which they are withdrawn. If students are accepted for a UGAR program in a given term but withdraw from the College during that term, they must contact UGAR immediately. See the College webpage on withdrawals for more information. 

Undergraduate Research Assistantships at Dartmouth (URAD)

Students in URAD assist faculty with their research.

  • Students participating in the program are not expected to generate their own independent research projects.
  • 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 are expected to engage in the project for 7-12 hours per week throughout the academic term (approximate total of 100 hours).

  • A stipend of $1000 will be issued at the end of the term, 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 it is strongly recommended that students maintain a document tracking the time spent on the research and the tasks accomplished.

It is expected that the assistantship will be conducted during terms in which the student is enrolled in classes and the student and faculty mentor are on campus.

  • If this is not the case, students will need to provide justification and a plan for communication with the faculty mentor. This should be included in the "student role" section of the online application form.

Eligibility for URAD

Students are eligible for a total of 5 terms of URAD.

  • Students are eligible for URAD once they have completed two terms of enrollment. For most students, this will be spring of the first year (apply in the winter for research in the spring).
  • Once students have completed 35 credits, they are no longer eligible for URAD.
  • For students who are or have been participating in UGAR research assistantship programs:
    • Sophomore/Junior Research Scholars: all funded terms count toward total terms of URAD.
    • Presidential Scholars: the first term counts toward the total terms of URAD but the second term does not. If you received funding for a third term of Presidential Scholar research, that term does count toward the total number of funded URAD terms.

Students apply for URAD in the term prior to the term of research. Acceptances to the program are limited to one term per application.

  • 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.

Note the following restrictions:

  • Students may not receive funding and academic credit for the same research. Therefore, students who are getting independent and/or honors thesis credit for the research are NOT eligible for URAD.
  • Students may not receive funding from more than one source for the same research. Therefore, students receiving wages for the research or participating in other funded undergraduate research programs (e.g. Neukom Scholars, Human Development Fellowships, Mellon Mays Fellows, E. E. Just Fellows, Stamps Scholars) are NOT eligible for funding for the same/similar research from URAD.

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