Funding is awarded in multiple ways on a competitive basis to undergraduate students engaged in research and creative activities under the mentorship of TU faculty members.
Funding is awarded in multiple ways on a competitive basis to undergraduate students engaged in research and creative activities under the mentorship of TU faculty members.
The Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry (URCI) Committee is guided by the definition of undergraduate research and creative inquiry given by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) to determine which projects are eligible for funding. The CUR defines undergraduate research as “an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.”
URCI offers two funding opportunities--the Research Impact Awards and travel grants. A description, timeline, and information about the application process for each award is provided below.
Undergraduate students at TU who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program full-time and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above are eligible to apply for funding that supports undergraduate research and creative activities.
All original scholarly and creative activity appropriate to any discipline at our university is eligible under this program. This includes but is not limited to, for example, research in natural and social sciences, humanities, artistic performances, and works of art.
These $1000 awards are highly competitive. Applicants must meet all of the funding eligibility criteria outlined above and the application deadline. The online application is now open, and the completed application will be due on October 14, 2019. Questions concerning the Research Impact Award may be directed to ourci AT_TOWSON.
| step |
date |
|---|---|
| Application Available | August 30 |
| Application Deadline | October 14 |
| Colleges Review Applications and Select Semi-Finalists | October 28 |
| URCI Committee Selects and Notifies Finalists | November 15 |
| Finalist Interviews | Late November |
| URCI Committee Selects and Notifies Recipients | December 15 |
To apply for a Research Impact Award, you must complete the online application form. Before completing the form, you should prepare the items listed below.
For items 2 through 5, write no more than 400 words. These are the most important parts of the application; please take time to compose them well with the guidance of your faculty mentor.
Your faculty mentor must submit a confidential letter of support to ourci AT_TOWSON by the published deadline date. This date will be announced on T3 and on this page. You should ensure that your faculty mentor will submit a supporting letter on your behalf. Faculty mentors should note the information about faculty responsibilities if the application is successful.
A small group of the finalists will be notified by the URCI Committee in late fall. Each finalist will be asked to conduct a short in-person presentation before committee members; the expected timing is late November.
An important aspect of the professional life of a scholar is the presentation of results in a professional arena. In recognition of this, students can be awarded any amount up to $300 to attend a professional meeting or conference at which the student will present an oral seminar or a research poster. To be eligible to request a travel grant, the student must be the main presenter of the work (if there are co-authors, only one of them is the presenter of record), and must have a confirmation letter from the conference organizers verifying that the presentation was accepted.
Unfortunately, URCI funds do not allow the university to fully support every student who is eligible. This means that your request to URCI may be only partially funded; and this is subject to the availability of funds.
When granting a travel award, there are three factors the committee considers:
Please be sure to apply for a travel grant as soon as you have the confirmation that your presentation has been accepted and students are eligible to receive travel funding only once per academic year.
| Apply by | notification by |
|---|---|
| 1st of the month | 15th of the month |
The Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry Committee is pleased to announce the 2019/2020 Research Impact Awards. Every college was represented in the highly-competitive applicant pool, and the following projects were selected because of the impact of the research on an significant disciplinary topic and the impact of the student's work on the university's scholarly community.