Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative

This program seeks to emphasize individual curiosity and initiative, intellectual ambition, and scholarly work conducted individually or in groups. Each project requires a College of Education faculty mentor. Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to students whose applications demonstrate a sound conception of the proposed work and evidence of the interest and ability to complete the project successfully.

There are two summer undergraduate research tracks:

• Track 1: 20 hours/week over eight weeks
• Track 2: 10 hours/week over eight weeks 

Projects are limited to a maximum of two students and two faculty mentors per project.

Stipends for the Undergraduate Researchers

Undergraduate researchers will receive a stipend of $15/hour with the possibility to earn credit within their major. 

Stipends for Faculty

The available faculty stipend for each track is:

• Track 1 (20 hours/week over eight weeks): $2,000 total to provide mentorship to an undergraduate student researcher (or researchers)
• Track 2 (10 hours/week over eight weeks): $1,000 total to provide mentorship to an undergraduate student researcher (or researchers)

The stipends listed are the maximum available for a faculty mentor on a single project. If faculty work as a team (maximum of 2), the stipend must be split. 

Faculty mentors should provide support through completion of the researcher's final report and public presentation. 

About the Summer Scholar Research Grant Awards

Eligibility

• Applicant shall be a currently enrolled undergraduate student who will continue working towards a bachelor’s degree at Towson University in the fall semester following completion of the summer project.
• Applicant shall complete and submit all portions of the application by the due date.
• Applicant shall agree to meet all responsibilities of the award.
• The project shall not be part of a regular class assignment for the student’s major or minor, though it could build from a project which originated in a regular course offering.

Responsibilities of the Summer Scholar Student

• Awards are in 10 hour/week increments, with 10 hours per week the minimum and 20 hours per week the maximum. Undergraduate researchers shall devote the appropriate time awarded per week for a total of eight weeks.
• Participating students may enroll in a maximum of only one three or four-credit summer courses and agree to make no commitment to other fixed work obligations (whether as employment, internship, or as a volunteer) for more than 10-hours per week while conducting summer research. However, an undergraduate student applicant and faculty mentor may apply for exemption to the summer course enrollment and 10-hour /week work obligation limits to address extenuating circumstances (e.g., addressing course prerequisites, EMPOWER program, etc.). The request should address why the applicant needs the exemption and how both the student and faculty mentor can still fulfill the requirements of the summer research with the added course credits and/or other work obligations. Please also see Note 2 in the "Special Considerations" section on the incorporation of volunteer work as part of the project.
• Summer undergraduate researchers shall provide a written report to the faculty mentor for review and an electronic copy of the final version of this report to the COE Dean’s Office in Hawkins Hall by September 30. Although no minimum length for this report will be specified, it should reflect a scope of research and writing associated with the time invested. In doing so, each participating student agrees that the report may be posted on a college or university website to share the academic outcomes and successes of the Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative.
• Student researcher shall provide a public presentation of the results of the project work within an existing context for student research presentations or at an event created for the purpose of this presentation by the second Friday of October of the award calendar year.
• Student researcher shall complete any requested informational surveys connected with their project.

Faculty Expectations

• The faculty mentor is expected to work directly and communicate a minimum of three times a week during the award period to advise the student and to assess progress.
• The faculty mentor is responsible for reviewing the final report before it is submitted to the COE Dean’s Office in Hawkins Hall and confirming that the terms of the grant are fulfilled regarding time spent on research and outcomes.
• If project results are part of a group or faculty-led faculty project, the student researchers should receive co-author credit. If, after the completion of the project, the faculty member does not feel that such credit is earned, an exception must be granted by the department chair and Chair of the COE Faculty Development and Research Committee (FDRC).

Award Administration

• Each student receiving a summer undergraduate research award will be paid an hourly rate of $15/hour.
• The faculty advisor will be asked to certify that the student has completed a project in line with the proposal made during the application process, accomplished work appropriate to the time commitment associated with the grant and delivered a written report/analysis or creative product (as applicable) and made a public presentation on the project.
• It is the responsibility of both the student researcher and faculty mentor to make a positive affirmation of the expectations of the summer research project.

Special Considerations

• Note 1: If additional funds are available, limited funds of $200 may be available to the student for supplies, in addition to the stipend. A budget and explanation of need and purpose of materials for the project will be required at the time of application.
• Note 2: In some instances, a case may be made that voluntary engagements in the community or with an organization are part of a research process. It is the responsibility of the student to make a credible case in proposing a project that this engagement is essential to the research, that the research aspects of the project are fully and substantively defined, and that the result of the project will be a meaningful research report meeting the scholarly, theoretical, and analytical standards of the project’s discipline. The proposal must also establish the maximum number of hours per week that would be devoted to volunteer engagements and the time committed to scholarly research and analysis.

Application Requirements

• A description of the project
• A brief narrative of the background literature with relevant references
• Strategies to be used or methods for conducting the research project
• The student's background or preparation for the project
• Schedule of work planned 
• If students are working as part of a group, the individual student’s role, expected contributions, and benefits shall be clearly delineated. An additional paragraph describing each member of the group’s role, including faculty if a faculty-led project, must be submitted with the application.
• If an exemption to the summer course enrollment and 10-hour/week work obligation limit is needed, explain why the exemption is needed and how both the student researcher and faculty mentor will fulfill all requirements of the research.
• Evidence of IRB or IACUC approval or status, if applicable.
• Applications must be submitted by May 9th

Award Winners

2024

student Name	faculty mentor	project title
Isabella DeRegis	Pamela Hickey and Vicki McQuitty ELED	Teacher Candidate Choices in Linguistically Diverse Writing Instruction
Joana Elisa Beatriz Gonzales	Suzhen Duan LTDM	Examining the Relationship Between Community-Building Activities and Student Engagement within STEM Extracurricular Environments
Alexandra Hernandez	Brian Miller ELED	Emotionality in YouTube Instructional Videos
Maya Hill	Rachel Billman and Kandace Hoppin SPED	Technology and Play-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Special Education: A Review of the Literature
Myah Porter	Kandace Hoppin SPED	InSpECTing & Reflecting: A Self-Study of Preservice Computational Thinking Knowledge and Teaching Skills
Sujata Regmi	Hoda Harati LTDM	Future STEM Leaders: Cultivating Confidence and Skills in Girls through Project-Based Coding Clubs
Arianna Snead and Kathlyn Wilson	Deneen Dixon-Payne ELED	Exploring Culturally Responsive Education: A Pre-service Teacher's Autoethnographic Journey
Gabriel Thomas	Gregory Knollman and Briella Baer Chen SPED	Empowering Transition: Exploring Factors Shaping Post-Secondary Paths for Students with Disabilities

2023

student Name	faculty mentor	project title
Brooke Buchner	Amy Noggle ECED	ECSE Access Creating Accessible Degree Pathways for the Maryland Child Care Workforce
Amina Carter	Laura Jacobs SMED	Where Have the Black Teachers Gone? A Look into the College Majors of Black Undergraduate Students
Marieta Davis	Deneen Dixon-Payne ELED	From Learner to Educator: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Pedagogical Implications in Social Studies
Isabella DeRegis	Pamela Hickey and Vicki McQuitty ELED	Surfacing Teacher Candidates' Writing Knowledge
Isabella DeRegis	Brian Miller ELED	Emotional Impact of Science Textbooks
Lindzie Gordon	Briella Baer Chen, Gregory Knollman and Kay Holman SPED	Applying Mixed Methods to Evaluate and Improve Special Educator Preparation
David Kuriny	Laura Jacobs SMED	What’s the Buzz? Gauging Social Media Integration into Teaching English Language Arts (ELA) Skills and Content
Julia Murphy	Rachel Billman SPED	Analyzing Computational Thinking Content and Literature in Special Education
Maggie Rink	Jennifer Pett and Sara Hooks ECED	Effects of technology enhanced pedagogy on teacher candidates’ knowledge and skills for communicating meaningful feedback to learners
Alisha Saine	Ocie Watson-Thompson, Sara Hooks and Jennifer Pett ECED	Promoting Engagement and Advocacy in Undergraduate Teacher Preparation

2022

student Name	faculty mentor	project title
Adetokunbo Adekoga	Qing Li LTDM	Computer Science Education and Marginalized Learners: A Focus on Pre-service Teachers
Viktorria McCormick	Qing Li LTDM	Promoting Equity with Marginalized Learners through Enhanced Computational Thinking Skills
Melissa Perla	Pamela Hickey and Vicki McQuitty ELED	Inviting Code-meshing into Children’s Writing

2021

student Name	faculty mentor	project title	Year
Ariana Bennaim	Rachel Billman  SPED	Computational Thinking and Special Education Teacher Preparation	2021
Joshua Betz	Jenny Kouo  SPED	Piloting and Iteration of the Comprehensive Autism Resource Environment (CARE) Application in the Pediatric Emergency Department	2021
AJ Malicdem	Perpie Liwanag ELED	Critical Analysis of Pre-service Teachers Global/Multicultural Text Set Projects	2021
Amy Penn	Pamela Hickey and Vicki McQuitty ELED	Writing Conferences with Linguistically Diverse Elementary Students	2021

2020

student Name	faculty mentor	project title
Taylor Brown and Brianna Staples	Jenny Kouo SPED	Teacher Candidates Preparation through Syllabi Research and Strengthening the Alignment of Curriculum/Methods of Instruction for Students with Disabilities (PreK-12) and Universal Design for Learning: Addressing Learner Variability
Alexis Hahn and Sarah Morton	Jenny Kouo SPED	Supporting Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Engineering: Building an Inclusive Curriculum that Cultivates Engineering Dispositions and Other Collateral Skills
Laura Eichhorn and Jenna Jaeger	Brian Miller ELED	Sentiment Analysis of Educational Textbooks
Ember Hannesson and Brianna Staples	Perpie Liwanag ELED	The Use of Global & Multicultural Literature to Enhance the Teaching of Literacy