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The Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research will review applications with input from faculty experts. URCA submissions are evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Quality of writing
• Scholarly merit
• Impact on undergraduate researcher
• Primary Investigator (PI) track record (or potential track record for new PIs)
• Consideration will be given to feedback from end-of-year reports received by the Office of Undergraduate Research
• Consideration will be given to use of prior awarded funds and their deliverables from the Office of Undergraduate Research

Primary Investigators (PIs)

• • PIs must be under contract at ºÚÁÏÍø.
  • PIs can be full-time faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers

Students

• • Students must be current undergraduates at ºÚÁÏÍø.
  • Students who have graduated one semester prior are eligible for conference registration, travel to present at a conference, and publication costs only (in other words, the project is finished, and the only part left is presenting or publishing). The following criteria must be met by students who have recently graduated and are applying for URCA funds: 
    • They are KSU students at the time they have done the work, submitted to the conference or journal, and applied for the URCA
    • They list ºÚÁÏÍø in their affiliation on posters/powerpoints/conference registration/badges, etc.
    • They are covered by KSU insurance, or they sign a waiver releasing KSU from responsibility
    • It is no later than one term after graduation (summer if they graduate in spring; fall if they graduate in the summer; spring if they graduate in fall) 

• All KSU-supported research projects are administered in accordance with established University fiscal procedures and research policies. These include all travel regulations, policies relating to the protection of human subjects, and policies related to intellectual property rights. All publications and presentations must acknowledge the assistance of ºÚÁÏÍø.
• PIs and students are expected to obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval prior to collecting any data if the project includes research involving human or animal subjects.
• Students who are not funded the first time they submit are strongly urged to apply again if they can address the reviewers' concerns.
• One application per student for one project.  Each student is required to write his/her own application.  Copying from another student applicant will be considered as plagiarism and will be penalized accordingly.
  • Sections written by the PI (Primary Investigator) can be identical among applications from different students.
• Applications that exceed the stated word count maximums may be disqualified and not considered for funding.
• Applications that include additional documents that were not requested may be disqualified and not considered for funding.
• Requests for materials that could be obtained in another manner (e.g. a book available at the library, software available for free at ºÚÁÏÍø) will not be funded.
• Students who wish travel support must show they have been accepted to make a formal presentation as an individual (team or group presentations are not supported).
• Primary Investigators (PIs) and co-PIs can be funded for a maximum of $5,000 per year based on the availability of funding and at the discretion of the Office of Undergraduate Research.
• Violation of safety protocols or misuse of funds will result in ineligibility for future funding from the Office of Undergraduate for at least one year. The appropriate penalty will be determined by the Director of Undergraduate Research. Students found to misuse resources, including funding, from the Office of Undergraduate Research will be considered as violators of the KSU Code of Conduct and will be reported to the .

• After being notified of the award, recipients will have eight weeks to submit requests for purchasing. Recipients must contact the Office of Undergraduate Research (our@kennesaw.edu) within eight weeks after the initial notification, otherwise the funding will be considered forfeited.
  
  • An extension can potentially be granted at the discretion of the Director for Undergraduate Research on a case-by-case basis, and only for travel costs or delays from third-party vendors that are out of the University's control.
  • Any awarded funding must be spent by the end of March of the current fiscal year in order to comply with fiscal year deadlines. 
• PIs must complete surveys or other reporting requirements as requested by the Office of Undergraduate Research. PIs who fail to complete reporting requirements will not be eligible for funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research for one (1) year. 
  • This can potentially include abstract(s) of the project results and a list of the presentations/ publications/exhibitions from the work completed.
• Student recipients will be required to present at the Symposium of Student Scholars during Fall or Spring semester.
• Upon the project's completion, recipients must complete an assessment survey for the Office of Undergraduate Research that includes presentations/publications/exhibitions from the work completed. You will be emailed this survey at the end of the academic year.  
• PIs who receive any funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research will be requested to serve as a judge for the Symposium of Student Scholars and potentially as a reviewer for any future funding opportunities for undergraduate research. If these activities are not completed after requests from the Director, PIs will become ineligible for funding from OUR for at least one year.
• Student and PI recipients of Office of Undergraduate Research funding also agree to be featured in any future news stories as deemed appropriate by OUR

Student Application Section Questions:

1. Title of Project
2. Student Name
3. Student Email Address
4. Student Major
5. Anticipated Student Graduation Date
6. Primary Investigator (PI) Name
7. Primary Investigator (PI) Email Address
8. Primary Investigator (PI) Department
9. Co-Investigator(s) Names(s), Department(s), and Email Address(es)
10. Has the student completed all relevant safety and/or ethics training to conduct the specified research activity? (yes, no, not applicable)
11. The PI and students are expected to obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to collecting any data if the project includes research involving human or animal subjects. Has this project been granted approval by the IRB? (yes, no, not applicable)
12. Is the student currently enrolled in directed studies/directed methods/or other relevant research course designation with the listed PIs? (yes, no, not applicable)

13. Project Narrative (Must be written by student. The combined word count from the following five sub-sections cannot be more than a total of 750 words.)

    BACKGROUND. Provide brief, relevant scholarly or research context, including citations, that demonstrate how the research makes a unique contribution to the area of inquiry
    KEY RESEARCH QUESTION AND/OR CREATIVE PROJECT GOAL
    METHODS
    RESULTS (OR ANTICIPATED RESULTS)
    CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION

14. References
    Please upload a document list of references used in this application in the citation style used in your discipline (for example, MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) 

15. Budget Table and/or Quotes
    The current budget table can be downloaded from the application main page, under "Supplemental Documents"

16. Conference Acceptance
    If you are applying for an URCA to support travel to present at a conference, please attach a copy of your conference acceptance to your application.

Primary Investigator Section Questions:

1. Primary Investigator (PI) Statement (Written by PI; 300 words max)
   Describe your research portfolio (manuscripts, grants, presentations, awards, etc.) as well as your experience incorporating undergraduates into your research activities.
2. How does this project meet the definition of undergraduate research as defined by the Council on Undergraduate Research: "A mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge." (Written by PI; 300 words max)
   Briefly describe how this project meets this definition (application may be denied if criteria are not met).
   
   
3. Institutional Impact Statement (Written by PI; 200 words max)
   Describe the benefit to the institution related to this research activity (preliminary data for pursuing external funding, plans to publish/present, development of intellectual property, collaboration with reputable institutions, etc.).
   
   
4. Student Impact Statement (Written by PI; 400 words max) 
   Describe how this work will positively impact participating undergraduates immediately and in their future endeavors.

5. Previous Office of Undergraduate Research Funding (Written by PI)
   List and describe all sources of funding from the Office of Undergraduate Research for the past three years (name of funding, total amount, deliverables).

If you choose to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to write your proposal, abstract, or  presentation, it’s important to first seek approval from your Primary Investigator (PI). Even with approval, you must include a disclaimer in your submission that clearly indicates the role AI played in your work. Keep in mind that while AI can be a helpful resource, it’s not infallible – AI-generated content can contain inaccuracies or biased information. As the author, you are fully responsible for the accuracy, ethics, and quality of the content, even if AI-generated. Failure to acknowledge the use of AI tools not only misrepresents your work but also constitutes a breach of academic integrity.