Undergraduate and graduate students can apply for funding (up to $1,000) to support their research projects. Funding is supported by the Biology Department, the COSE, and the Graduate School.
Proposals will be submitted to the COSE Associate Dean. The Graduate School has given their estimated annual allotment of monies from the URC to COSE. Then, COSE will manage the disbursement process. Guidelines will follow the URC Research Funding Guidebook (/urc/).
Awards amount will be up to $1,000 total for research and travel. The typical allocations are URC ($500 pre-allocated to COSE), COSE $250, and Dept $250.
Research compliance requirements must be followed: IRB or IACUC approval, if needed.
Each proposal must be written by the student, with guidance from the mentor.
After submission to the COSE Associate Dean, proposals will be forwarded to a COSE Committee to determine funding. If more money is needed beyond the COSE allocation of $750, proposals will be forwarded to the Dept representative for Dept funding.
Students should be aware that submission doesn’t guarantee approval; take this into consideration when turning in proposals. Students may be asked to revise their proposal as a learning process. The review process is meant to hold students to a high standard for both scientific process and scientific writing
Funded projects must be presented at the COSE poster session and/or at a state/national/international conference.
A student may only get funding once per year. Each faculty mentor can up to three students per year be awarded for funding.
Proposal format
Proposals should have a maximum length of 3 pages, plus a cover sheet and a budget summary page. This does not include the reference list.
For Research:
Project title
- Introduction, including a problem statement and objectives. The introduction should be supported by a review of relevant past and current literature, including at least 5 primary or secondary literature citations, fully referenced at the end of the proposal.
- Methods. Methodologies you will use to accomplish your research project. Will other students, faculty, etc. work with you to accomplish the goals of this project? How much work will you do independently of others?
- Proposed analysis, proposed timeframe
- Expected outcomes/significance
- Budget
For Travel:
- Project title
- Copy of abstract submitted
- If applicable, copy of acceptance to conference
- Expected outcome/significance of travel