Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program (HSURP) May ...

1. General Information:Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program (HSURP)May 26-July 21, 2009• VCU faculty members of any rank and discipline may serve as a faculty mentor.• HSURP runs for eight weeks during the summer (Expected dates are May 26 to July 21,2009).• Faculty must monitor the number of hours a student is involved in the research and submit atime sheet at the end of the program.• Depending upon the type of project, we understand that student work hours may vary week toweek. However, students are expected to work an average of 15 to 20 hours per week on theirproject. Per University policy, students may not work more than 40 hours a week.2. Proposal Selection Criteria: The Honors College places high value on evidence of thefollowing areas when reviewing the proposals:• The quality of the proposed research project. It is imperative that students are engaged inresearch activities and not administrative tasks.• Anticipated student learning outcomes should be clearly stated in the proposal.• The student will receive training in research techniques and methodologies that couldeventually allow the student to undertake more independent research, such as seniorproject or graduate/professional school study.• The student will regularly be engaged with the larger research question relating to his/herspecific research tasks (e.g., what’s the big picture, clearly understand the purpose of theproject).3. Faculty Stipend: 9/10 and 11/12 month faculty may request a stipend up to $500 to coversupplies and other materials needed for the student researcher (e.g., chemicals, films, tapes,photocopying, art materials, scientific and laboratory supplies).4. Please note that the responsibility of the faculty mentor will extend beyond the official eightweektimeframe. For example, students are required to present their research at either an oncampusundergraduate research poster session/symposium, a national/ regionalundergraduate research conference or a discipline specific conference. As students preparefor this presentation, the guidance of their faculty mentor is critical. Students will needguidance with submitting abstracts to conferences and preparing poster/oral presentations and

undergraduate research journal submissions. Faculty mentors are also encouraged to attendforums in which their undergraduate researcher will be presenting their research.5. Deadlines for Research Proposals: To allow us sufficient time for informing students aboutsummer projects, proposals received by Jan. 16, 2009 will receive priority consideration.6. Student Selection:• The Honors College will advertise the research projects and collect student applications.However, it is the responsibility of the principal investigator to interview the applicants toensure that the applicant selected understands the project, and his/her role andresponsibilities.• In addition, students may apply for up to three research positions. Many honor students willbe very competitive and receive multiple offers to participate in undergraduate researchprojects. Therefore, there are no guarantees that a research position will be filled basedonly on the Honors College’s acceptance of a faculty proposal. Further, faculty areencouraged to identify honor students who may be well suited to fill their researchpositions. For more information about how students can join the Honors College, visitwww.honors.vcu.edu/prospective/index.html7. Review of ProposalsProposal can receive a maximum of 30 points based on the following(Max 5 points) A. Project goals/description(Max 5 points) B. Methods the student will utilize to achieve research goals(Max 5 points) C. Role of the faculty mentor(Max 5 points) D. Role of the student(Max 5 points) E. Demonstrated outcome with respect to what the student will gain and what yourresearch program will gainIf an HSURP proposal is missing a given section, the proposal receives a score of ZERO for thatsection.8. Other Information:• Depending upon funding availability, on-campus housing is provided to studentresearchers.• Students receive a stipend of $1,500 in installments. The final payment will not be issueduntil the student has presented his/her research in a public forum. Consequently, it isimperative that all research projects included in HSURP are amenable to students meetingthis requirement.

• Students are expected to attend weekly research or professional development workshops.These workshops are intended to enhance the students overall learning experience andnot interfere with the students’ research responsibilities.• Generally, the responsibilities of the faculty mentor will extend beyond the official eightweektimeframe. For example, students are required to present their research at either anon-campus research symposium or professional conference. As students prepare for thispresentation, the guidance of their faculty mentor is critical. Students will need guidancewith submitting abstracts to conferences and preparing poster/oral presentations andundergraduate research journal submissions. Faculty mentors are also encouraged toshow their support by attending forums where their undergraduate researcher (mentee) willpresent research results.• The faculty mentor and student researcher should prepare a plan outlining expectationsand responsibilities for the student after the 8-week period of HSURP (e.g., assisting withcompleting the research, scheduling regular meetings, preparing the student forpresentations).