From The College:
Undergraduate Research Grants
One of the great strengths of the University of Pennsylvania is its
capacity to offer significant research experiences to its
undergraduates. The College of Arts and Sciences each year makes
available a number of Undergraduate Research Grants to support original
research and scholarship by students in the College. With eight grants
developed and funded in perpetuity by alumni and the College Alumni
Society, this program has grown with the subsequent establishment of the
Dean's Research Award by alumnus Dr. Harry E. Gruber.
These grants are intended to help pay the costs of research
projects proposed by students and approved by a faculty panel.
The grants will be administered according to the following
guidelines:
- The project shall represent original research or
scholarship allowing the student to make a significant contribution to
knowledge.
- The project shall be largely conceived and executed by the
student and not simply represent faculty research in which the student
assists.
- Grants will be made only for research that is conducted
after the proposal has been approved. Decisions will be made by April
of each academic year for projects that are to be carried out during the
summer or the following academic year. In no case will projects already
completed be funded.
- Each approved project shall have a faculty advisor who
will normally be a member of the SAS standing faculty. In some cases, a
qualified advisor from outside the SAS faculty may be assigned, subject
to the approval of the student's undergraduate chair or program
director.
- Students awarded these grants are expected to document
their research in the form of a formal research paper and to present
their papers orally at a meeting of faculty and peers in their fields.
The meetings will be held prior to or during the subsequent Alumni
Weekend. Copies of the papers shall be submitted to the alumni donors
as well as the College Alumni Society or other funding organization as
appropriate. Recipients are expected to complete their projects before
graduation, and therefore students in their final semester are
ineligible to apply.
- Funding provided should be used to help defray the
student's research costs and should not be a substitute for financial
aid for which he or she is otherwise eligible nor for the advisor's
research funding.
Types of expense to which the funds may be applied include travel
to libraries, museums, archives, and research sites; living expenses
that would enable the student to remain at the University during the
summer; research equipment and supplies, including books, films, and
photocopying; computer or laboratory fees; and, specialized computer
peripherals and software. Items costing $500 or more with a useful life
of one year or more must be purchased with a University purchase
requisition and will remain the property of the University.
Last year's awards ranged from $750 to $1,000; the maximum for each
award this year is expected to be about $1,000.
Students will be expected to submit a final report of expenditures
to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.
Application Procedures: Proposals Due by March 1
- Obtain an application form from:
Dr. Robert A. Rescorla
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
College of Arts and Sciences
133 South 36th Street, Mezzanine/3246
- In consultation with a prospective faculty advisor and
with the undergraduate chair in your major department or your major
program director, prepare a prospectus describing the background to the
proposed topic, the main thesis or hypothesis to be investigated, the
method or methods to be used, and a budget.
- Request a letter of recommendation from your advisor in
support of your project.
- Obtain signature of your project advisor and your
undergraduate chair on the application form.
- Make 7 copies of the entire proposal (application form,
prospectus, and budget). Give one copy to your undergraduate chair, one
copy to your advisor, and the other 5 copies, plus the signed original,
to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.
- Research involving animal or human subjects or hazardous
materials must also be submitted at the same time for approval by the
relevant University oversight committees. Students should consult with
their advisors.
- Proposals will be reviewed by a faculty committee
designated by the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.
- Students whose projects are approved may want to register
for Independent Study in their departments or programs. Credit may be
given for one or two semesters, at the discretion of the undergraduate
chair or program director.
Almanac
February 20, 1996
Volume 42 Number 21
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