The Office of Research and Innovation Services and the Centre for Teaching and Learning invites proposals for projects that involve the University of Windsor undergraduates in research and scholarly activities and encourage faculty to mentor students as they pursue this research. The granting scheme is intended to support research for educational purposes, and it prioritizes initiatives involving a larger number of students over those that involve a few. Broadly defined, undergraduate research is any “inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” It can take many forms – ranging from students pursuing projects independently or in teams, either in the community, labs, classrooms, or elsewhere, under the supervision of a faculty member; or in courses designed around inquiry that students pursue as the core of their coursework. The opportunity to conduct research is one advantage of being an undergraduate at the University of Windsor. The maximum amount per grant is $2,000. Funded projects will be for a one-year period, but applicants may choose to conduct the project for a single semester during the one-year period. Due to limited funding, applicants may submit one proposal per cycle.
Note: This grant is not intended to support students who are completing an undergraduate thesis.
Objectives
The Undergraduate Research Experience Grant is intended to:
- develop student research curiosity and skills in critical and creative thinking, project management, and communication, which will enrich their subsequent academic and employment experiences
- provide high-quality research experiences to undergraduates
- strengthen faculty research programs, particularly those situated in areas with few or no graduate students, by helping them to develop a pool of well-trained undergraduate research assistants
- establish models and best practices for supporting and expanding undergraduate research at the university and in the local community
This grant will support a broad range of activities, providing that the emphasis of the project is undergraduate student learning through research, inquiry, or creative activity. Students may be involved in one or several phase(s) of research, including research design, research ethics board or animal care board application development, literature review, data collection, data analysis,2creative activity, or the dissemination of research findings through a broad range of media and formats. Examples of eligible undergraduate research experience projects include:
- developing and implementing an initiative that involves a team of undergraduate researchers (e.g., developing a research lab or studio, establishing an interdisciplinary network of undergraduate researchers, implementing course-based research projects, hosting an undergraduate research colloquium).
- conducting a research project. The project can be developed and led by one or more undergraduate students under the supervision of the applicant. Alternatively, a small number of undergraduates could contribute to a faculty research project in a substantial way. Projects with a broader impact on student learning are most likely to be funded.
- developing and delivering a workshop or series of workshops for undergraduates on particular research skills.
Applicant Eligibility
Participating undergraduate students may be enrolled in full-time or part-time studies at the University of Windsor. J.D. students are considered undergraduate students for the purposes of this grant. L.L. M. students are considered graduate level and are therefore ineligible. Bachelor of Education students are also eligible to participate in URE funding. The Principal Applicant must:•be a full-time University of Windsor faculty member, librarian, or ancillary academic staff who holds a tenured/continuing appointment, tenure-track/continuing appointment, or limited-term appointment; or•have adjunct status with a faculty or school on campus.In the case of applicants with limited-term positions at the University, the project timeline must demonstrate that the project will be completed before the end of the employment contract.Applicants may re-apply to the program in subsequent years if the proposal is for a different project than any previously awarded project.
Value and Duration
Grants of up to $2,000 will be awarded. The applicant will have a choice of the start date: September 15, January 15, or May 15. All funding must be expended within one year of the start date, although knowledge-mobilization activities (i.e., dissemination and community outreach) may continue up to six months past the end date.
Application Evaluation
In addition to the criteria used to assess other University of Windsor Internal Funding Opportunity applications, Undergraduate Research Experience applications will also be assessed on:
- Quality of proposal: The project is likely to engage undergraduates, and offers them an authentic research experience. Planned activities are consistent with intended student outcomes and clearly support student inquiry and learning. The assessment plan of the undergraduate experience in research is well designed.
- Innovation: The proposed project, and model for engaging undergraduate students, is novel or unique.
- Capability: The project team has the relevant expertise to guide the proposed student research and demonstrated skills in mentoring students. Participating students, if known, have the capability or aptitude to carry out responsibilities
- Knowledge mobilization plan: The plan for dissemination and/or community outreach offers students real opportunities to present their work to people concerned by the issues in question. The application identifies groups of people within academia and/or in the community that will benefit from the research, and the strategies to share findings are a good fit for those audiences (e.g., journal articles are a good fit for researchers, but not necessarily practitioners).
- Impact or potential outcomes (benefits) of the project: The proposed project will have a significant impact on student learning and skill development (a priority) and also potentially for the community or the discipline. Projects involving a broad range of students will have priority over those that involve a few.
- Sustainability: Strength of plans to extend or sustain the project beyond the funding period, particularly in involving undergraduate students in a sustainable fashion.
Reporting
Applicants should note that all funding awarded must be spent within one year of the project start date. Generally speaking this will include all research activities, however, exceptions may be made for knowledge mobilization activities occurring up to six months after the project end date. Please notify ORIS if you will have funds carrying over past the one-year end date!
Teams, ideally in conjunction with their student researchers, will submit a report on the research activities in which students were engaged, the outcomes of the project, and assessment of the experience. The report should describe the knowledge-mobilization event at which the faculty/student presented or plans to present. This final report will potentially be used on the University of Windsor website or in its publications.
Deadline: July 15, 2023
How to apply:
Starting in 2021, applications for the Undergraduate Research Experience program can be submitted through the ERSO Research Portal. Log in to ERSO, click on APPLY NEW, and select UWindsor Undergradutate Research Research Experience Grant from the list of available forms. In the form, click on the fourth tab, first sub-tab for further guidance in completing your application.