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Undergraduate Research & Scholarly Activity

The Undergraduate Research Scholarly Activity (URSA) Grant is a Foundation-based grant for funding research activities and presentations. All SMSU undergraduate students are eligible and encouraged to apply. Grants of up to $1,000 per year will be issued on a competitive basis. Applications will be accepted in mid-September and mid-February. Watch campus publications and announcements for application announcements and deadlines.


Accepting Applications February 3 – February 24, 2025

Information and Guidelines for Applicants

The SMSU Foundation funds the Undergraduate Research Student Award. The SMSU URSA Committee (URSAC) awards URSA grants to assist students in improving their research and presentation skills in a professional setting.

Basic Information for Applicants

Eligibility

All SMSU current undergraduate students are eligible to receive an URSA Grant. Undergraduates are eligible to receive an URSA grant in any application review cycle of the academic year in which they have a credit load of 12 or more credits. Students may apply for no more than one award per academic year.

Application Review Cycles 

There are two annual URSA review cycles, with deadlines in mid-September and mid-February. At the beginning of each review cycle, faculty, department chairs and students will receive notification of submission guidelines, including where to submit applications.

Generally, applications should cover activities happening during the semester in which the application is submitted. Applicants may appeal situations to the committee. For financial reasons, the committee reserves the right to request that an applicant resubmit an application during a future review cycle. Late applications are not accepted. However, retroactive requests can be submitted if the application is submitted during the first application cycle following the activity and within the same academic year as the activity. Students must use their award funds within one year of notification or before graduation, whichever comes first. Any unused funds will be returned to URSA. Any student who is in the year of graduation and receives an URSA grant must begin and complete their proposed activity within the semester during which they applied for the grant.

Award Amounts

All eligible students may receive up to $1,000 in any academic calendar period. A student who receives less than the maximum amount in one review cycle may submit another request in a later cycle, so long as the total amount of the grants does not exceed $1,000 in the academic year. Please note that all students must arrange authorization for out-of-state and international travel prior to the trip. This can be done with the assistance of the mentoring faculty member.

Competitive Funding

The university does not receive enough funding for every student to receive the maximum potential amount each calendar year. As a result, URSAs are competitive in nature, and the URSA Committee must sometimes pro-rate awards depending on the amount of funding available and the number of qualified grant applications. In the event that awards must be pro-rated, funding for quality proposed research activities will be prioritized. Other projects would be funded on an equal percentage basis.


The Application Process

Preparing and Submitting an Application 

Applications must meet quality research standards for a university setting. The committee expects brief, clearly written requests. 

Application Process Checklist

  1. URSA Grant Application

  2. Project Name and Description

  3. Project Abstract

  4. Faculty Mentor Support Letter

  5. Budget Breakdown

  6. Citi Training Documentation (if applicable)

  7. IRB Approval/IRB Application Summary (if applicable)

  8. Conference Name, Location, Dates (if applicable)

  9. Conference Proposal Acceptance

  10. Conference Application (if pending status)

  11. Research Project Rubric

Applicants are encouraged to consult with their faculty mentor prior to submission. Applications must be submitted online using the URSA Grant Application located on the URSA Webpage. Any questions may be directed to the chair of the URSAC.

Revising Applications 

An URSA grant is made for the specific activity described in the application. Grant recipients must request the approval of URSAC in advance if they plan to make any significant revisions to the funded activity. Approval of revised applications is subject to approval by the committee.

URSAC may request information from the applicant to clarify the nature of the project.


Award Notification

Follow-up Presentations 

URSA recipients are required to present a follow-up presentation on the SMSU Campus upon completing the funded activity. Students will work with URSAC to determine the designated presentation dates and times. Students without follow-up reports are ineligible to receive future grants. Students may also be asked to present for the funding foundation.

Expense Reports 

All expenses covered by the URSA grant will be reimbursed only after the URSA grantee submits an expense report accompanied by the corresponding receipts. Meals and mileage reimbursement do not require receipts and can be reimbursed up to the approved rates. Award recipients may consult with their faculty mentor to complete these reports. The cost center number required on the expense report is specific to each recipient’s grant and can be located in the award email. The expense report form and meal and mileage reimbursement rates can be found on the Business Services webpage on travel authorization and expense reimbursement.