Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Grant Program

Students who meet the following requirements are eligible to apply:

• Must be a sophomore, junior, or senior (by credit hour) 
• Must have at least two semesters remaining at WSU, including the semester in which they apply for the grant (i.e, a senior graduating spring 2024 would be eligible to apply in fall 2023).
• Must have a faculty research mentor who is willing to submit a statement in support of the project
• Has not received funds from this program in the past
• Must present this project at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Forum, held annually in the spring

Note: Preference is given to students whose projects are not currently receiving funding from another source (e.g., faculty mentor grants).

Typically, grants can be used for travel in direct support of the research project (e.g., books, field sites, museums, historic sites), as well as most materials and equipment. When applicable, all purchases (e.g., leftover materials and equipment) must remain at WSU after the project is completed as property of the mentor’s department. Grants may be used for participant incentives with proof of appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Grants MAY NOT be used for stipends.

If awarded, the student-faculty team agrees to the following:

1. Funds must be used within one year from the date of the award. *If the research project spending for a student extends beyond one year, the faculty mentor may request an extension by emailing undergraduateresearch@wichita.edu*
2. Students will complete the appropriate Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training.
3. Students will follow all necessary IRB and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) compliance requirements when applicable.
4. Grant recipients will present or publish the results at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Forum (URCAF), held annually in the spring. Students are encouraged to pursue additional external opportunities as well.
5. Grant recipients are expected to participate in undergraduate student research workshops and programming whenever possible.
6. Grant recipients must acknowledge the Wichita State University Undergraduate Student Research Grant in any presentations or publications that result from the research or creative activity conducted through the grant.

 

It is expected that students will work with their faculty advisor to create complete, quality proposals.  

Other resources include:

• URCA Application Worksheet - Use this to draft your proposal sections before entering the application form.  It can also be sent to faculty advisors for comments before submitting.
• Application samples:  Abstract; Objective; Background; Methodology; Expected Outcomes; Travel to Conference

• Appropriateness of Budget: The requested budget is justified and necessary for the completion of the project. Justification for budget should include website links or price quotes to show actual cost of materials.  
• Mentor Support: The mentor endorses the project and assures the reviewers that no other funds exist for parts/all of the project.
• Strength of Proposal: Proposals must be clear, concise, and understandable for faculty from a wide variety of backgrounds. Strong proposals will also meet the following criteria:
  • Clear focus or central research question: The grant explicitly states what the project will accomplish. There is a clear central idea, hypothesis, or objective.
  • Sound methodology: Methodology clearly conveys how the project will be executed and how data/information will be obtained.
  • Contribution to the field or discussion of potential impact: There is an explanation of (1) the significance or use of the project, (2) the worth of the project and (3) what new knowledge, understanding, or insight will be gained.
• Timeline/Plan of Work: The student outlines the time necessary to complete the project successfully and the project can be reasonably completed in that time. The timeline also includes the possible publication and presentation opportunities and submission deadlines.

Faculty Letters of Support are an important part of the application. Applications without a coresponding letter can not be reviewed.  It is the responsibillity of the student to ensure that faculty mentors are aware of deadlines.

Faculty Mentors may submit their letter of support here.

The Cohen Honors College coordinates with the Office of Research and Technology Transfer to generate a new organization and fund number for the grant, assigned to the principal investigator. These numbers will be sent to the department contact for use on purchases or reimbursements. You can find the budget for these accounts in Reporting Services by clicking on Grant-Research Reporting, then the option that is live to date ("LTD") then choosing the appropriate options from the drop down menus.

Reimbursements are handled through each individual department. Travel processes are different depending on if the grant winner is a student employee or not. Non-student employees will be processed using an ICD and student employees will be processed using TEM. When a student wins a grant, we will send further instructions about the reimbursement process to each department.

If the student is participating in a research project that has previously received IRB/IACUC approval, but the student was not listed as a co-investigator, the principal investigator will need to submit an IRB addendum or email proposals@wichita.edu to get the correct forms for IACUC.

If you have questions, please contact undergraduateresearch@wichita.edu.

For conference travel for presentations, acceptance confirmation is required before dispersal of funds but not necessary prior to application. If a group of students will be making multiple presentations at one conference, submit one travel grant for the entire group.

If awarded this grant for travel, you will have to fill out and submit the University-Sanctioned Student Travel Registration Form. 

The URCA Committee reveiws grant applications four times a year. Applicants will generally be notified the following week of committee's decision, depending on number of applications and time of year. 

Application Deadlines:

• March 15 for grants to begin in summer

Mouhamad Houssein Ballout, Psychology     Facial Emotion Recognition in Adult Violent Offenders
Faculty Mentor: C. Brendan Clark, Psychology 

Sierra Bauman, Honors Baccalaureate     Philosophy in Context: Universal and Individualistic 
Faculty Mentor: Noell Birondo, Philosophy

Katie Carley, Communication Sciences and Disorders     Patterns and Levels of Intensity in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Faculty Mentor: Doug Parham, Communication Sciences and Disorders 

Sandra Carlo, Honors Baccalaureate     An Exploration of Sexuality in Popular Media Through Movement
Faculty Mentor: Cheyla Clawson, Dance

Lucy Cook, Communication Sciences and Disorders     Effectiveness of anti-slip patch to assess lingual performance with the IOPI
Faculty Mentor: Heidi Bell, Human Performance Studies 

Nelson Ghee, Areospace Engineering     The Application of Tungsten Sulphide for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Faculty Mentor: Wei Wei, Mechanical Engineering 

Wyel Halimeh, Chemistry     Surfactant-Based Colloidal Systems to Promote Photo Induced Reduction of Silver Nanoparticles
Faculty Mentor: Doug English, Chemistry 

Emily Johnson, Mechanical Engineering     Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of a Jellyfish Robot for Underwater Applications
Faculty Mentor: Sindhu Preetham Burugupally, Mechanical Engineering 

Shuai Liang, Finance     Understanding the current context of career decision-making difficulties for Asian international students
Faculty Mentor: Jiaqi Li, Counseling, Educational Leadership, Educational and School Psychology (CLES) 

Casey Palmer, Biology     Examining LDH function and stability in extremophiles hypsibius dujardini through protein engineering
Faculty Mentor: Moriah Beck, Chemistry 

Sean Sadat, Mechanical Engineering     USAVE: Universal Smart Air Vent for Residential and Commercial Applications
Faculty Mentor: Sindhu Preetham Burugupally, Mechanical Engineering