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Research Proposal
Please upload a two (2) page single-spaced proposal (not including works cited). You should develop the proposal in collaboration with your mentor and receive their final approval. SURGE submissions will be evaluated based on the feasibility of and necessity of the proposed activities, as well as the disciplinary and personal impact of the project. Below we outline the OUR's expectations for a successful SURGE research or creative proposal, which should address ALL the following:
- Line of inquiry: Clearly state your Research question(s) or creative objective(s) in bold lettering.
- Background and significance: Situate the research question(s) or creative objective(s) within the broader disciplinary context. Explain how previous studies, concepts, or theoretical or critical frameworks inform your understanding of the problem, offer context for your approach, or provide a foundation for your methodology. Clearly link these references to your research question or creative objective and describe what new knowledge, perspective or method your work could contribute and why it matters for the field or broader community.
- Methods: Explain to a non-expert, academic audience (e.g., scholars from a different discipline) your methodological approach or creative process and your specific responsibilities. Describe the rationale behind each part of the process and how it addresses your research question or creative objective. Outline what you will measure, examine or create and how you will gather and analyze the data, texts or artifacts. Include the scope of your work (e.g., number of interviews, documents or samples to be analyzed) and specify how you will interpret your findings (e.g. the methods or criteria you will apply).
- Importance for the student: Discuss how this project will help you achieve your academic, personal, and/or professional goals. What specific skills or knowledge will you develop through this project that will benefit your future academic work or career? How is this faculty-mentored experience unique in helping develop those competencies?
Appendix (Optional)
Upload an appendix containing supporting materials. Possible appendix content includes, but is not limited to: works cited, sample survey or interview questions, a list of target archival materials, key figures, participant recruitment plan, etc.
Project Timeline
Provide a weekly timeline that outlines the work you will execute to achieve project outcomes and when it will be carried out. This document should help demonstrate the project's feasibility and help you monitor your progress over the summer. Relevant elements of this timeline include:
- Anticipated project period dates and estimated total work hours
- Key preparatory, training and methodological steps of the project
- Milestones and deliverables (i.e., what you will achieve or produce, such as an annotated bibliography, interview protocol, etc.)
- Critical communication points with your mentor (e.g., to obtain feedback)
Budget for Supply Supplement (Optional)
A limited number of $500 supply supplements will be available to cover consumable research supplies (e.g., chemical reagents, participant incentives, art supplies). To request this supplement, students must provide an itemized budget (i.e., specific items and quantities) of the resources needed to execute the project. Justification must accompany the budget, explaining why the chosen methodological approach and each resulting cost is essential to achieve the goals of the project.
Budget for Travel Supplement (Optional)
For research requiring extensive fieldwork and/or travel, a travel supplement up to $1000 may be requested. To request this supplement, students must provide an itemized budget (i.e., specific items and costs) of the requested travel funds.
- Allowable costs: transportation (e.g., airfare, ground transportation) and international travel expenses (e.g., visa fees, required global health insurance from GeoBlue, which costs $14-15 per week depending on travel location)
- Non-allowable costs: room and board (e.g., lodging, meals) and research supplies (e.g., archive admission, translation fees), which would be provided by the main SURGE award and the supply supplement, respectively
Faculty Nomination
SURGE awards are made based on a WashU faculty mentor nomination form, which consists of an information form and five brief short answers to the prompts below. Traditional letters of recommendation will not fulfill the nomination requirement.
- Student Potential: Describe the student’s commitment and capacity to undertake the proposed project. What experiences or indicators demonstrate the student’s readiness and potential to advance the work?
- Importance and Milestones: Describe the importance of the proposed research or creative inquiry activities to the student’s academic and professional development. Include milestones or products the student should achieve by the end of the research period and explain how these will contribute to their development.
- Feasibility: Address the feasibility of the project scope and timeline. What potential barriers or constraints could interfere with progression of the project, and how might the student circumvent them?
- Disciplinary Contribution: Discuss the potential contribution of the proposed project to the relevant field(s) of inquiry. What new knowledge, insights, tools, community impact, etc. might this project generate?
- Mentoring: Briefly outline your mentoring approach, including how you and/or your research group hope to support the student in reaching project objectives.
As noted above, the information form asks all mentors about cost sharing (50%) the SURGE award (maximum award: $5400). The OUR has limited funding for summer researchers; we consistently receive more applications than can be funded. As a result, we rely upon faculty contributions to maximize the number of opportunities that we can support.
We recognize funding may be unavailable, restricted, or allocated for other priorities, but faculty mentors with funding that encompasses the student’s project and permits payment of undergraduate students are expected to cost-share. Students are welcome to apply for a SURGE award regardless of faculty funds.
About
The SURGE program merges two previously distinct summer awards, BioSURF and SURA, into a unified OUR summer award program. This strategic merger not only offers a streamlined student and faculty experience, but it also reflects and encompasses the diverse range of inter-, cross-, and transdisciplinary inquiry that WashU undergraduates and WashU faculty engage in.
SURGE offers increased flexibility for students, who can collaborate with their faculty mentors to design a summer project timeline that best meets their goals and needs. SURGE also invites students into an inclusive and enriching undergraduate research community, which welcomes all methods and modalities of systematic inquiry.
OUR staff and summer WashU Research Ambassadors (WRAPers) look forward to supporting SURGE participants as they grow their skills, confidence, and independence as researchers!