The Undergraduate Research Academy (URA) offers funds of up to a $4,000 award to student-faculty mentorship pairs who collaborate on a faculty-chosen research project over the summer. Applications are due March 31.
Students of all majors can apply and are required to be a junior or senior-standing in the summer semester they apply for. The faculty must be tenure-track, tenured or a research appointment faculty, which are non-tenured faculty members who focus on research rather than instruction.
Most of the grant money is expected to be used to cover the cost of employing the student as a research assistant and only a maximum of $1,000 can be used for expenses outside of student pay.
Previous participants may re-apply, but preference will be given to those who are new to the program.
According to Kelly McNear, the director of the center for student research, URA participants have 14 percent higher GPAs and an 81 percent higher graduation rate than non-URA students. They are also twice as likely to be accepted to graduate school.
Participation in the program can be a strong resume builder and give students insights into possible career goals and opportunities. URA participants can also earn UCCS micro-credentials, including badges that can be added to their resumes.
“I was a first-generation college student, and I didn’t even know that undergraduate research was something that existed, and I hadn’t even considered graduate school, so I think it just gives more career opportunities and ideas about your future that you might not have known,” McNear said.
Applications will be judged based on the quality of the student’s essay, the mentorship’s plan and the project proposal, the positive impact the research will have on the student’s academics and/or the faculty member’s professional goals and the amount of available funding.
Applications may be accepted conditionally, given a decrease in the requested funds.
The acceptance rate for the program is between 40 to 60 percent. The CSR receives 30 to 40 applications each year and funds 15 to 20.
Selected students must engage in an estimated 200 hours of research, attend a welcome meeting in the week of May 19, three workshops in the summer, a responsible conduct of research meeting and present their research at a conference of their choosing.
Conferences include Mountain Lion Research Day in December 2026 and Colorado Springs Undergraduate Research Forum in spring 2027.
Exact dates are to be determined, but workshops will take place during the weeks of June 9, June 23, July 14 and a half-day workshop in August.
Research must be completed in early August, although fund extensions will be granted through the fall semester if the faculty member proves there is a research purpose.
Funding is provided by the Office of Research, external grants and colleges within the university, according to McNear.
Students can apply and learn more here.
Clyde. Photo by the UCCS Photography Database.