CURA application period open for AY 2019-20

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Academic Programs reminds UIC faculty members that the application period remains open for the AY 2019-2020 Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award (CURA).

The application can be accessed at https://cura.uic.edu/information-for-faculty/.

CURA provides an opportunity for faculty to hire an undergraduate researcher at no cost to faculty or the sponsoring department.

The application period will remain open until funds have been depleted or until the fourth week of the semester.

Announcement Details

The Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award is administered by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) to support undergraduate involvement in research and other creative and scholarly activities across campus.

The CURA program is intended to both assist UIC faculty members in the completion of research, scholarship or creative production and to provide a rich and rewarding educational experience for the student employee. You can read more about the program at https://cura.uic.edu/.

CURA supports faculty who work with students who have accepted Federal Work Study (FWS) as part of their current academic year’s financial aid package. The award covers the portion of the student researcher’s wages not paid for by the federal government under Federal Work Study. Based on the past academic year, we estimate that 75% of the student’s wages will come from the Federal Work Study funds granted to our campus and the remaining 25% will be covered by the CURA program, through a transfer of funds to the sponsoring department after the academic year has ended. Thus, CURA affords an opportunity to hire an undergraduate student researcher at no cost to faculty or the sponsoring department. Thanks to the backing of university leadership, last year CURA funded approximately 160 student-faculty collaborations at no cost to faculty or their departments.

If a student is not sure whether they have received FWS, please refer them to the Office of Financial Aid. Also, students who have not received FWS as part of their financial aid package can contact the Office of Financial Aid and request that they be considered for FWS; the student should specify that the FWS request is in connection with a potential CURA research position.

To participate in the CURA program, you will need to identify the work-study student(s) with whom you are interested in working. Then complete an online application on behalf of the student at https://cura.uic.edu/information-for-faculty/.

It is also helpful if you speak with the Business or HR Manager in your department about your intent to hire a student employee.
Awards are available for one semester or the entire academic year. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis in the order in which they are received. Each faculty member may apply to support up to three CURA students during an academic year. CURA is not intended to be combined with other major campus-based research funding programs such as LASURI, Honors College research grants, etc., other than to the extent that such awards will meet additional expenses unmet by CURA.

Applications will be accepted until the fall CURA fund is depleted or the end of the fourth week of the fall semester, whichever comes first. A spring semester application cycle will open in November.

In the upcoming days, UIC students will be reminded to search in the UIC Undergraduate Research Experience database to find faculty supervisors and mentors. If you have not done so, please register yourself and your project(s) here: https://ure.uic.edu/. If you are already registered, be sure your profile is up to date. You can mark your profile as active if you are returning from a leave or inactive if you are temporarily not recruiting students. Please do not remove your profile entirely unless you are leaving UIC permanently.

If you are interested in working with a student who does not have Federal Work Study this year, have the student speak with an academic advisor or Director of Undergraduate Studies to find out about options for course credit or other funded or sponsored programs in the degree-granting college. You can also refer students to the following webpage: http://ure.uic.edu/for_students_credit.php or they can email our@uic.edu.

If you have questions of your own, please feel free to email us in the Office of Undergraduate Research at our@uic.edu.

Thank you for your participation in the high-impact practice of undergraduate research, which contributes in a multitude of ways to positive educational outcomes for our students.

For more information, please contact:
James Lynn
jlynn@uic.edu