Research Exposure Course Development Opportunities
The University’s QEP seeks to improve awareness of what it means to be a research university, align the missions of producing world class research and providing a world class undergraduate education, and promote opportunities for students to engage in research and scholarship.
While many undergraduate students at Carolina engage in mentored research, the focus is typically limited to the research itself, and students do not gain the skills necessary to communicate their work to the scholarly community and broader society. The research exposure course initiative will support courses that promote development of scholarly writing, critical scholarly literature review, and research presentation skills that are not part of the typical undergraduate research experience.
Two opportunities are supported by the QEP under the Research Exposure program:
Research-Related Skills (RRS) courses can be stand-alone courses or students in these courses can be enrolled in a research-intensive undergraduate research course (e.g. RELI/ANTH/PSYC 395) for a total of 3 credits and enroll in an additional 1 credit recitation section that will meet weekly in group settings similar to “journal club” or “research group” meetings. RRS courses could be organized around a specific area of research or more general in nature. A variety of assignments could be implemented, including in-class critical analyses of literature, writing abstracts, review articles or grant proposals, “chalk talks” about students’ own research, as well as other discipline-specific assignments. RRS courses should also include peer review and guided participation led by the instructor. One example of Research Exposure type of stand-alone courses are the C.R.E.A.T.E. courses which you can learn about at this link.
“I loved that we were able to research things that we were particularly interested in, rather than just handed something of little interest to us.”
Undergraduate Research Consultant Teams (URCT) courses are small “strike teams” of students from multiple disciplines who will execute well-defined, one semester projects guided by a faculty adviser. The goals of the URCT program are to (1) provide students with opportunities for inquiry and discovery in the context of real-world cutting-edge research, and (2) foster interactions between disciplines (e.g. Humanities and Nature and Social Sciences) that reflect the diversity of perspectives necessary to solve society’s problems.
RRS & URCT COURSE DEVELOPMENT REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
CALL FOR RESEARCH-RELATED SKILLS COURSES PROPOSALS
Research-Related Skills courses can be stand-alone courses or students in RRS courses can be enrolled in a research-intensive undergraduate research course (e.g. RELI/ANTH/PSYC 395) for a total of 3 credits and enroll in an additional 1-credit recitation section that meets weekly in group settings similar to “journal club” or “research group” meetings. The course could be organized around a specific area of research or may be more general. The goals for student learning include critical analysis of scholarly literature, scholarly writing, and oral communication of research.
Award Information: Awards will provide up to $3,000 in salary support for course instructors (i.e. overload for faculty or stipend support for postdoctoral fellows) that also attend a year-long faculty learning community.
Application Deadline: Proposals are being accepted until 5PM on Friday, May 1, 2020 (has been extended to Monday, June 1, 2020) for awards of up to $3,000 in salary support for course instructors (i.e. overload for faculty or stipend support for postdoctoral fellows). Proposals should be submitted as a single pdf file via email to Boots Quimby, PhD, Associate Director of the Office for Undergraduate Research.
Faculty Learning Communities: Award recipients will take part in regularly scheduled Faculty Learning Community (FLC) meetings. These meetings will allow faculty from all disciplines to share ideas, problem and solutions around the development and/or implementation of their RRS courses. The FLCs will meet monthly over an academic year. Recipients will also participate in faculty surveys and interviews, and facilitate documentation of student work and minimal student surveys regarding the courses efficacy. See a list of the members of our RRS FLC cohorts.
Application: Download the Research Related Skills Courses Application and instructions.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONSULTANT TEAMS
The University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) seeks to improve awareness of what it means to be a research university, align the missions of producing world class research and providing a world class undergraduate education, and promote opportunities for students to engage in research and scholarship. One such opportunity supported by the QEP is the Undergraduate Research Consultant Team (URCT) Program. URCT’s are small interdisciplinary “strike teams” of students prepared to complete one-semester projects guided by a graduate research assistant and/or a faculty advisor. The goals of the URCT program are to: (1) provide students with the opportunity for inquiry and discovery in the context of cutting-edge research and (2) foster interdisciplinary collaboration. URCT projects also represent opportunities for seed funding to generate pilot data for faculty.
Call for proposals: We are seeking proposals from interdisciplinary teams of 3-5 students, led by a faculty advisor, who have a well-defined research question, outreach need, or design challenge that could be completed in a relatively short time period. Teams may choose to address any research topic. For example, a faculty member in Exercise & Sport Science interested in genetic factors predisposing individuals to knee osteoarthritis risk could develop a URCT composed of students with expertise in biomechanics, biology, and genetics. Or, students in Women & Gender Studies might investigate gender-specific economic disparities with a team composed of students in Women & Gender Studies, Economics, and Public Policy. Some projects may require more than a single semester to complete. In these instances, clearly defined objectives for the semester during which funding is provided should be outlined in the application, as well as a plan for continuing the project beyond the funding period.
Eligibility: Proposals will be accepted from faculty and/or students from any department in the College of Arts & Sciences or the Professional Schools. The members of the URCT should represent at least two disciplines within the University.
Award Information: Awards will provide up to $10,000 per team to cover costs of conducting the project (e.g. supplies, travel, etc.) and graduate research assistant support. Students will register for a 1-credit course (IDST 195) under the supervision of the faculty advisor as part of the award. URCTs are required to present their findings at the Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research (Spring semesters).
Application Deadline: Proposals should be submitted by 5pm on Monday, June 1, 2020 (for Fall semester funding) and 5pm on Monday, November 2, 2020 (for Spring semester funding) as a single pdf file via email to Boots Quimby, PhD, Associate Director of the Office for Undergraduate Research.
Application: Download the URCT-Application and instructions.