Prepare the following items, which must be submitted to the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards by the appropriate deadline.
Below are important reminders about the application form.

• The application is hosted on a grant management software called InfoReady.
• Be sure you log into InfoReady using your personal UARK email account. If you are affiliated with a UARK organization, such as the VAC or ASG, be sure you are not signing in using that account.
• Upload all of your documents as PDFs. Do not upload Pages files.
• InfoReady works best on Google Chrome. If you follow the application link and it continually refreshes without loading the page, try clearing the cache on your browser.

SURF Informational Slideshow

 

SURF Cover Page

• Must be signed by mentor. Adobe electronic signatures are encouraged.
• Do not change the SURF Budget numbers.
• The  “Authorizing Institutional Official” signature will be provided after you submit your application. You do not need to solicit this yourself. 

 

SURF Student Stipend Agreement

• Must be signed by student and mentor. Adobe electronic signatures are encouraged.
• If, after discussion with the mentor, a portion of the student stipend will be used to supplement research costs, the amount to be spent and a description of the planned expenditure(s) must be detailed.
• If the stipend will be used by the student solely as a living stipend and not to supplement funds for the proposed research project, student should type “$0” under “Amount to be spent” and “No expenditures” under “Description of expenditure.” Most students do not use their stipend for research funding.

 

SURF Mentor Form

Please be sure that the mentor form includes a brief statement of research/scholarly interests, related publications (if not included on mentor CV, and a list of undergraduate students and project titles the mentor has directed in scholarly research. This should be a maximum of 2 pages.

 

Mentor's Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae (CV) must be a maximum of 2 pages. If the CV is longer than 2 pages, SURF reviewers will discard everything after the second page.
The mentor CV should include the following information:

• Name, department, and institution
• Brief statement of research/scholarly interests
• List of recent publications
• List of undergraduate advisees and undergraduate projects directed (limit to last 5 years)
• Other relevant information as space allows

Important tip: Contact your mentor early (at least 2 months ahead) so that they have time to update and summarize their vita.

 

SURF Student Form

Please be sure to include a sentence or two about your educational career goals

 

Student Academic Resume

Your resume should be a succinct and compelling outline of your experience and academic work.

• Must be a maximum of 2 pages
• Education: GPA, degree plan, number of hours completed, and class standing (sophomore, junior, or senior)
• Research Experience: lab experience, presentations, posters, publications of any kind, projects underway
• Honors and Awards: Scholarships, previous grant funding, other honors
• Relevant Experience: Leadership experience, community service, work experience, significant hobbies
• Follow the guidelines we've provided - Academic Resumes for Honors Study Abroad and Research Grants
• Remember this is an academic resume. Failure to follow our formatting and content guidelines will have a negative impact on your application

Resume Tips

• You can review the online resume resources provided by the Career Development Center
• If this is your first time creating a resume, view the resume example for freshmen. There is also an excellent template you can download if you don't already have one
• Use the Resume Checklist. Reviewers use this to evaluate your resume

 

Current Transcript

• You must submit a current, official university transcript
• Contact the Office of the Registrar to request your transcript

 

List of Current Semester Classes

• Print/screenshot a copy of your current classes from UAConnect.
• Make sure your class schedule includes credit hour counts

Do not type a separate page stating that current classes are found on your transcript.

 

Project Summary

Your summary must be a maximum of 1 page, and must include the following information in the top left corner.

• Student
• Mentor
• Institution
• Student Classification
• Student GPA
• Area of Study
• Title of Project

The first paragraph of your summary should convey the scope of the project and why your research matters. Be sure that the summary is comprehensible to the general campus community.

 

Description of Proposed Research

• Must be a maximum of 5 pages
• Your proposal should follow the format typical for your field. Talk to your mentor about the sections to include. Also check out these research proposal guides here and here for general advice. You can look at the examples of past successful grant proposals here. For additional insight on what to include in a SURF/HCRG proposal, watch a recording of Dr. Hodge's Research Proposal Workshop here
• Craft a well-written, carefully documented research proposal that shows you know something about your field and project
• SURF Reviewers consider the following questions, so be sure your proposal provides evidence to answer them
• Is the proposed research/scholarly activity of value to your field of study? How and why?
• Is the project of sufficient difficulty to challenge you?
• Will the project teach you skills that are transferrable to other research endeavors/scholarly activities?
• The feasibility of the project (i.e., is the project reasonable for you to pursue with available facilities?)
• The project description requires a timeline of activities (must fit within the 5-page limit).

Important tip: Be sure to cite every source you reference in your proposal! Use the style guideline preferred by your specific discipline (ask your mentor if you're unsure).

Example Proposals

 

SURF Budget Justification Form

Mentor costs

• Work with your mentor to itemize their intended uses for the requested funds. This can include materials and supplies, travel costs, or other expenses.
•  Please contact Research & Sponsored Programs if your faculty mentor intends to request “summer salaries & fringe benefits”; they can help you and your mentor follow the correct procedures in this case. Be sure to justify all $750 of mentor funds.

 

Student costs

• Your stipend in this section is not adjustable. It is $1,250 for spring-only applicantions, and $2,500 for multi-semester applications. For “Student Travel Costs” you will itemize travel costs related to your research totaling $750. You must include travel costs totaling $750.
• If the project will not be completed by the student’s graduation, please note this on the application, because funding ends upon graduation. Funds provided for student travel should be used only by the student to present the results of their SURF-funded research project at a research conference. Travel funds can also be used for travel to conduct surveys and/or interviews of human subjects, research libraries, and archaeological sites and museums.
• Your “Total Project Costs Before Other Funding” should total $4000 for multi-semester applications and $2,750 for spring-only applications.
• No indirect costs are allowed. It is assumed the faculty salary will most likely be paid in the summer. Fringe benefits should be the same as for other faculty.

 

SURF Budget Form

• Please indicate your funding term at the top of the page (Spring Only; Spring and Summer Only; Spring and Fall Only; Spring, Summer and Fall). The numbers on this form MUST match the “SURF Budget” section on the SURF Cover Page.
• Fill in the “Period of Support” with the dates given below based on your funding period.

 

Three Letters of Recommendation

• Letter of support from your faculty mentor
• Two letters of support from (UA or non-UA) faculty members or research mentors who can speak to your academic or research abilities
• Address all letters to the SURF Selection Committee
• Must be on official letterhead and must be signed
• You will list the faculty members' names and emails on the application form. The system will automatically send them emails with a unique link to upload the letter which will attach to your application. No physical paper copies are needed, nor will they be accepted.
• Your letter writers will receive an email with instructions to upload their letter. You can send those emails early (before you have submitted your completed application) by entering the letter writers' email in the appropriate section, click "Save a Draft" at the bottom of the screen, then scrolling back up to the letter section and clicking "Send Reference Letter Request" next to the letter writers' email.

Strong letters of recommendation are very important! The following tips will help:

• Professors who know you well from the classroom will write the most persuasive letters. Their rank does not matter, so long as they are faculty.
• Letters from employers, graduate students, staff, academic advisors, and University Perspectives teachers who are not regular faculty do not count and will eliminate your proposal from the review process.
• Contact faculty early - these letters are important and require information about you and your research project.
• Refer faculty members to Recommendation Guidelines
• Send a reminder a week ahead of the due date.

Apply for SURF Now

All students will have their application reviewed before it is sent to ADHE. There are two options for application review. Please have all documents completed submitted into InfoReady as PDFs prior to your early review or review during collection.

SURF Early Review

• Students are encouraged to participate in an early review. Please schedule an appointment with Matthew Halbert if you would like your application reviewed prior to October 16, 2024.

SURF Collection

• From October 16-18, 2024, any registrants who have not participated in an early review will have their application reviewed by a University of Arkansas faculty or staff member during a Microsoft Teams appointment. These appointments will be available to choose at the beginning of October.

Applications must be reviewed no later than October 18th. The last opportunity to have your SURF applications reviewed is during SURF Collection October 16-18, 2024.

Congratulations! The SURF grant will help you get your work done - and it's a major plus for your resume.

What's next?

The Office of Sponsored Programs will contact you when they are notified of your award. The notification will be sent to your UARK email account, so please check there for any emails concerning SURF. They will walk you through a step-by-step award process. Visit the SURF page on their website.

SURF Documentation:
As a SURF grant recipient, you are required to submit a blog post and photograph to the Honors College (even if you are nto an honors student) at the end of each semester of funding. At the end of the final semester of funding, you will also submit a written report. This report will be submitted to both the Honors College and ADHE. You will receive emails from Dr. Chelsea Hodge in the Honors College and Quinton Morgan at ADHE requesting these reports at the appropriate time.

SURF Documentation for the Honors College

If you are enrolled in the Honors College, your application will automatically be considered for an Honors College Research Grant. Non-honors students will be considered for the Office of Undergraduate Research Grant.

Do you have questions about the Honors College Research Grant or the Office of Undergraduate Research? For Honors College, contact Chelsea Elizabeth Hodge. For Undergraduate Research, contact Amy Epps.