Overview of Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) Program

Since 2005 ASU has invested more than $200,000 and supported more than 500 students in their research, scholarship, or creative activity. The URAs offer highly motivated undergraduate students the opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on his/her research, scholarship, or creative activity.

Faculty and students in all academic disciplines at ASU are encouraged to submit proposals. Faculty members, in consultation with students, complete an on-line application, due on March 20 (for a Summer URA) and August 26 (for Fall and/or Spring URA).

The proposals are reviewed by a faculty committee, with the quality of the proposal as the primary selection criterion.

Students can earn up to $2,000 ($1,000 per semester: Fall, Spring, Summer) for their work and must present their work at ASU’s Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors day held each spring.

The URA money must be used to support students who are collaborating with an ASU Faculty Member's research/creative endeavors. The URA money can not be used to support those student's individual research.

FAQ about Applying for a URA

Please review the information below carefully submitting an application for a URA. If you have additional questions, call OSR at 828-262-7655 or contact Dr. Alan Utter via email at utterac@appstate.edu.

• What is the minimum G.P.A. a student needs to have to be eligible for a URA? Students supported by a URA must have at least a 2.7 G.P.A. at the time of the application.
• Must the student be enrolled full time while completing the URA? No. A student can be enrolled part time while applying and/or carrying out a URA.
• How many total students can a faculty mentor support through the URA program in a given academic year? A given faculty mentor may request support for up to one student a year and/or summer.
• Can a faculty mentor use URA funds to support a student as part of their large, on-going research program? Yes, the URA program supports a variety of projects, including those from faculty members who have large on-going research programs. It is incumbent upon the faculty member to clearly delineate the role a student will play in the overall project as well as the skill development of the student(s).
• When are URA proposals due? Projects/Proposals requesting summer support must be submitted at the March 20 deadline. Projects/Proposals requesting Fall and/or Spring support must be submitted at the August 26 deadline.
• What is the stipend amount of a URA? Students are paid a $1,000 stipend for a given funding period (summer, fall and spring semester). Mentors may request a maximum of $2,000 for each student. Students are expected to work with their faculty mentor 6-8 hours/week during a given funding period.

Review Process for a URA Application

After you submit your URA application, OSR makes copies of your proposal and distributes the proposal to a faculty committee from the OSR Advisory Board. Each member of the committee reviews the proposal independently and assigns the proposal a score. After each member assigns the proposal a score, the committee comes together to discuss the proposals and decides which proposals to fund. The primary criteria is the quality of the proposal.

A proposal can receive a maximum of 20 points based on the following:

(Max 5 points) A. Project goals
(Max 5 points) B. Role of the faculty mentor
(Max 5 points) C. Role of the student
(Max 5 ponts) D. Demonstrated outcome with respect to what the student will gain and how the faculty member's research program will benefit.

If a URA proposal is missing a given section, the proposal receives a score of ZERO for that section.

To Apply

Submit the Undergraduate Research Assistantship Application Form

Award Notifications

Award notifications will be made by Sept. 5 for Fall and/or Spring and April 1 for Summer applications.