Duke University | Undergraduate Research Support Office

URS Grants are provided to help defray research expenses of up to $400 for Trinity and Pratt students enrolled in faculty-supervised independent study courses. A grant makes funds available to purchase approved supplies and equipment (which become the property of the University) for the research project. When strongly recommended by a student's faculty research advisor, the URS Program will consider supporting a student's travel to use a unique resource collection within the continental United States. Grants may not be used to buy personal books or personal items or to pay salaries. Criteria used in evaluating applications are:

1. Clarity and completeness of the application; students write a short research proposal describing the nature of and rationale for the work they will be doing and include an itemized budget for proposed expenses.
2. Research projects in the creative arts. The URS Program welcomes requests for support for undergraduate research in all disciplines. Many projects in the natural and social sciences are easily characterized as research activities; they begin with a statement of a problem or question which can be addressed through well-defined methods known to other investigators in the discipline. Projects in the creative arts may not be as readily identified as research, but they are eligible for support through the URS Program when they are set within a wider disciplinary context and are based on scholarly inquiry as well as focused personal expression.
3. Support by the faculty sponsor as indicated in a required brief statement sent to the URS office via email or fax. The sponsor should also confirm the student's proposed supply/equipment budget.
4. Adherence to stated guidelines for proposal preparation including statement of support by faculty sponsor and proposed budget. Incomplete applications cannot be evaluated.
5. Calendar. Applications will be reviewed starting on the first Monday following the end of Drop/Add and each Monday thereafter until the semester break.