Student Project Awards
Undergraduate students planning to pursue creative projects or conduct research are invited to apply for Student Project Funding.
- Fall & Spring Terms: Up to $3,000 for individuals and up to $6,000 for group applicants.
- Summer Term: Up to $6,000 for individual and group applicants.
2024-2025 Application Schedule
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APR15
Up to $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a group.
APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED -
SEPT 30
Up to $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a group.
APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
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JAN20
Up to $6,000 for groups AND individuals.
Accepting Applications January 20 - March 2, 2025. -
APR14
Up to $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a group.
Accepting Applications April 15 - June 8, 2025.
Undergraduate students planning to pursue creative projects or conduct research during the Summer 2025 semester are invited to apply for funding.
- The limit for requests for individuals AND groups (2 or more students) is $6,000.
- Funds may be used for a fellowship, tuition (up to 4 credits for a course related to your project), travel to fieldwork location, consumable supplies, and/or services.
- Students will be asked to identify funds for spending by June 1, 2025 (FY25) and by the end of the award term August 10, 2025 (for FY26 funding).
Tehya McLeod, Fall 2022 Awardee
Interdisciplinary Studies: Drafting and Design
Mentor: Mary Beth Leigh
"This project was an opportunity for collaboration between art and science and for engaging the community. I worked to creatively share information about the landscape around us through my artwork in the form of an exhibit. I believe it is important to the ongoing relationship between people and the environment that our understanding of our landscapes continues to grow."
Barbosa Santos presenting at the 2024 RCA Day. Santos received the CLA Dean's Choice Award for their project. (Photo credit: Leif Van Cise)
Marina Barbosa Santos, Fall 2023 Awardee
Interdisciplinary Studies
Mentor: Ken Tape & Justin Cramb
This project utilizes repeat photography to support archeological efforts at the Chena Townsite, and to understand how the landscape has evolved since the town was abandoned. The project endeavors to contribute to the preservation of history, public education, and our understanding of land use changes.
"The URSA project helped open doors in my academic and professional endeavors. It allowed me to network and work with individuals that possess the skill sets I wish to develop and utilize in my academic journey. The URSA funding also enabled me to dedicate more time to developing these skill sets, and the flexibility of my research allowed me to explore creative opportunities within the project."
CEM Group Project, Fall 2022 Awardees
Seth Thomas, Ethan Hoover, Micah Vanderhart, Casey Lambries
Mechanical Engineering
Mentor: Michael Hatfield
"Working on this project has helped club members gain experience working on a hands-on engineering project. It’s a good way to provide engineering experience outside of the classroom, where students have control of all aspects of the project, such as design, manufacturing, writing proposals, and reports. "
Left: Rafting along the Arctic coastal plain. Right: Entrikin deploying eDNA sampling equipment in the Hulahula River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Photos courtesy of Entrikin)
Emilie Entrikin, Spring 2024 Awardee
Interdisciplinary Studies
Mentor: Jessica Glass
Entrikin has guided raft trips on the Alaskan Arctic rivers for over 15 years. These experiences which contributed to a curiosity about the natural environment. In summer 2023, Entrikin collected 132 eDNA samples along three Arctic rivers: the Hula Hula, Kongakut and Firth rivers. Through this URSA award, Entrikin was able to analyze the samples using DNA extraction techniques and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to find out if there are populations of Chum salmon in any of or all of the three rivers.
"The URSA program was the encouragement I needed to pursue my desire to do an independent research project. I enjoyed the long process of collections, research, writing, processing and such. This project has opened up a new world of opportunities that are possible for me to pursue. "
Luke Martin, Summer 2022 Awardee
Mathematics
Mentor: Patricia Holloway
[Peonies] are a successful domestic and export product for Alaska. A problem with harvesting peonies as cut flowers is predicting precise harvest times for each bud. Each plant yields tens of flowers that must be individually tested to harvest. A well-trained grower can put their thumb on the top of the bud, press down, and tell by the firmness of the bud if it is ready to be harvested. This test is inefficient, requires a lot of training, and isn’t always accurate. The cost to growers in time, especially training seasonal workers, and rejected buds, can be substantial.
Luke collected data on peonies and their growing process. In this data Luke observed data points such as the color of a peony flower, density, and rate of bloom. With the new data gathered Luke created several regression models that can help farmers know when to harvest their peonies.
Abigail Jensen, Fall 2022 Project Awardee
Biological Sciences
Mentor: Kriya Dunlap
Title: Boosted Anti-Inflammatory Profile of Alaskan Sled Dogs After Consumption of Acute Doses of Wild Alaskan Blueberries
"[This project gave me] the opportunity to pursue structured research outside a traditional laboratory setting. I recently applied to several different Veterinary Medicine programs, and research time is highly recommended. The award I received helped me financially create my own project that counted towards my required Biology Capstone project and also gave me the opportunity to connect more with Alaskan culture. Alaska would not be Alaska without sled dogs and the connection they have with people."
Eligibility:
- Must be a Degree-seeking undergraduate student
Students of any year of study from any ÐÔÓûÉç-affiliated campus, working toward an Occupational Endorsement, Certificate, Associate's Degree or Bachelor's Degree in any discipline are eligible to apply for URSA funding. Middle College Students, graduated undergraduate students and graduate students are not eligible to apply.- ÐÔÓûÉç Campuses Include: Bristol Bay, Chukchi, CTC, Troth Yeddha’, Interior Alaska, Kuskokwim, Northwest
- Registration:
- Fall and Spring Awards: Students must be enrolled in at least 3 credits at any ÐÔÓûÉç-affiliated campus for the funded semester.
- Summer Awards: Students must be enrolled for at least 3 credits during the spring application semester and must plan to enroll in at least 3 credits for the fall semester following the award. Students who graduate in the spring term when the Summer Award opens are not eligible to apply.
- GPA of 2.3 or higher
Students with a GPA lower than 2.3 are not eligible. - Must have a mentor and an idea
Faculty, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and staff may serve as URSA mentors. Mentors must confirm their participation via the URSA Mentor Confirmation form prior to the award deadline. Students must have an established and well-defined project to apply. - Students may only submit one proposal for each request for proposal (RFP).
- Students are eligible to receive one Student Project Award (or be funded under a Mentor Award) and one travel award (fall, winter or spring) per academic year (Fall to Summer semester).
This policy allows for a greater number of students to receive awards with limited
URSA funds.
- Students that have received full funding from another ÐÔÓûÉç program for the same project are not eligible for additional funding from URSA (for example
BLaST, INBRE, EPSCOR, Alaska Space Grant Program, amongst others) .
- Study Away Students: Eligible undergraduate students on a ÐÔÓûÉç-sanctioned study away program may apply
for project funding while they are abroad.
- Study Away students are still required to have a ÐÔÓûÉç mentor confirmed for their project.
- Only ÐÔÓûÉç- supported opportunities for Study Away will be eligible for project funding. The URSA Office will confirm the proposed opportunity with the Study Away Academic Advisor prior to considering an application for review.
- Study Away students may only apply for Fellowship funding. Supplies, services, tuition and travel will not be considered for Study Away applications.
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Note for students pursuing lab or fieldwork:
- Students participating in funded URSA projects may seek out Student Accident Insurance
through ÐÔÓûÉç that will cover them during university-related activities.
- To qualify for coverage, student project activities must be: University-sponsored, University-scheduled, and University supervised (by a UA faculty, staff, graduate student employee).
- Please note that this insurance only picks-up expenses after other insurance coverage (e.g., personal insurance) has been exhausted.
- Apply for Student Accident Insurance through the
- Scroll down to "Just for students" and click on the "Student Accidental Insurance" tab. Scroll down to the . (Thesis credits F699 can be used as the course name and number on the form)
- Visit this brochure to determine the type of coverage you may need.
- Please contact Becca Whitman, Risk Manager, with questions or concerns (rwhitman@alaska.edu; 907-474-5487)
- Students participating in funded URSA projects may seek out Student Accident Insurance
through ÐÔÓûÉç that will cover them during university-related activities.
- Your Mentor must complete the URSA Mentor Confirmation form prior to the application deadline.
- Students must complete a Reflection Form by the end of each award period.
- Final products to be submitted with the reflection form include:
- A poster representing your project
- 2-3 high resolution pictures
- Completion of an approved URSA-outreach activity:
- Complete a mid-award blog post/student spotlight for the URSA website (Q&A format)
- Host an event related to your project (i.e. public presentation; art exhibition; public performance; workshop; tour of project site for prospective students; etc.)
- Students completing this option will be required to work with the URSA Coordinator for publicizing and documenting the event.
- Provide 2 photos and updates for URSA’s Social Media pages (Facebook/Instagram)
- Attend an URSA Event as a Student Ambassador (Event examples: URSA open houses, URSA seminars, Tabling Events; etc.)
- Create an URSA Outreach Video for YouTube
- Record an URSA PSA/Ad with KSUA (91.5 FM)
- Other: Must be discussed and agreed upon with student mentor and the URSA Coordinator.
- Students must present their project results at URSA's Research & Creative Activity Day in April of the awarded academic year.
- *Summer students will be expected to present the following April.
- IMPORTANT: Failure to submit a final evaluation, to submit final products, or to participate in Research & Creative Activity Day will make the student ineligible to receive future URSA funding.
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FELLOWSHIPS
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Fellowship payments may be used to pay the awarded student a stipend.
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Students must be degree-seeking and registered for per the award eligibility requirements.
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Fellowships are paid by UA direct deposit. The fellowship is taxable and students will be responsible for payment of any taxes owed.
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For those currently holding campus employment: In order to receive a fellowship, campus employment tasks and URSA Project tasks must not overlap. Fellowship eligibility will be determined by a final HR review of the student employment and URSA Project descriptions. If you have concerns, please contact the URSA Office.
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TUITION
To cover up to 4 credits maximum ÐÔÓûÉç registration costs for courses directly related to the funded project (course fees not included). -
SUPPLIES/SERVICES
To support the purchase of supplies for the undergraduate research project or creative activity. Funded supplies will remain property of the awardee's ÐÔÓûÉç Department. For this reason, personal supplies (i.e. personal technology, clothes, etc.) are considered ineligible expenses and their inclusion may impact an application’s eligibility for review. Technology purchases for departments should be submitted with the URSA ITE Award application and are not eligible for Student Project funding. Supply and service funds MUST be spent by June 15 of the awarded fiscal year. -
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL
To exclusively support undergraduate student travel needs associated with the funded research or creative scholarship project.
*Travel to attend a conference is NOT eligible for funding through a Student Project Award. Students wishing to PRESENT, COMPETE, PERFORM at an event must submit a Travel Award application.* - EXPENSE CONSIDERATIONS FOR STUDY AWAY STUDENTS
Eligible undergraduate students on a ÐÔÓûÉç-sanctioned study away program may apply for project funding while they are abroad. Study Away students may only apply for Fellowship funding. *Supplies, services, tuition and travel will not be considered for Study Away applications.*
For any given round of URSA funding, 25–70 proposals are submitted.
With limited funding we award between 8 and 12 proposals in each call. The competition is high.
- When an application period ends, proposals are distributed anonymously and randomly
to four members of the URSA Faculty Review Board. These faculty members come from all disciplines in the arts/humanities/social sciences
and natural/life and engineering sciences. One of the reasons that we request that
students write their proposal for a broad audience is because there is a high probability
that several of their reviewers will not be in a similar discipline as the proposal.
Please see the Scoring Criteria section for more information regarding URSA’s review
processes.
- The reviewers evaluate and score the proposals and provide comments using an established
rubric.
- URSA funds submitted proposals in ranked order until the allotted amount of funding is distributed.
Evaluations are made by a minimum of four faculty members on the URSA Faculty Review Board using the scoring criteria detailed below.
Each of the following are evaluated on a scale from 1 (high/exemplary) to 5 (low/insufficient):
- The purpose of the student's proposed project:
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- to conduct a research/creative project
- to compete in a scholarly competition
- to participate in an internship/immersion
- to attend a workshop or acquire training that will facilitate an ongoing project
- not clearly expressed
- The explanation of the intellectual merit of the proposed project/travel
- The explanation of the proposed project's contribution to a scholarly discipline or real-world outcome
- The potential for the proposed project to affect student learning or scholarly development
- The written quality of the proposal
- The feasibility of the proposed project
- The articulated goals and/or expected outcomes of the project
- Through articulate writing and inclusion of details, the student makes a compelling case for the funding
- The applicant proposes an appropriate budget for the proposed project
- The faculty mentor's role and/or participation in the project
Proposals are also evaluated based on:
- Written quality of the proposal (written for a general audience) and quality of the work plan
- Intellectual merit and scholarly/creative contribution of the project and its potential outcomes
- Student learning outcomes articulated in the proposal
- Adequate involvement of an approved mentor as demonstrated in the mentoring plan
- Feasibility of completion within the given timeline
- Submission of the formal URSA Budget and Timeline file uploads.