USC Undergraduate Research Associates Program
USC is one of only 146 Research I (RU/VH) universities among the 4,000 institutions of higher education in the United States. Undergraduate education at a research university offers special opportunities to students that are not available in other academic institutions. The ability to integrate research activities with professional and liberal education provides USC with a distinctive model of undergraduate education that sets us apart from other institutions.
The basic idea of learning as inquiry is the same as the idea of research. Even though advanced research generally occurs at the graduate level, undergraduates can also learn by performing research. In the sciences and social sciences, undergraduates can become junior members of the research teams that now engage professors and graduate students. In the humanities, undergraduates should have the opportunity to work with primary materials, perhaps linked to their professor’s research projects. As undergraduates advance through a program, their learning experiences should become closer and closer to the activity of the graduate student. By the senior year, the able undergraduate should be ready for research of the same character and roughly the same complexity as the first-year graduate student. The research university needs to make that zone of transition from senior to graduate student easy to enter and easy to cross. For those students who do not continue on to graduate school, the ability to identify, analyze, and resolve problems will prove invaluable in professional life and in citizenship. (Boyer Commission Report, 1998)
Providing support for collaborative research between undergraduate students and faculty members is best accomplished through approaches that blur the distinction between research and teaching. Such approaches should maximize faculty participation and enhance the learning experience of students.
The Undergraduate Research Associates Program is administered by the USC Office of Academic Programs. The goal of this program is to provide resources that enable faculty to integrate undergraduates into their scholarly and professional activities.
Faculty engaged in research with undergraduate students are invited to submit proposals to the Office of Undergraduate Education for additional funding by Tuesday, February 18, 2025. The funding period covered by this Call for Proposals is July 2026 through June 2027. Student stipends will be disbursed by the Office of Academic Programs, and all stipend requests must be submitted by the end of the Spring 2026 semester. Students are encouraged to apply for multiple sources of funding (e.g., Provost Fellowship, SOAR, SURF) but can only receive funding from one source in a given term. Faculty proposal applications will be available on January 5, 2026.
Current Grant Period
Summer 2026 (July and August only), Fall 2026, Spring 2027, Summer 2027 (May and June only)
Application and Guidelines
Application Process and Deadline
Proposals should be submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Education no later than Tuesday, February 17, 2026. The funding period covered by this Call for Proposals is July 2026 through June 2027 (funding requests are due by the end of the Spring semester). Faculty may encourage students are encouraged to apply for multiple sources of funding (e.g., Provost Fellowship, SOAR, SURF), but can only receive funding from one source in a given term.
Complete proposals will include:
- Faculty Proposal Application. (link to https://provost.sma.usc.edu/prog/urap/
UPDATED GUIDELINES – IMPORTANT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Applications that do not adhere to the stated criteria, budget guidelines, formatting requirements, and length limits will not be reviewed and will be returned without consideration.
All proposals must follow the structure and requirements outlined below. The faculty review panel consists of members from diverse research areas who will be evaluating the educational benefit to undergraduate research assistants. Please write your application with this interdisciplinary audience in mind.
1. Project Description
Provide a brief overview of the research project for which undergraduate research assistants are requested.
Important: Please write this section specifically for this application rather than copying large sections directly from grant applications. The review panel seeks to understand your research in accessible terms that allow them to assess the educational value for undergraduates. Highly technical language or unedited grant text may obscure the pedagogical benefits of your project.
[Word limit: 500 words maximum]
Please indicate word count at the end of this section (e.g., “Word count: 487”)
2. Aspects of Undergraduate Involvement
Detail how the proposed research project(s) will enhance the undergraduate student(s) educational experience. Please include Training and Educational Components
- Training the student will receive (e.g., in ethical issues, information retrieval, data analysis, scholarly communication, research methods, laboratory techniques, etc.)
- How the student(s) will be involved in various aspects of the research project (e.g., planning, design, data collection, data analysis, literature review, written and oral dissemination of findings)
- A clear definition of the role(s) of the undergraduate student(s). If funding is requested for more than one student, outline the specific tasks/project areas each student will be responsible for and provide an explanation/justification for the number of students for whom funding is being requested (e.g., if two students will be performing similar tasks, explain why both students are necessary rather than one).
Note: Applications that fail to clearly articulate student roles and responsibilities will not be considered.
[Word limit: 700 words maximum]
Please indicate word count at the end of this section
b. Deliverables
i. Description of any deliverables, including the final research report that will be submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Education by each participating student(s).
[Word limit: 200 words maximum]
Please indicate word count at the end of this section
3. Aspects of Faculty Involvement
a. Student Selection Process – Describe the process and criteria for selecting student researchers:
- If funding is requested for students currently working under the faculty member’s supervision, describe how those students were recruited and why their continued involvement in the project necessitates URAP funding.
- If students will be recruited for the project, provide a description of an equitable recruitment plan which will assure that students who participate in the project have demonstrated academic excellence, are well suited to the project structure and content, and will benefit academically from the experience.
[Word limit: 350 words maximum]
Please indicate word count at the end of this section
b. Faculty Oversight and Supervision
- Detail the oversight and supervision that will be provided by the proposing faculty. Include, if applicable, the frequency of meetings, mentoring approach, feedback mechanisms, and how you will monitor student progress.
[Word limit: 350 words maximum]
Please indicate word count at the end of this section
c. Integration into Research Community
- Include, if applicable, how the undergraduate student(s) will be involved in integrated or group activities within the PI’s lab and/or the broader research community (e.g., lab meetings, research seminars, conference presentations, collaboration with graduate students or postdocs).
[Word limit: 200 words maximum]
Please indicate word count at the end of this section
4. Budget
a. Student Stipends
- Provide requested student stipend(s) along with the number of hours per week that students are expected to spend on research.
For a semester stipend of $1,500: eight to ten hours per week for at least 10 weeks is typical
For a summer stipend of $3,000: twenty hours or more per week for at least eight weeks is typical
Note: Budget requests must directly support student work, time, and effort. Applications whose budgets do not align with stated student activities will not be considered.
b. Materials and Supplies (if applicable)
- If funding is requested for materials and supplies, ensure that it is no more than 10% of the total budget and that the request is justified (i.e., list the specific types of consumables or other costs the funding will cover and explain how these materials are essential to the student’s research experience.
[Word limit for budget justification: 200 words maximum]
Please indicate the word count at the end of this section
Formatting Requirements
- Maximum total length: 5 pages (excluding references, if applicable)
- Font: 11-point or larger, standard font (Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri)
- Spacing: Double-spaced with clear section breaks
- Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides
- Word counts must be indicated at the end of each section as specified
Applications exceeding the page limit or violating formatting guidelines will be returned without review.
Final Checklist
Before submitting, verify that your application:
- Follows all formatting requirements (length, font, spacing)
- Includes word counts for all required sections
- Clearly defines student roles and responsibilities
- Uses accessible language appropriate for an interdisciplinary faculty panel
- Demonstrates clear educational benefit to undergraduate students
- Includes a budget that directly supports student work
- Does not exceed 10% of budget on materials/supplies (if applicable)
- Provides specific details about mentoring and supervision plans