Application Deadline: March 1, 2019, 11:59 PM

Proposals should be written by two faculty mentors, each from different departments. Faculty mentors will collaborate on a research project that involves and trains two undergraduate students.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by faculty across a number of disciplines using the IRC Evaluation Rubric. Reviewers are not necessarily in the faculty member’s area of study, so applications should be geared towards an intelligent general audience.

Application Requirements

1. Project Description (4 pages max including references)

• A research question or line of inquiry with research goals clearly articulated
• The rationale for researching the question
• An explanation of how the project is interdisciplinary
• A description of how each mentor’s area of expertise will be utilized in the project
• A description of the methodology that is appropriate to the scope of the proposed project and to the 8-week program duration
• A description of how this will be a transformative learning experience for the students.
• A timeline outlining all activities that will be completed
• If the research involves human or animal subjects, a plan to acquire approval from the Institutional Review Board or the IACUC before the start of the TruScholars Program
• References to relevant scholarly work

2. Research Project Timeline (1 page max)

Outline a timeline for your project including beginning and end dates. Indicate appropriate milestones for your particular project.

An outline of how the team will work together on the project should be included. Your timeline should address when the group will work together and separately. State if the mentors will take turns mentoring students or the mentoring pair will always work together. Also, address if there will be a structure for communicating among the group on the progress of the research project.

3. Budget (1 page max)

A. An itemized table outlining expenses relevant to the project

B. A budget justification for supplies and travel (does not need to include a justification for stipends)

Each IRC team may request up to $9500 in funds. Funds may cover stipends for the students (max. $3000 each) and mentors (max. $1500 each). Monies for supplies and travel to conduct the research may also be included but do not have a maximum value as long as the total budget does not exceed $9500. Research supplies include books, office supplies, art supplies, lab supplies and software. All expenses must follow University guidelines. All funds must be used by the end of the program period.

Student stipend (each)	max. $3000
Mentor stipend (each)	max. $1500
Supplies and travel to conduct research	max. $9500
Total Budget	max. $9500

Faculty may mentor a student in the TruScholars Program and this one but will receive a maximum stipend of $3,000 for mentoring two or more students.

4. Mentoring Plan (2 pages max)

In this program, mentors choose their students. There are no restrictions on the majors of the students or qualifications as long as they adhere to the eligibility guidelines. Please list the names of potential students, their year and major.

Faculty members should address how they will mentor their student in research. This will include practical communication mechanisms (e.g., frequency and method of mentor-student meetings), how the mentor will train the student in research methods, and how the mentor will assess achievement of the student’s learning objectives.

5. Faculty Mentor Availability Form (1 for each mentor)

Each mentor should fill out the PDF form available at here and upload the completed form along with the application.

Note that this is a PDF form, with fields that should be filled out in the PDF file itself. The completed form can be saved in Acrobat Reader using the “Save As…” command in the file menu.