Application deadline: Thursday, February 22, 2024

To apply for the TruScholars Summer Undergraduate Research Program, students should first identify a Truman faculty or staff member who agrees to serve as the student’s research mentor, then work with the research mentor to prepare the application materials.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be reviewed by faculty across a number of disciplines using the TruScholars Evaluation Rubric (Updated January 2021). Reviewers are not necessarily in the student’s area of study, so applications should be geared towards a multi-disciplinary audience and unexplained, technical terminology should be avoided.

Application Requirements

In order to attempt to make this a blind review process, student names should not be included in the project description, educational benefits description, budget, or IRB/IACUC plan. Mentors can use the student’s first name, but should not include the student’s last name in the mentoring plan. Student names should only be indicated on the secure submission form in the corresponding locations.

1. Project Description

4 pages maximum including references, written by the student and mentor

The following should be included:

• A review of previous work connecting the project into the context of how it will advance knowledge and benefit society
• The project goals and objectives stated in non-technical language
• A description of the project steps, design, and/or methodology that is appropriate to the scope of the proposed project and to the 8-week program duration
• A timeline outlining when major project-described activities will be completed
• References to relevant scholarly work

2. Educational Benefits Description

2 pages maximum, written by the student

The following should be included:

• The student’s professional goals and motivation for completing this project
• What will be learned through this project and how this will help the student work towards their goals

3. Budget

1-page maximum, written by student and mentor

The following should be included:

• An itemized budget outlining expenses relevant to the project
• A budget justification for supplies and travel (does not need to include a justification for stipends)

Allowable expenses include:

• Student stipend
• Faculty mentor stipend
• Supplies (books, lab supplies, software, art supplies, office supplies, sheet music, etc.)
• Travel to conduct research

TruScholars projects may request up to $5,750 in funds. Funds may be requested from one or more of the budget categories (student stipend, faculty mentor stipend, and supplies/travel expenses). Funds cannot be transferred between budget categories once the 8-week program period has begun. All expenses must follow University guidelines. All funds must be used by the last day of the program period.

Project funds may cover stipends for the student (max. $3,500) and faculty mentor (max. $1,750). Funding for supplies and travel to conduct the research may also be included but does not have a maximum value as long as the total budget does not exceed $5,750. The maximum funds that can be requested from each budget category are outlined below:

Only one TruScholars application per project per year is allowed. Only one student can be awarded the TruScholars project grant. Stipends cannot be split among multiple students, so only the student awarded the TruScholars grant can receive a stipend. Additional people, whether co-investigators or research participants, cannot be paid through TruScholars funds. Incentives for research participants should be an item (gift cards are not allowed by the Business Office) purchased through supply funds.

Faculty may mentor any number of students in the TruScholars Program but can receive a maximum stipend of $3,500 for mentoring two or more students.

4. IRB or IACUC Plan

Only required if the research involves human or animal subjects, written by student and mentor

The following should be included:

• A plan to acquire approval from the Institutional Review Board or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee before the start of the research project
• A statement describing the status of the IRB or IACUC submission (in progress, approved, intending to apply by a certain date)

Funds will not be dispersed until IRB or IACUC approval is granted.

5. Mentoring Plan

2 pages maximum, written by the faculty mentor

In order to attempt to make this a blind review process, please do not use the student’s last name in the mentoring plan

The following should be included:

• A plan for mentoring and supporting the student’s development including 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 the achievement of the student’s learning objectives)
• The role that the mentor has had in the project design
• The role the mentor will have in project implementation

6. Faculty Mentor Availability Form

Mentors should fill out the PDF form 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.