Text reads: Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunity

Student Research Grant and Fellowship Reviewing

The Office of Research regularly requests reviewers for its flagship student funding programs. We are happy to provide documentation of your service for your records for each cycle you participate in.

URCO Grants
Undergraduate Research & Creative Opportunity grants are awarded every semester for student-led, faculty mentored research, with scholarships and research funding available to individuals or groups for 1-semester to 1-year projects.

Faculty, postdoctoral, and advanced PhD students are invited to volunteer in November, March, or July to review up to five proposals (online and asynchronous) and provide scores, funding recommendations, and feedback to the grant-writers.

URCO reviewing is a service to our research community, assists in your own grant-writing and in mentoring students through the URCO proposal process, and can be documented as mentoring or research service.
Volunteer to Review URCOs

GRCO Grant Reviewing
The Graduate Research & Creative Opportunity grant is modeled from the URCO, but is funded through student fees and administered by the Utah State University Student Association. The Graduate Studies Senator runs the grant, and because this is an elected one-year position, the Office of Research assists by providing consultation and running the review process. 

The review process is nearly identical to the URCO, with a rubric modified by the Senator, and takes place in one cycle annually for an award of up to $1,000 in research funding (no scholarships). Reviewing takes place in July. Only faculty may review GRCO proposals, to limit any peer bias.
Volunteer to Review GRCOs

Undergraduate Research Fellowship
The Undergraduate Research Fellowship funds early-stage undergraduates to get involved early and heavily in research. With intensive orientation, regular professional development, and mentor support, these students have meaningful engagement in our research community and significant research outcomes by the time they graduate. 

Our URF application looks for the character traits that our past URFs have identified as necessary for success in research, so the application packets are short and volunteers will look at 15-20 packets during March each year. Faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and advanced PhD students are welcome, especially those who have worked with undergraduates and those who may be looking for incoming freshmen or rising sophomores to join their projects!
Volunteer to Review URFs

Peak Summer Research Fellows
Our Peak Summer Research Fellowship is designed to offer intensive, 10-week research opportunities to more advanced undergraduates akin to some national programs. Students receive $4,000 scholarships and their mentors a small research fund to complete a student-led project of about 300 hours each summer.

Faculty, postdoctoral researchers and advanced PhD students are welcome to review up to five proposals each March, asynchronously and online. As with URCO reviewing, this is a great way to develop your own proposal writing and mentoring of students who may apply for a Peak Fellowship in the future. The Peak proposals can be combined with URCO summer funding, and is a similar review rubric.
Volunteer to Review Peaks