UIC Students: Information on Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award (CURA)

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Academic Programs is pleased to announce that that the application for the AY 2018-2019 Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Award (CURA) is now open. The CURA supports the research activities of students who have accepted Federal Work Study as part of this coming year’s financial aid package. Read more about the program at https://cura.uic.edu/.

To participate in the CURA program, you will need to identify a faculty member with whom you are interested in working and who agrees to supervise and mentor you on a project related to their work. You can search by department, name or keyword in the Undergraduate Research experience database at https://ure.uic.edu/. The faculty member then completes the online application on your behalf at https://cura.uic.edu/information-for-faculty/.

Awards are available for one semester or the entire academic year. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis in the order in which they are received. CURA is not intended to be combined with other major campus-based funding programs such as LASURI, Honors College research grants, etc., other than those that will meet additional expenses unmet by CURA.

Applications will be accepted until the fall CURA fund is depleted or the end of the fourth week of the fall semester, whichever comes first. A spring semester application cycle will open in November. Thanks to the backing of university leadership, last year CURA funded over 100 student-faculty collaborations at no cost to faculty or their departments.

If you are interested in research but do not have Federal Work Study this coming year, you should speak with an academic advisor or Director of Undergraduate Studies to find out about options for course credit or other funded or sponsored programs in the degree-granting college. You can also refer to this webpage: http://ure.uic.edu/for_students_credit.php or email OUR at our@uic.edu. Various sponsored and structured programs are listed here: http://undergradresearch.uic.edu/opportunities/.

If you have questions, feel free to email us in the Office of Undergraduate Research at our@uic.edu. We are here to support your interest in participating in the high-impact practice of undergraduate research, which enhances the student experience and contributes in a multitude of ways to positive educational outcomes for you and many other UIC students.

For more information, please contact:
James Lynn
jlynn@uic.edu