Provost Graduate Student Research Awards: Science, Quantitative Social Engineering, Engineering and Mathematics

Deadlines: Applications will be reviewed twice a year. The deadlines are as follows: 

• Third Friday of October (not available 2024)
• Third Friday of February

Award: up to $1,500

$1,500 to support a student research or creative activity project 

• Projects must be of sufficient scope to last for a minimum of one semester (15 weeks) and be conducted under supervision of a full-time OU faculty mentor. Shorter projects require specific justification.
• A final report of the project must be submitted within one year of the funding date. It should not exceed five pages and should summarize the outcomes and results of the project.  Any publications or conference presentations that resulted from the project should be listed in the report. Please upload the report in infoReady REVIEW.

Note: Equipment purchased with grant money reverts back to the unit/department at the end of the research project period.  Unspent funds revert to The Research Office.

Eligibility: To be eligible you must

• Be enrolled as a graduate student at OU 
• Have an OU GPA of 3.0 or better 
• Have a full-time OU faculty member willing to endorse/mentor your project

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

Guidelines

Funding Source: Office of the Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs

Goal: To support research and creative activity undertaken by students in the pursuit of a graduate degree

Summary: The Provost Graduate Student Research Award invites applications from graduate students enrolled at Oakland University (OU) who are interested in carrying out an independent research project. Selection is based on the academic strengths of the student applicant in conjunction with the quality, significance and potential impact of the proposed research project. A vital part of the graduate student research is the interaction between the student and the faculty mentor prior to submission of a research proposal and throughout the project period. Although most students work on projects in their major field of interest, this research program provides an opportunity for students to explore other fields. It will be up to eligible students to provide sufficient background information to demonstrate that they are qualified to work on a project in the proposed area of interest. 

Application Guidelines:

• Identify a faculty mentor who is a full-time OU faculty. The faculty mentor is responsible for completing the Mentor Reference Letter. (See Mentor Reference Letter Instructions below.)
• Enter your mentor’s email address and he/she will receive an automatic email asking them to submit a Mentor Reference Letter. (There will be a field in the online application asking for the “Letter Writer Email Address.”)
• Complete and submit an online application in infoReady REVIEW.
• Proposals must be attached to the online application and should include the following elements:
• • A title page with the project title, applicant name(s), affiliation (School, College, Department, or other unit) and a project abstract of 200 words or less. The abstract must be jargon-free and written in layman's terms.
  • A project description that may not exceed four pages, single-spaced, Arial 11-pt with a 1" margin on all sides. The project description should address the following:
  • • Introduction/Needs Assessment
    • Objectives/Goals/Specific Aims
    • Significance/Impact
    • Methodology/Approach (Note: Methods for your specific aims need to be detailed, especially when they are part of a bigger project.)
    • Outcomes/Deliverables
    • Timetable
• Review Criteria: Significance, Investigator, Innovation, Approach
• On a separate page, include a bibliography listing any references that are cited in the project description.
• On a separate page, include a brief bio about yourself and include your current GPA. This is in addition to the project description.
• Fill out the Budget Template, which should be attached to the application. The budget should not exceed $1500 for project costs, and should include a justification for those expenses. Costs may include travel costs to complete the project, but not costs for conference travel related to presenting findings.
• Please note that applicants not funded may revise and resubmit their proposals for the next competition.

Mentor Reference Letter Instructions

• Mentors are expected to review the student's application prior to him/her submitting the application, and to help guide the student to make it understandable to an inter-disciplinary group.
• Submit a Mentor Reference Letter that follows the same deadline as the Provost Graduate Student Research Awards deadline. The letter should indicate support for the student and their project and justify that recommendation.
• The mentor will receive an automatic email once the student submits an application in infoReady REVIEW. The mentor will then submit the Mentor Reference Letter through the infoReady REVIEW system.

Regulatory Compliance:

If the proposed project involves the use of human subjects, animals, or hazardous/radioactive materials, approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), and/or Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) must be obtained before work can be initiated or else the applicant must clearly state why this approval is not required. The Principal Investigator (PI) is allowed to submit the compliance approval after the application is submitted. Confirmation of compliance approval is required before funding is received. For assistance, contact the Regulatory Compliance Officer in The Research Office at (248) 370-2762.

Application Deadline: Third Friday of October (not available 2024)
Award Announcement: 2nd week in December
Final Report Due: 90 days

Application Deadline: Third Friday of February
Award Announcement: 2nd week in April
Final Report Due: 90 days