SURF Awards: Preparing a Successful Application

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SURF Application Questions
Successful Proposal Writing
Preparing a Budget
Preparing a Timeline
Letters of Recommendation
International Travel

SURF Application Questions 

The PDF below outlines information that will be collected in the online SURF application and what you should include in your PDF proposal document, timeline, and budget.

Information that will be collected in the online application: 2025 SURF Application Outline

Additional documents that all student applicants should review: Rubric for SURF and Information for Faculty Recommenders

Academic Integrity

Please be aware that the final question on the application will ask you to certify that you have prepared your application materials in accordance with University standards for academic integrity. Learn more about academic integrity.

Successful Proposal Writing

The strongest SURF applications show a thorough understanding of a research or creative project. Plan to spend some time working through your proposal both on your own and in collaboration with your faculty advisor. Starting early and planning ahead will make the process a lot less stressful!

Successful SURF proposals:

  • Describe the project in a way that is clear, concise, and free of grammatical and spelling errors.
  • Follow application instructions carefully, and provide documentation of appropriate research compliance approvals (IRB, IACUC, IBC, SCRO), if needed for the project.
  • Demonstrate the student’s knowledge of the subject and the research or creative work to be conducted.
  • Outline a clear timeline for research or creative activities to be completed.
  • Show how the budget requested will be spent and used in as much detail as possible.
  • Explain in the student’s own words both the connection between the student’s project and the supervising faculty member’s area of expertise, and the aspects of the project where the student will operate with most independence or take most responsibility.
  • Indicate, via the faculty advisor’s letter of recommendation, how a student will be mentored during the project.

The review committee uses the Rubric for SURF Applications to assess proposed projects. Applicants are encouraged to review the rubric as they draft and revise their application materials to ensure that they meet the criteria associated with strong proposals.

The Proposal Document

The uploaded proposal PDF should include the project proposal and references. Please name this file LastName-FirstName-Proposal.pdf.

Project Proposal – This section must be double-spaced in 12 pt. Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins and numbered pages. This part of the proposal can include any necessary graphs, charts, pictures, etc. which will help reviewers better understand your project; make sure to cite all figures appropriately. The project proposal must not exceed 8 pages. You do not need a title page; include your name in the header or on the first page of the proposal document. Please address the following questions in the proposal:

  • What is the basic idea, problem, or question your project will examine?
  • What is the purpose of this research or creative project? What is its significance or importance to the broader field? How does it build on or relate to other research or creative work?
  • What is the research/project design? What procedures and methods will you use? Describe the steps you will take to conduct the project, demonstrating that the project is feasible within the time frame.
    • For projects in hypothesis-driven fields, what hypothesis (or hypotheses) will you test?
    • For projects involving the collection of data, provide details about your data collection strategy and the types of data you will collect.
    • For projects involving the analysis of data, provide details about your planned analytic procedures and show how your analysis will answer your research question(s).
  • Describe where your work will be performed and the materials you will need to use.
  • What will the outcome of this work be? What do you expect to learn and accomplish? Describe anticipated products and any planned dissemination of your work (e.g., performance, poster presentation, thesis, journal manuscript, exhibition).

References – List appropriate scholarly references cited in your proposal to demonstrate your understanding of the field. References should be formatted in the style appropriate to your discipline; this section may be single-spaced. If you refer to a grant proposal made by your mentor, please cite the grant proposal as one of your sources. References do not count in the 8-page project proposal length limit.

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Preparing a Budget

You must submit a detailed budget for your project with information about your request for both the SURF stipend (up to $5,000 to be used as a stipend for living expenses and/or for travel expenses) and the SURF research supply award (up to $500). If you do not anticipate research supply expenses with your project, you do not need to request funds for the SURF research supply portion of the SURF award. You may single-space this document, which is not included in the 8-page proposal limit. Please name this file LastName-FirstName-Budget.pdf.

Make sure to review the SURF Budget Tips and Samples page for further information on constructing your budget request, to see examples of different project budgets, and to ensure that your budget conforms to SURF funding guidelines.
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Preparing a Timeline

As part of your application, you must provide a timeline of your project, including start and end dates, anticipated number of project work hours each week, total number of project hours, and a week-by-week listing of planned project milestones. All weeks of summer research must be completed between May 12 and August 22, 2025. For projects extending beyond the summer, you may list key project activities/milestones that will precede or follow the SURF project period so as to provide context for the summer activities and demonstrate their feasibility. Account for your planned enrollment in summer coursework, participation in study abroad programs, and/or any other substantial commitments in your timeline. Note: Unless the development of a synthesis of the literature is a major component of your proposed summer project, timeline weeks should not be allocated solely to literature review. You may single-space this document, which is not included in the 8-page proposal limit. Please name this file LastName-FirstName-Timeline.pdf.

One timeline preparation method that works well for many people is to work backwards. Start by considering the outcomes you envision for the project and then outline the major steps you will need to take to achieve those outcomes. From there, break each step down further into smaller tasks, and evaluate how much time it will take you to accomplish each task. Think about what you will have achieved or produced through each of those steps and tasks in order to identify project milestones. We recommend that you include communication with your faculty advisor as part of your timeline – for example, you might schedule meetings for discussion and feedback following particular milestones.

Consult the Sample SURF Timelines for examples of how to break down a project into weekly activities and milestones.
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Faculty Letter of Recommendation (New for summer 2025)

Your application must include a letter of recommendation from the faculty member serving as your research/project supervisor. It is your responsibility to contact this individual, discuss the final SURF proposal, and secure their willingness to supervise your research/project activities and complete the required “Faculty Recommendation” task in the Quest application platform by the February 3, 2025 deadline.

Your first letter of recommendation must be from the faculty member who will serve as your research advisor and will supervise the summer work. Please ask them to address all of the following in their letter:

  • Their knowledge of and familiarity with your research project.
  • Their role in the research project – Is this a project that you created and for which the faculty member is serving as an advisor? Or is this project a component of a larger project that is part of the faculty advisor’s ongoing research/creative activity? In the latter case, the committee seeks evidence that you have contributed to the design and development of the SURF project.
  • Their estimation of your academic and personal traits which would contribute to a successful SURF experience.
  • Their assessment of your chances for success and why your project proposal would be important to your field and to your development as a scholar.
  • Their plan for supervision and mentorship, including his/her ability and availability to commit to advising you throughout the project. If you and your advisor will be working in different locations over the summer, your advisor should also outline a plan for communicating with you and supervising you from a distance.

Our information sheet on asking for a letter of recommendation addresses common questions and provides advice on how to approach faculty and other professionals.

Deadline for Submission

Students will request the letter via the online application system (quest.uconn.edu). Faculty recommenders should follow the link emailed to them in order to complete the faculty recommendation task. Faculty will be asked to answer a series of research compliance questions in addition to uploading their letter of recommendation. The Faculty Recommendation task should be completed online no later than Monday, February 3, 2025. Prior to the application deadline, students are encouraged to check in the online application system to confirm that the faculty recommendation has been completed and the letter received.

Any questions or concerns about recommendations should be emailed to our@uconn.edu. chevron-up-thick

International Travel

Students interested in traveling outside the United States as part of their projects must demonstrate that they have made adequate preparations for the logistics and challenges of research and creative work abroad. The review committee will look for evidence that applicants have researched these matters as part of their assessment of the viability of the project.

If you are proposing international travel as part of your SURF project, you will be required to complete an additional series of questions concerning your preparation to complete research or creative work abroad. The International Travel Questions are available on page 6 of the SURF Application Outline.

If your proposal is selected for funding, you will be required to register with UConn’s Office of Experiential Global Learning (EGL) in accordance with the UConn Student International Travel Policy. Students will be enrolled and covered by Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI) Health Insurance for the duration of their trips upon their completion of the Global Affairs undergraduate student travel registration form. Learn more about health insurance costs and the Global Affairs registration procedure.

Travel Restrictions

The most updated travel guidance is available at travel.uconn.edu. International, university-sponsored travel by students to destinations with a Level 3 or 4 U.S. Department of State travel advisory requires an approved waiver from Global Affairs. Information on international travel and access to the travel waiver application is available here. OUR will not fund a student to travel internationally unless the student has secured all necessary travel registrations, waivers, and approvals.

Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research with additional questions or concerns related to funding for international travel.

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