OUR Supply Awards

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Program Overview
Eligibility
Application Deadline
How to Apply
Information for Recommenders
Criteria for Review and Selection
FAQ


Please note: OUR Supply Awards do not fund travel. If you are seeking support for a conference presentation, please visit the OUR Conference Presentation Awards page. If you are seeking support for travel to conduct research, please visit the OUR Research Travel Awards page.


Program Overview

The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) will provide up to $500 to undergraduate students engaged in research or creative projects to cover expenses associated with those projects (e.g., supplies and/or consumables in the laboratory or studio, printing and copying, software). This award is intended to support expenses that are specific to a student’s project and consumed through use in the student’s project. Learn more about permissible expenses under this award program.

Students may not receive funds for living expenses during the academic year or for charges incurred for the UConn courses in which they are enrolled. OUR policy prohibits funding supply costs related to course projects for courses that are required elements in the curriculum for the student’s undergraduate degree program (e.g., senior project for BFA students, design lab for Engineering students). However, students pursuing optional research projects that go beyond degree requirements, and who may be enrolled in experiential learning credits related to those projects (e.g., undergraduate research, independent study), may receive funds to support their project supply costs.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and awards are made until funds are exhausted. In other words, apply early! Supply awards will not normally be made in support of summer projects, but applications related to summer work will be considered if funding remains after the application deadline. Please note that funding for this program, which is intended to support students across the university, is limited. Multiple students applying for support for the same project or related projects may receive smaller awards. Students who have previously received support from OUR for their projects may receive smaller awards or lower priority for funding.

Students who receive an OUR Supply Award are required to present their work at a Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition during the academic year in which they received their OUR Award.

Funding rates for Supply Awards vary; we will take financial need into account when making these awards.


Eligibility

To apply for these awards, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be an undergraduate enrolled full-time at any campus of the University of Connecticut. Eligibility for funding through Office of Undergraduate Research award programs is restricted to students currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UConn. This includes students pursuing Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
    Note: Part-time undergraduate students enrolled at any campus of the University of Connecticut may apply for these awards if they have completed at least 60 academic credits (including at least 12 credits at UConn).
  • Must be in good academic standing.
  • Must have their faculty advisor on the project submit a recommendation form as part of their online application.
  • May receive no more than one OUR Supply Award during any given academic year.

In addition, students’ projects must meet the following requirements:

  • The project may not be for a course that is a required element in the curriculum for the student’s undergraduate degree program (e.g., senior project for BFA students, design lab for Engineering students). However, students pursuing optional research projects that go beyond degree requirements, and who may be enrolled in independent study credits related to those projects, may receive funds to support their project supply costs. Honors thesis projects are eligible under this criterion because earning Honors is optional and requires students to go beyond the requirements for a non-Honors bachelor’s degree.
  • The project must be advised by a UConn faculty member. Projects advised by faculty in the Department of Psychological Sciences will have lower priority for funding due to the availability of department-specific funding for undergraduate research projects. Students should consult their faculty advisors or PSYC undergraduate advisor for more information about the PCLB Psychological Sciences Research Grants. If students elect to apply for an OUR Supply Award, they will be expected to indicate the outcome of a PCLB grant application in their OUR application and will not receive a determination on their OUR application until early December (for fall applicants). Students with extenuating circumstances are encouraged to contact OUR to discuss their situation.

AWARD CONDITIONS

  • OUR Supply Award recipients must present at the Frontiers in Undergraduate Research Poster Exhibition in the fall or spring of the academic year in which the award was received.
  • Recipients must submit a Research Experience Completion Form to the Office of Undergraduate Research by the deadline specified in their award letter.

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Application Deadline

The 2023-2024 OUR Supply Award application will is now closed. The deadline to apply for OUR Supply Award funding for the 2023-2024 academic year was Monday, March 4, 2024 unless funding is exhausted sooner.

Supply awards will not normally be made in support of summer projects, but applications related to summer work will be considered if funding remains after the March 4, 2024 application deadline. Updated information regarding the availability of funds will be posted here.


How to Apply

The OUR Supply Award application is now closed. The OUR Supply Award Application Outline provides a list of all the questions you will need to answer in the online application.

For guidance on how to use the application management system, please review the Quest Portal User Tips. A complete application consists of the online application, an uploaded Budget Worksheet, and a Supply Award recommendation form to be completed by the faculty advisor of your project.

Please use the Budget Worksheet to generate an itemized budget for your project; you will be asked to upload this in PDF format as part of the online application. You will request that your faculty advisor complete a Supply Award recommendation via the Quest online application system by entering his/her name and email address in the application. Please ensure you use the email address that is associated with them in the UConn phonebook; that ensures the request will be linked with their netID. The system will send your faculty advisor a personalized link to complete the recommendation form.

We encourage you to share your project description and budget with your faculty advisor so s/he can refer to them when completing the recommendation form. Please refer to the FAQ section below for detail about allowable and prohibited expenses.

It is advisable to review the OUR Supply Award Application Outline prior to completing the online application. The outline provides you with all the questions you will need to answer and the information you will need to provide in the online application.

Please note 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.

If you have questions about the OUR Supply Award program or the application process, contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at (860) 486-7939, our@uconn.edu, or schedule an appointment with an OUR Advisor via Nexus under “Enrichment Programs.”

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Information for Recommenders

Faculty advisors are asked to complete a Supply Award Faculty Recommendation Form. Your assessment of the quality of the student’s work to date and the necessity of this funding for the completion of the proposed project are critically important to the review process. Students will request recommendations via the online application system (quest.uconn.edu). Faculty should follow the link emailed to them in order to complete the recommendation form (message from UConn Quest Portal [noreply@mail.smapply.net], subject line “Request for recommendation”). If the student has initiated the recommendation request, but you cannot locate the email, you can still submit your recommendation via the Quest Portal. Go to the main Quest Portal page, click “Log In” in the top right corner, select “UConn Single Sign-on” and log in with your netID and password; you should then see the recommendation task to complete.

Please note that award funds may be disbursed directly to the student or transferred to a ledger 2 account associated with the faculty supervisor or his/her department for use in accordance with the budget submitted by the student.

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Criteria for Review and Selection

OUR Supply Award applications are reviewed by the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research based on the following criteria:

  • The project description is well written and clearly explains the project.
  • The student and his/her project meet the eligibility criteria.
  • The budget is itemized, appropriate to the project described, and reports the total cost of the project (even if it exceeds the funding requested).
  • The student has secured research compliance approval(s) if necessary for the project. No award will be issued until documentation of approval(s) is received.
  • The advisor is familiar with the student’s project and rates the student’s work to date highly.
  • The student could not accomplish all the goals of the research project without this funding and the advisor recommends funding.

Please note that funding for this program, which is intended to support students across the university, is limited. Multiple students applying for support for the same project or related projects may receive smaller awards. Students who have previously received support from OUR for their projects may receive smaller awards or lower priority for funding.
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FAQ

How are OUR Research Supply Awards disbursed?
I am conducting my project at UConn Health. Am I eligible for this award?
Can durable equipment be purchased with this award?
Can books be purchased with this award?
Can participant incentives be paid with this award?
Can this award be used for a stipend or wages for undergraduate researchers?
Can I pay for services with this award?
Can I pay for summer research expenses with this award?
Is my OUR Supply Award subject to taxation?
I have questions about OUR Supply Awards. Is there someone I can speak with?


How are OUR Research Supply Awards disbursed?

Award funds can be disbursed in one of two ways:

  1. If the supplies will be purchased by the university, funds will be transferred to an account associated with your faculty advisor or his/her department.
  2. If you will be personally responsible for the expenses, the funds will be posted to your fee bill. Once posted to your fee bill, you will be able to request a refund from the Bursar’s Office.


I am conducting my project at UConn Health. Am I eligible for this award?

Yes, you are eligible for this award, unless you are a participant in the Health Research Program. HRP participants are ineligible for OUR Supply Awards because supply support for students’ projects is made available directly through that program.


Can durable equipment be purchased with this award?

No, durable equipment like computers, tablets, and cameras cannot be purchased through this award program. This award is intended to support expenses that are specific to a student’s project and consumed through use in the student’s project. Physical items (e.g., film, reagents) and time using particular equipment or resources (e.g., confocal microscopy time, cloud computing time, a time-delimited software license) are allowable expenses. If you have questions about whether an anticipated expense is allowable under this award program, please contact our@uconn.edu.


Can books be purchased with this award?

Book purchases may be an allowable expense. If you wish to purchase books, within your application you must justify this expense by explaining why it is not feasible to borrow these books from the library. If you have questions about whether an anticipated expense is allowable under this award program, please contact our@uconn.edu.


Can participant incentives be paid with this award?

Yes, participant incentives are an allowable expense provided that the incentives have been reviewed and approved by the IRB. Records must be kept in accordance with the approved IRB protocol. If you have questions about whether an anticipated expense is allowable under this award program, please contact our@uconn.edu.


Can this award be used for a stipend or wages for undergraduate researchers? 

No, OUR Supply Awards may not fund a stipend or wages for an undergraduate researcher. In the employment of UConn students in any capacity, both on and off-campus, all employers/supervisors must adhere to the policies within the Student Employment Guide, the University Code of Conduct, the State Code of Ethics, and other relevant policies.


Can I pay for services with this award?

Under very limited circumstances, OUR Supply Awards may be used to cover service expenses. These requests require clear justification, including an explanation of why external assistance is required and why the student cannot develop the requisite skills (e.g., translation services are required because the student does not have the requisite level of mastery of the language). Services such as transcription, web design, figure preparation, and editing/production are unlikely to be covered by this program. All requests must also comply with the University’s Purchasing policies and procedures. If you have questions about whether an anticipated expense is allowable under this award program, please contact our@uconn.edu.


Can I pay for summer research expenses with this award?

The OUR Supply Awards program is focused on supporting research and creative projects pursued during the academic year. Supply awards will not normally be made in support of summer projects; however, applications related to summer work will be considered if funding remains after the application deadline. A summer supply award cannot be held in conjunction with another summer award from OUR (i.e., BOLD Scholar project funding, UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship – Change Grants, Health Research Program stipend, UConn IDEA Grant, SURF Award). Updated information about the availability of funds will be posted in the Application Deadline section above.


Is my OUR Supply Award subject to taxation?

For questions related to taxation, please refer to the UConn Tax & Compliance Office’s Student Taxation page and Student Tax FAQs.


I have questions about OUR Supply Awards. Is there someone I can speak with?

If you have questions about OUR Supply Awards or the application process, contact the Office of Undergraduate Research at our@uconn.edu, 860-486-7939, or schedule an appointment with an OUR Advisor via Nexus under “Enrichment Programs.”

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