The maximum total amount awarded for SURF projects is $5,500 (up to $5,000 stipend for the student awardee and up to $500 for consumables associated with the research or creative project).
1. There are three basic budget plans for the $5,000 component of a SURF award:
- Plan A – Your SURF award is used as a stipend to cover living expenses during the time you are engaged in your research or creative project over the summer. You may request a maximum of $5,000 as a stipend. To request the full amount, students are expected to complete at least 360 hours of project work (~40 hours/week for 9 weeks or an equivalent commitment over a longer time period). Partial stipends for fewer hours of project activity are also allowable. Stipends for fewer than 360 hours of project work will be prorated. The stipend is based on anticipated expenses associated with living on the Storrs campus during the summer project period.
- Plan B – Funds may be used to pay for domestic or international travel. Students should submit detailed costs (with prices current as of the date of submission), including airfare, lodging, meals, transportation, travel registration fee (for international travel), travel health insurance (for international travel), and any other costs associated with the travel. To request the full amount, travel costs must equal or exceed $5,000.
- Plan C – Funds may be used to pay for domestic or international travel AND a stipend for living expenses BEYOND the travel dates. Students should submit detailed costs (with prices current as of the date of submission), including airfare, lodging, meals, transportation, travel health insurance (for international travel), and any other costs associated with the travel. This plan would be used for travel costs totaling LESS than $5,000. Students may request to use any funds remaining from the full SURF stipend amount (i.e., $5,000 less travel costs) as a stipend for project hours beyond the travel dates. The prorated stipend amount will be calculated based on the number of project hours beyond the travel dates; these project hours should be detailed in your timeline.
Note: A Plan C budget is not appropriate for students whose travel expenses are restricted to commuting costs to a local research site as travel dates will encompass all project weeks. For these students, a Plan A budget is likely more appropriate.
2. In addition, you may request up to $500 as research expense funding to cover consumables and/or other expenses associated with your research project. Expenses may include:
- laboratory materials and supplies
- art supplies
- participant incentives or compensation (as approved by the IRB)
- photocopying charges
- poster printing expenses ($50; for Frontiers or other confirmed presentation opportunities)
- postage charges
- books (only if an explanation of why borrowing from the library is not feasible is provided)
- audio recording device (only if an explanation of why this is required for data security is provided)
- data storage device (maximum $100; only if an explanation of why this is required for data security is provided)
- software (if unavailable through AnyWare or other campus computing resources)
- fees charged for time on shared equipment (e.g., cloud computing, microscopy time) or equipment rental
You must provide exact costs for these items in your budget.
The following expenses should not be included in your research expense budget as they cannot be covered by our funding sources:
- travel expenses, including parking and mileage (should be included in a Plan B or Plan C budget for the $5,000 component of the award)
- membership fees (Note: exceptions to this policy will be considered if a membership is required in order to access a data source or set needed for the project)
- purchase of durable equipment (e.g., camera, computer, microscope)
- transcription services
- payment to individuals for services rendered (other than participant compensation as described above)
- tuition for any instructional program
See Sample Research Expense Budgets below. If you have any questions about whether an anticipated expense is eligible, please contact our@uconn.edu.
SURF BUDGET TIPS
- Include your name in your SURF budget file.
- Indicate which budget plan (A, B, or C) you are using to construct your SURF budget request.
- For a Plan A or Plan C budget, your itemized budget should NOT address the SURF stipend. The stipend amount will be calculated by OUR based on the number of project hours entered in the budget form. This number of project hours should be consistent with your timeline.
- For a Plan B budget, your itemized budget should detail your travel expenses.
- If you are applying for the $500 (maximum) SURF research expense funding, your itemized budget should include a detailed listing of costs associated with your research (see samples below for appropriate level of detail re. items, quantities, and costs).
- Make sure that your budget figures are as accurate as possible.
- Seek out economical options and compare prices across vendors.
- If your travel plans include driving a privately owned car, that expense should be based on the university’s current mileage rate for the distance you will be traveling rather than an estimate of fuel costs.
- Consult with your faculty advisor to obtain pricing information for university suppliers of consumable products you need for your project.
Sample SURF Budgets
Sample Budget for a Plan B SURF Project
(Note: Figures below are for illustration only and may not represent current travel costs)
| Item | Explanation | Quantity | Cost/Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airfare | Boston to Heathrow, roundtrip (including checked bag fees) | 1 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Lodging | YHA London Central Hostel | 17 nights | $95/night | $1,615 |
| Meals | Meals for 15 full days | 17 days | $100/day | $1,700 |
| Transportation | 7-day Travelcards for zones 1-5 | 2 | $95/card | $190 |
| Travel Health Insurance | Registration fee ($25) and insurance cost | 2 weeks | $50/2 weeks | $75 |
| TOTAL $5,080 | ||||
Sample Budget for a Plan C SURF Project
(Note: Figures below are for illustration only and may not represent current travel costs)
190 project hours beyond my travel dates are described on my project timeline; stipend support is requested for that time in addition to the travel expenses listed below.
| Item | Explanation | Quantity | Cost/Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airfare | Hartford to Seattle, roundtrip | 1 | $700 | $700 |
| Lodging | HotelCorp Seattle Downtown | 8 nights | $140/night | $1,120 |
| Meals | Meals for 9 full days | 9 days | $60/day | $540 |
| TOTAL $2,360 | ||||
Sample Research Expense Budgets
(Note: Figures below are for illustration only and may not represent current costs)
Example 1
| Item | Explanation | Quantity | Cost/Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant compensation | IRB-approved compensation for participation in interview study | 25 participants | $15/participant | $375 |
| Data storage device | 1TB portable external hard drive. Per approved IRB protocol, audio data and other identifiable data can only be transported between the research sites on an encrypted data storage device like this in order to ensure data security. | 1 | $75 | $75 |
| Poster printing | Poster printing at Document Production Center for Frontiers | $50 | ||
| TOTAL $500 | ||||
Example 2
| Item | Explanation | Quantity | Cost/Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microcentrifuge tubes | Fisherbrand Premium Microcentrifuge Tubes, 0.5 mL | 500-pack | $75 | $75 |
| Microcentrifuge tubes | Fisherbrand Premium Microcentrifuge Tubes, 1.5 mL | 500-pack | $75 | $75 |
| Antibiotic treatment | Kanamycin sulfate antibiotic | 15 g | $75/5 g | $225 |
| ABI Sequence analysis | Sequencing of samples from all test conditions | 200 samples | $1/sample | $200 |
| Poster printing | Poster printing at Document Production Center for Frontiers | t | $50 | |
| TOTAL $625 | ||||
Note: Costs above the $500 supply budget limit will be covered by the Husky Lab.
Example 3
| Item | Explanation | Quantity | Cost/Unit | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coverslips | To mount tissue samples | 100/pack | $35/pack | $35 |
| Slides | To mount tissue samples | 100/pack | $90 | $90 |
| Aqua polymount | To mount tissue samples | 20 mL | $75 | $75 |
| Advanced Light Microscopy Facility time | Unassisted use of Leica SP8 Spectral Confocal Microscope | 12 hours | $15/hour | $180 |
| Antigen | Gephyrin – mouse monoclonal, to detect splice variants | 100 μg | $300 | $300 |
| TOTAL $680 | ||||
Note: Professor Doe has agreed to cover lab supply costs that exceed the $500 supply budget limit.