What is the Faculty Mentoring Grant?
UROP is committed to promoting and expanding research and creative work opportunities for undergraduate students across campus. To increase undergraduate student participation in these opportunities during the summer, UROP is awarding up to $75,000 for the Faculty Mentoring Grant for Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Work (Faculty Mentoring Grant)! The grant will be awarded to University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) faculty who will mentor UHM undergraduate students conducting research and creative work projects in Summer 2022. Grant recipients must plan to use 100% of the funds to support the students’ projects.
Request for Proposals
The application cycle is closed. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by mid-April 2022. News on the 2023 Faculty Mentoring Grant application cycle, if available, will be posted on this page in January 2023.
For questions, contact urop@hawaii.edu, or visit the FAQs page.
Faculty Eligibility
Eligible applicants include UHM faculty who meet one or more of the following requirements:
- Tenured/tenure-track
- Classified by the UHM Graduate Division as Regular or Cooperating Graduate Faculty at any level (1-3)
- Currently ineligible faculty may: (i) partner with an eligible faculty member to submit a joint proposal; the eligible member must submit the proposal, and will receive the grant funds if successful; or, (ii) complete a Faculty Mentor Eligibility Petition; the Faculty Mentor Eligibility Petition must be submitted to UROP at least two weeks prior to the submission of a Faculty Mentoring Grant proposal in order to ensure timely consideration of the Petition.
Please note that granting of faculty mentor eligibility is not guaranteed. Applicants who choose to petition for eligibility in lieu of partnering with an eligible UHM faculty member and are not ultimately granted eligibility will not be considered for the Faculty Mentoring Grant. Grant funds will not be disbursed to successful applicants until eligibility is granted.
Student Eligibility
Eligible undergraduate mentees include UHM undergraduate students who plan to graduate from UHM, but who have not graduated before the end of Summer 2022, and who will not be concurrently funded with UROP Project Funding in Summer 2022.
Maximum funding request
Faculty across all disciplines at UHM may apply for up to $5,000 per undergraduate student mentee, for up to 3 mentees, or a maximum of $15,000 for 3 or more mentees.
Acceptable expenditures
All funds are to be used to directly support the undergraduate student’s project in Summer 2022.
Allowable expenditures include:
- Materials and supplies
- Travel costs for students (see note below)
- Student wages
Note: UROP is funding essential travels only, i.e., travels absolutely necessary to conduct the proposed project/presentation or travels that would significantly benefit student outcomes compared to alternate approaches. See UROP’s full policy on travel funding.
Non-allowable expenditures include:
- Faculty summer salary
- Student tuition
- Any expenses not directly related to the student’s project
Fund distribution
Funds will be distributed to successful faculty applicants as a RTRF account, and faculty will have until August 31, 2022 to expend all funds.
Other Funding Sources
In addition to the Faculty Mentoring Grant, UROP also offers Student Project Funding. Refer to the table below to understand the differences.
STUDENT PROJECT FUNDING | FACULTY MENTORING GRANT | |
APPLICATION PROCESS | ||
Application Cycle | Fall (9/9/ – 10/10) Spring (2/2/ – 3/3) | Spring (2/1 – 3/1) |
Maximum Funding Request | $5,000 max for individual project; $10,000 max for group project (2-10 members) | $5,000 max per student up to 3 students OR $15,000 max for 3 or more students |
Applicant | Student | Faculty |
Funding Disbursed To | Student | Faculty |
Funding Mechanism | Scholarship via Financial Aid | RTRF account |
Funding Disbursement Timing | A semester after the semester of application | Early May |
Student Eligibility | • Enrolled as a classified undergraduate student at UHM • Plan to graduate from UHM • Mentored by a UHM faculty member who meets eligibility criteria (see “Faculty Mentor Eligibility” below) • Have at least one Fall or Spring semester or one Summer session following the semester of application • Submit no more than one application per Project funding cycle • Have no more than one active UROP project at a time (if you previously received UROP project funding, you must satisfy all UROP project completion requirements in the completion semester prior to the new project’s semester of funding disbursement) | • UHM undergraduate students who plan to graduate from UHM, but who have not graduated before the end of Summer • Students cannot be concurrently funded with UROP Project Funding • Students do not have to be enrolled in a summer course |
Faculty Mentor Eligibility | Meet at least one of the following criteria: • Tenured/tenure-track faculty at UHM (including the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center) • Regular or Cooperating Graduate Faculty (at any level) at UHM classified by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Graduate Division • Have submitted and been granted a Faculty Mentor Eligibility Petition | Meet at least one of the following criteria: • Tenured/tenure-track faculty at UHM (including the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center) • Regular or Cooperating Graduate Faculty (at any level) at UHM classified by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Graduate Division • Have submitted and been granted a Faculty Mentor Eligibility Petition OR • Partner with an eligible faculty member to submit a joint proposal |
STUDENT AND MENTOR EXPECTATIONS | ||
Proposal and Application Submission | Student is expected to write the proposal and complete and submit the application, with guidance from their mentor. | Faculty writes the proposal and submits the application. Faculty member does not need to have the student mentee recruited by the time of application. |
Project Timeline | Student can propose a project timeline (e.g. some student projects last only a semester whereas some projects may take several years). | The project timeline must be for the summer. The grant is meant to give faculty resources to help increase participation in summer student research. The project does not need to be 100% complete by the end of summer, but the funds must be spent by the end of summer. |
Project Idea | Project can be student-initiated (i.e. student comes up with completely original project idea) or faculty-initiated (i.e. faculty oversees a large project and brings on an undergraduate student assistant. In this case, the student should be carving out a part of that project that they are primarily responsible for). | Project is faculty-initiated |
Completion Requirements | • Student is required to fulfill end-of-project completion requirements including Project Completion Report, Receipt Report, presentation at the Undergraduate Showcase or SURE Symposium, Post-Presentation Survey, and Receipt Report. • Faculty Mentor is required to complete Project Evaluation Form | • The faculty member must complete a survey at the end of summer. • There are no end-of-project completion requirements for the student. The faculty member may or may not choose to set their own requirements for the student, such as submitting a manuscript for publication, or presenting at a conference, etc. |