Q: Are graduate or doctoral students allowed to apply?
A: No, UROP funding is for classified undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UHM.
Q: Are students from any other University of Hawaii campus eligible for funding?
A: No, UROP funds are for UHM undergraduate students only.
Q: Are international students eligible to apply?
A: International students who are classified undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UHM are eligible to apply.
Q: Are students in their last semester of undergraduate coursework allowed to apply?
A: ERC funding – No, students must have more than 60 credits remaining in their bachelor’s degree program at the time of application.
A: Project funding – No, students must have at least one Fall or Spring semester or Summer remaining in their degree progress at the time of application to be eligible. In other words, students must not graduate in their application semester in order to be eligible.
A: Presentation funding – Yes, students in their last semester may apply for funding to travel to a conference/competition/event and present their research or creative work, as long as the event takes place while they are still a student enrolled in at least one credit (i.e., prior to graduation).
Q: I submitted my application materials before the deadline, but realized I forgot one part of it. Can I submit that component after the deadline, even if all other material was submitted on time?
A: No. UROP does not accept application materials after the deadline.
Q: If I have already received funding, can I apply for funding again?
A: ERC funding – Yes, as long as you meet all eligibility requirements (see “Funding Eligibility”). Additionally, if you are accepted for ERC funding again, you must complete all outstanding completion requirements for the prior ERC experience before receiving your funding for the new ERC experience.
A: Project funding – Yes, as long as you meet all eligibility requirements (see “Funding Eligibility”). Additionally, if you are accepted for Project funding again, you must complete all outstanding completion requirements for the prior project before receiving your funding for the new project.
A: Presentation funding – Yes. However, UROP does not fund students to present the same research or creative work more than once even if the venue is different.
Q: Can I receive course credit (i.e., satisfy degree requirements such as thesis, practicum, internship, etc.) and receive UROP funding for the same project/presentation?
A: Yes. However, your stipend funding could be limited. See #4 under Stipend funding,
Q: Can I apply for funding to work with a mentor so that I can support their research or creative work?
A: ERC funding – Yes. Examples of this could be conducting a literature review, coordinating and transcribing interviews, helping out in the lab, etc.
A: Project funding – Yes. However, you must carve out a research or creative work project of your own. This means your work can be related to your mentor’s but must be unique from the work of your mentor and should have its own goals, methodology, timeline, questions, etc.
Q: Can I still apply for UROP funding even if I don’t have a mentor yet? If not, how do I find one?
A: All UROP funding opportunities are mentored undergraduate research and creative work. Students must have a mentor who will work with them in preparing their application (there is a mentor component in the application) and support them if awarded funding. See the Finding a Mentor page for tips on how to find a mentor.
Q: What are my chances of getting funding? How many students are rejected or accepted on average?
A: It largely comes down to the overall quality of your application, as well as the number of applications that are received in a given semester. UROP funding opportunities are merit-based and thus highly competitive. UROP recommends students to be sure to follow all UROP guidelines when preparing their applications, work with their mentor/recommendation provider on their application well ahead of the application deadline, utilize the resources on the UROP website including the Tips & Reminders page, and email urop@hawaii.edu if they have any questions.
Q: Do I need to provide my transcript with my application?
A: Depends. If you are applying for ERC or Project or Presentation funding as an individual, you need to retrieve your combination transcript from STAR and submit it with your application. See STAR Combination Transcript to learn how to obtain your transcript for submission to UROP. However, if you are applying for Project or Presentation funding as a group, submitting your transcripts altogether is optional (UROP will retrieve it from STAR instead so that applicants do not have to share their transcripts with group members).
Q: I noticed that research and creative work involving research compliance (e.g., working with human subjects, animal subjects, and/or hazardous materials) require approval from the appropriate reviewing institution on campus. Is the approval required by the application due date?
A: ERC funding – No. ERC funding recipients will be required to complete relevant training and research compliance after they receive their funding.
A: Project and Presentation funding – No. However, UROP strongly recommends all applicants to start preparing to meet all training and research compliance requirements as soon as possible. UROP does not release any funds to Project and Presentation funding recipients until all relevant training and research compliance documents are received, which can delay the start of a project or presentation significantly. UROP may rescind the funding offer if an applicant’s progress on training and research compliance is deemed inadequate. An email update to UROP on the status of research compliance approval is required on the 5th and 20th of each month until granted approval by the reviewing institution.
Q: Does my UHM mentor/recommendation provider have to be in the same department as me or in a department relevant to my research or creative work topic?
A: No. However, your UHM mentor/recommendation provider should have expertise in your research or creative work topic as they are responsible for guiding you, including providing subject matter expertise. Additionally, your application reviewers may consider your mentor’s/recommendation provider’s expertise and its relevance to your research or creative work when making a funding decision. Therefore, UROP recommends applicants to find a mentor/recommendation provider whose expertise aligns with your research or creative work topic.
Q: Does my research or creative work need to be completed within one semester or can I complete it in two semesters or more?
A: ERC funding – Students can apply for one or a maximum of two semesters.
A: Project funding – The timeline for your research or creative work project is up to you and your mentor. It should depend on your topic, methodology, objectives, etc., as well as your other commitments such as coursework, family obligations, jobs, etc. Plan carefully and consult with your mentor for a feasible timeline. While some students propose and complete their UROP-funded projects in a single semester, UROP encourages a timeline of at least two semesters.
Q: I know UROP sends out email notifications of acceptance, but will I be notified if my application is rejected?
A: Yes, all applicants will be notified of the final decision.
A: Project and Presentation funding – If your application is denied funding, you will receive feedback on your application from faculty reviewers that might help you improve your application should you decide to apply again. However, if your application is disqualified (i.e., rejected without review), you will not receive feedback from faculty reviewers.
Q: Can I do a project outside of UROP and work on another project with UROP funding?
A: Yes, we encourage you to seek out research and creative work opportunities. At the same time, we recommend you to carefully budget your time and not overcommit.
Q: When can I start buying items for my project/presentation with UROP funding?
A:Project funding – If you have been accepted for funding, you may start making purchases after you receive the official funding disbursement email from UROP. See the Purchasing Items tab under the Funding Recipient page for more information.
A: Presentation funding – Presentation funding recipients may start making purchases before receiving their official funding disbursement email from UROP. If recipients made purchases before receiving funding, they may reimburse themselves once they receive UROP funding. See the Purchasing Items tab under the Funding Recipient page for more information.
Q: When applying for UROP funding, can I include a stipend for hours I already worked and/or items I already purchased prior to applying for UROP funding in my budget?
A: Project funding – No, you may not include items that you have already purchased prior to applying for UROP funding. In addition, you may not request a stipend for hours you have already worked.
A: Presentation funding – Yes, but only for stipend hours and items you purchased up to 3 months prior to the event date that you can justify.
Q: May I include a stipend in my application?
A: ERC funding – Yes. UROP provides a flat stipend rate of $1500 for one semester and $3000 for two semesters.
A: Project and Presentation funding – Yes, you are eligible to apply for stipend funding. UROP funds stipends at a set rate of $15 per hour. Please indicate how many hours you expect to work on your project or presentation with sufficient justification in your Budget Table, which includes whether or not the work done will also count towards any academic credit (i.e., coursework, capstone, practicum, internship, etc.). You will also be required to illustrate the breakdown of the requested stipend hours and corresponding tasks in your Stipend Table. See the Itemized Budget and Justification page for more details.
Q: Why does UROP require individual budgets in addition to the group budget?
A: UROP funding is given to students as a financial aid scholarship, which means that it must be given to an individual student and not to a group of students. Individual budgets, including the amount and the breakdown of funding, is reviewed by the Financial Aid Office based on an individual student’s cost of attendance to determine eligibility to receive UROP funding as a scholarship.
Q: For groups, does our mentor or presentation recommendation provider need to fill out the Project Mentor Form or the Presentation Recommendation Form, respectively, for each group member?
A: No, only one form per group is required. The same is true for the Mentor Evaluation Survey, which UROP requires from UROP Project mentors as part of the Project Completion Requirements.
Q: Our group project received funding and one of our members dropped out. Can we continue and redistribute their funds to other group members?
A: Depends. You must report the change to UROP, which will review the requested change and determine eligibility on a case by case basis. See the Scope & Budget Change tab under the Funding Recipients page for more details.
Q: Do I need to present my research or creative work if I receive ERC or Project funding?
A: ERC funding – You must attend an on-campus presentation event scheduled in your completion semester, but you are not required to present. If it is a spring semester, attend the Spring Undergraduate Showcase. If it is a fall semester, attend the Fall Undergraduate Showcase. If it is summer, attend the SURE Symposium. At the same time, UROP encourages all ERC funding recipients to present whenever possible.
A: Project funding – You must present your research or creative work at a Spring Undergraduate Showcase following the completion of your UROP project. However, if you are completing your project in a Fall Semester and you (and/or a group member) are graduating, you must present at a Fall Undergraduate Showcase. If you are completing your project in a summer and you are graduating, you must present at the SURE Symposium.
Q: How long does my presentation for the Undergraduate Showcase/SURE Symposium have to be? What should it consist of?
A: The oral presentation typically consists of a 12-minute presentation followed by a 3-minute question and answer segment. You may choose to do a poster presentation in addition to an oral presentation, and UROP encourages this to gain experience in a variety of presentation formats.
Q: Do I need to pay tax on my UROP funding?
A: Any funding you receive from UROP should be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as it may be subject to taxation. See the Tax Information page for more details.
Q: I would like to receive my UROP funding in the summer, but I am not enrolled in the summer at UHM. What can I do so that I am eligible to receive my funding?
A: UROP may be able to offer a 1-credit, $0 tuition course (student fees still apply) at UHM so that you are eligible to receive your UROP funding in the summer.