UROP Student Funding Recap: Fall 2024 and Spring 2025

UROP continued to support undergraduate research and creative work across the UHM campus in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 through our three student-funding opportunities.

Entering Research and Creative Work

UROP’s Entering Research and Creative Work (ERC) opportunity provides funding for early-career undergraduate students to obtain mentorship and training in research or creative practice. Students receive stipends for a semester or an entire academic year to work closely alongside a mentor on a new or existing project; their work may involve everything from conducting literature reviews, to learning to use specific tools or techniques, to contributing to research design and execution.

In Spring 2025, UROP received 9 applications from 9 students for the ERC opportunity, representing a total request of $24,000. These numbers amount to the lowest number of applicants in the past 6 application cycles. Eight of these applications were approved for funding in the amount of $19,500.

Project Funding

UROP’s Project funding opportunity supports mentored undergraduate research and creative projects in all disciplines, covering such expenses as materials and supplies, travel, outsourcing, and project time.

In Spring 2025, UROP received 70 proposals from 93 students (55 students as individual applicants and 38 students from 15 groups) for Project funding, representing a total request of $385,690. These numbers amount to the second-highest number of applicants and highest number of proposals in the past 27 application cycles. Factoring in the Fall 2024 application cycle, UROP received the highest number of Project funding proposals in a single year during AY25. Ultimately, 47 applications from 65 students (43 students as individual awardees and 21 students from 6 groups) were approved for funding in the amount of $230,000. Four of these applications (3 individual and 1 group of 3 students) were funded via the Tyler Fellowship for International Research and Creative Work in the amount of $20,994.80. All other approved applications were funded via UROP’s regular pool of merit-based scholarship money.