We encourage you to read this guide carefully before applying and welcome your questions as you plan projects and prepare proposals.
UROP will provide feedback on proposals in development and can connect faculty to experienced mentors, project designers and program managers throughout the campus.
Review the information here and check out these resources:
UROP applications are closed and will reopen in Fall 2022 with a deadline on February 17, 2023—for proposals planned in Summer 2023 and/or Academic Year 2023-24.
Check out our Open Opportunities for funded, team-based projects and join the Application Alert list to know as soon as you can apply.
Prepare your proposal and submit your application, using the secure and accessible online forms linked on this site.
Account Managers (named in the application) will be alerted to your submission and asked to verify speedtype (ST) information.
UROP will follow-up with applicants and account managers as needed. Check out Faculty Grant Payment for details.
Proposals are evaluated in a blind review process by members of the UROP Review Board after the application deadline.
Decision notices are sent from urop@colorado.edu near the end of the spring term; UROP encourages you to add us as a "safe sender."
Students must be full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates at the University of Colorado Boulder based on the following enrollment guidelines. All students grants must be supervised by an eligible faculty mentor.
Tenured/tenure-track, research faculty and contract instructors at the University of Colorado Boulder are eligible to mentor Student Grants and apply for Faculty Grants.
Graduate students or post-docs may serve in a supervisory role on student grants, but the faculty mentor must provide some direct mentoring to the undergraduate.
UROP applications are reviewed and awarded annually. Applicants may apply for funding in the summer and/or academic year "grant terms" at the same time.
UROP does not offer fall or spring-only grants, but students graduating in December may apply for academic year funding.
May to August
Summer term proposal timelines should span most of the award period (from the end of the Spring term to the beginning of the Fall term) and come to a distinct, if not final, conclusion by the end of the term.
August to May
Academic Year term proposal timelines should span most of the award period (from the beginning of the Fall term to the end of the Spring term) and come to a distinct, if not final, conclusion by the end of the term.
Applicants may submit proposals for more than one grant term, but they must submit separate applications for each and should know that all proposals are reviewed and awarded separately.
Applicants may submit proposals for projects that extend beyond the grant term, but all proposals should come to a distinct, if not final, conclusion by the end of the term.
There is no limit on the total number of UROP grants applicants may receive, but students may not receive concurrent funding from CU Boulder's Biological Sciences Initiative (BSI).
Students may withdraw from UROP to join BSI.
Projects involving human subjects may require approval by the IRB and involve additional steps in the application and award process.
Students: Talk to you mentor as soon as possible and review the resources and guidelines on the IRB website.
Additional Prompts
Have you completed training in human subject research (IRB)?
Have you completed training in human subject research (IRB)?
Has your project been approved by the IRB?
Has your project been approved by the IRB?
Projects involving animal subjects may require approval by the IACUC and involve additional steps in the application and award process.
Students: Talk to your mentor as soon as possible and review the resources and guidelines on the IACUC website.
Additional Prompts
Have you completed training the care and use of animals (IACUC)?
Have you completed training the care and use of animals (IACUC)?
Has your project been approved by the IACUC?
Has your project been approved by the IACUC?
Students participating in projects with NSF or NIH funding must complete appropriate training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).
Students: Talk to you mentor as soon as possible and review the resources and guidelines on the RCR website.
Additional Prompts
Have you completed training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR)?
100 words maximum: Explain your plan to ensure all students complete the RCR training requirements for working on NSF and/or NIH-funded research.
UROP is unable to provide funding for student travel (domestic or international) at this time, but we are actively working with campus administrators to reopen UROP for travel as soon as possible.
Though institutional policy allows students to receive university funding for pre-approved travel, UROP is unique among campus programs and working to align procedures to policies enacted in the pandemic.
While new procedures are in development, UROP will not be able to support proposals involving travel (domestic or international).
Proposals are evaluated in a double-blind review process to ensure applicants receive fair and informed evaluations of their proposed projects and comply with university policy.
UROP encourages faculty to serve on the Review Board to evaluate proposals, learn more about the process and help ensure timely decisions—even if they plan to mentor or apply for funding.
Proposals are evaluated by one of six UROP Review Board sub-committees based on the following project categories (selected at the time of application).
Check out the Grant Directory for examples.
Proposals must not contain the student's or mentor's personal information (name and gender) to ensure the integrity of blind review.
Make these substitutions in your proposal:
UROP faculty grants are scored based on the value of the proposed student learning experiences and the potential to advance inclusive excellence.
Rate the overall quality of the proposal based on the value of the learning experiences provided.
Rate the overall quality of the proposal based on the potential to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.
