Team Grants provide up to $3,000 for faculty-led research, scholarly or creative projects involving two or more undergraduates.

Guidelines

Review the faculty eligibility guidelines and note the following.

Coursework

  • Team Grants are not intended to support "general" coursework, even if it is research/inquiry-based, but funding may support students doing research or creative projects outside the classroom while they’re enrolled in Independent Study/Honors Thesis courses with section numbers in the 800-900s.

Team Composition

  • Faculty awarded UROP Team Grants are not required to identify the students selected for their teams until they submit the Final Survey near the end of the award period.
  • Students already receiving UROP funding in the same award period are not eligible to receive funding from a Team Grant, but faculty are currently not limited in the number of students they can mentor.
  • Faculty are encouraged to consider inclusivity and diversity in the composition of teams and will have the option to have their project advertised as an open opportunity among the LEAD Alliance and other student-support programs.

UROP Review Board Service Requirement

Faculty awarded Team Grants are required to serve on the UROP Review Board and evaluate project proposals in the next annual application cycle. 

  • The evaluation of UROP proposals typically takes place from early March to mid-April. 
  • The time commitment required varies based on the number of applications received in the reviewer’s disciplinary sub-committee and the number of reviewers available. 
  • All reviewers will receive detailed instructions in advance of the review process and have the option to defer their service in the event of extenuating circumstances.

Though all UROP Faculty Grant proposals are reviewed and awarded on an annual basis with one deadline around mid-February each year, eligible faculty may apply for funding in the following grant terms.

  • 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.
  • 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.

Note: Faculty may apply for more than one grant term and/or type per application cycle but must submit a separate application for each.

Continuing Projects

Faculty are allowed to submit proposals for continuing 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.  Faculty submitting proposals for continuing projects spanning more than one grant term should clearly state end points in each proposal.  Applications with proposals for continuing projects are evaluated and awarded independently.

Team Grant proposals are evaluated in a double-blind review process in which committee members cannot identify the faculty mentor based on the following criteria.

  • On a scale of 1 (poor) to 9 (exceptional), rate the overall qualify of the proposal based on the value of the learning experiences provided.

Project Categories

UROP Grant proposals are evaluated by one of six faculty review committees organized by the following disciplinary categories (selected at the time of application). 

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Business
  • Education
  • Life/Bio-Sciences
  • Math, Physical Sciences and Engineering
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences

Note: Faculty should select the category that most appropriately describes the proposed project.  For interdisciplinary projects, faculty should select based on the project's focus.

Ensuring Blind Review

UROP proposals must not contain the applicant's personal information to ensure the integrity of the blind review process. 

Make the following substitutions in your proposal:

  • "mentor" for the applicant's name
  • "additional supervisor" for the additional supervisor's name
  • "lab/research team" for the lab or research team's name
  • "they" for gendered pronouns (s/he)​

Because Team Grants do not require faculty to select student team members at the time of application, these prompts ask faculty to outline accessible projects, highlight intended learning outcomes and provide a statement to promote the opportunity. 

Context and Objectives

  • 200 words maximum: Situate your project within other work in the field by providing a summary of the work done and discuss the theoretical traditions influencing your project.  State the specific objectives/purpose of your project. Explain the project's relevance and who stands to benefit.  Note what is original about your project and what contribution it makes to the field. 
    • Alternative Prompt for Creative/Performance Projects: Tell us the objectives, points of curiosity from which you're starting, hypothesis or question you're exploring and the guiding principles of the work.  Discuss what theoretical, aesthetic, and/or creative traditions influence your project. Include what contributions you're making to the field.  Discuss where and when the final project will be exhibited, displayed or performed. Include your own creative/performance history.

Methodology and Strategy​

  • 150 words maximum: Explain the method(s)/strategy used in this project, including a justification for your approach.  Also justify off-site work and/or international travel if your project requires it.  Note any experience, training and/or coursework required for students.

Mentoring Role and Philosophy

  • 350 words maximum: Explain your role and, if applicable, that of the additional supervisor in the mentoring of students in this project.  What learning outcomes should they expect? Will they have the opportunity to co-author or present this work? Note previous experience mentoring undergraduate researchers and summarize your mentoring approach/philosophy.

Timeline

  • Explain your project timeline (when activities will happen) from the start of the grant term to which you are applying, noting major phases to the end of the grant term. 

Student Recruitment

  • How many students do you anticipate supporting with this grant?
  • 50 words maximum: Explain how you will work to make excellence inclusive in the recruitment and selection of undergraduate team members.
  • Optional, 150 words maximum: Provide a brief statement promoting your Team Grant as a potential opportunity for undergraduates.  UROP will include this statement (with relevant project and contact information) in campus communications leading up to the start of the grant term or until the team is complete.

Proposal Writing Advice

Your UROP project proposal explains the “what,” “how,” “when,” and “why” of the research, scholarly or creative work you plan to do in partnership with students. Proposals also explain the “learning objectives,” or what you intend students to learn.

Consider the following when preparing your proposal:

  • State your “thesis” first. Begin your proposal with the project’s goals.
  • Highlight broader impacts. Explain who will benefit from the project’s outcomes.
  • Frame the “bigger picture.” Note how the project fits into the larger field.
  • Answer the “so what?” question. Make clear what is important.
  • Communicate urgency. Explain why the project needs to happen now.
  • Avoid jargon/technical language. Reviewers are faculty with expertise in your project area but may not be specialists familiar with some terminology.

Tip: Prepare your proposal in a word document before submitting it online.

Team Grant funding is disbursed in one payment to the speedtype indicated on the application; account managers will be asked to verify the speedtype as applications are submitted.

Faculty are required to provide the following information at the time of application.

  • Itemize and total their budgetary request.

  • Provide a speedtype for the fund transfer.

  • Identify the Account Manager responsible for the speedtype indicated.

  • Note other potential funding sources.

  • Include additional information as needed.

UROP funding may not be used to pay graduate or part-time CU students or students from other universities; to be eligible, students must be full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates at the University of Colorado Boulder.

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