Students
CLAS USP Guidelines
Project Goals
The purpose of the University Scholars Program is to introduce University of Florida undergraduate students to the exciting opportunity of working closely with UF faculty to pursue fundamental research and scholarly activities, thereby gaining valuable insight into how new knowledge is created and developed.
This program will permit selected undergraduate students, who will be designated as University Scholars, to work one-on-one with a chosen faculty member on a research/creative project of mutual interest. It is the responsibility of the student to find a faculty mentor, and USP work is often a continuation of a project a student has been working on as an undergraduate research assistant.
Eligibility and Nominations
Each department or degree program is eligible to nominate up to four students. A student does not have to be majoring in a department in order to apply for USP work, but rather working with a faculty mentor from the department. For the 2008-2009 program, students will conduct research during the summer of 2008 and continue their work during the 2008-2009 academic year. Applicants must have an overall 3.0 GPA and a graduation date of no sooner than fall 2008. Students must enroll in one credit in the summer, but otherwise devote their time to the research project. Students may enroll for independent study credit with their mentor if the mentor agrees and thinks it would be appropriate for the project. The research project may also be completed in any 3000, 4000, IDS, or honors thesis class.
Application Process
Applicants must submit an application, which can be found at www.scholars.ufl.edu, along with a resume, typed research proposal and letter of support from their faculty mentor. All materials should be turned in to the faculty mentor’s department chair by March 1. Each department will submit its top four applicants, ranked, to the college no later than March 7. Nominations should be forwarded to Buffy Lockette in the CLAS Dean's Office at 2326 Turlington Hall, PO Box 117300, and include a copy of each nominee’s application materials. A formal coverletter from the department chair is not necessary—a simple statement listing and ranking the students will suffice.
Selection Process
The college will select from the departmental nominations approximately 53 University Scholars, distributed across the humanities, sciences and social sciences. Awardees will be notified of their selection by mail around the beginning of April. Each student will also receive an informational packet from the Provost’s Office. Since all applicants are not forwarded on to the college, it is the responsibility of the nominating department to notify students who were not selected.
Responsibilities
Upon selection, University Scholars must follow all rules and guidelines of the program, set forth by the Office of the Provost. Each CLAS scholar is expected to submit a research paper for possible publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Research by the end of Spring 2009. Students may also present their research results in a special University Scholars Symposium to be held in the spring.
For more information, please contact the CLAS USP contact Buffy Lockette at 846-2032 or buffy@clas.ufl.edu.