Program Guidelines
The goal of the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program is to expose undergraduate students to potential educational and research-oriented career paths and provide them with guidance in the practice of research. The deadline for faculty proposals was March 11, 2022. If you are a student interested in participating and are an undergraduate student who is not graduating before December 2022, please contact a faculty member in your discipline who is conducting research or contact experienceplus@umich.edu with your research interests and we will see if we can help match you.
The goal of the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program is to expose undergraduate students to potential educational and research-oriented career paths and provide them with guidance in the practice of research. The SURE program accomplishes this through faculty mentorship and training while students participate in a faculty member’s research or scholarly project. As part of their training, students are required to attend a series of professional development sessions covering topics such as responsible conduct in research, using library research resources, creating an elevator pitch, translating experiences in your resume, and successful presentation techniques.
SURE Awards will provide student participants with a stipend of $3,200 each while they work with a UM-Dearborn faculty member on research or scholarly projects not counting towards academic credit. Students are also required to present their work and participate in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Project Showcase in the fall.
- Proposals were due by 11:59 pm on March 11, 2022.
- Incomplete proposals will be returned during the administrative review; they can be corrected if time allows but must be resubmitted by the stated deadline.
- Applicant must be a member of the faculty of UM-Dearborn.
- Student must be a registered UM-Dearborn undergraduate student with an expected graduation date no sooner than December 2022.
- Application Limit - one application (with a single undergraduate researcher) per eligible faculty member will be accepted.
- All reports from the applicant’s previous Dearborn Campus Grants must be current.
- The faculty mentor and student researcher will design a schedule to work on the project between May and August 2022.
- Funds provide a stipend to an undergraduate student as a summer research fellow. The student will be paid $3,200 in four installments.
- For funding for supplies, please see the campus Faculty Research Mini Grant.
The following sections are required:
- Lay abstract - A brief summary of your research project written for members of the public rather than researchers or professionals. It should be written in plain English, avoid the use of jargon or acronyms and include an explanation of any technical terms.
- Expected contribution/role the student will have on the proposed project.
- An outline of how you will mentor this student, including engagement, training on the research project, and career planning.
- The impact the learning and overall professional growth of your student mentee (e.g., educational value, bridge to graduate or career goals, etc.).
- Brief description of the student candidate or potential student profile.
- Projects including work with human subjects (e.g., surveys, interviews, data collection, etc.) require approval from the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board (IRB) before work can begin. For more information see the Human Subjects Compliance page.
- Projects including work with vertebrate animals will need approval from the University of Michigan's Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC) before work can begin. For more information see the Animal Care & Use Program (ACUP) page.
- Proof of IRB/IACUC approval is required prior to release of funds.
Applications will be evaluated based upon the following:
- What are the merit and quality of the proposed work and expected outcomes or products?
- Does the proposal fit the intended purpose, guidelines, and program requirements?
- How essential is the student to furthering the project?
- Is the student contribution made clear in the proposal?
- Does the faculty researcher have a mentoring plan or clear and specific goals for the mentoring?
- Experience Plus will manage the administration of the students' stipends.
- Additional project expenses are the responsibility of the faculty member.
- Participation in the professional development series as well as the Summer Undergraduate Research Program Fall Showcase are required
- Faculty and student participants will be required to complete assessment surveys in the process of the program.
- Future funding by the UM-Dearborn Campus Grants program is contingent upon fulfilling the program reporting requirements.