Invitation to Apply

Valley City State University

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

Call for Proposals

Valley City State University, in a partnership with the North Dakota EPSCoR program announce a call for proposals for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP).

The newly launched UROP program operates as a pilot program to stimulate undergraduate research at the nine primarily undergraduate institutions which are a part of the North Dakota University System. 

UROP submission process:

Undergraduates, working with a faculty mentor, are asked to solicit the UROP for salary and materials costs via a four page proposal that outlines the scope, timeline, and budget of their scholarly work.  

Faculty, ideally working with a students in mind, are asked to solicit the UROP for research-grade equipment that can be used long-term to sustain their own or department research alongside students.  Repair or modification of existing equipment will be considered.

Proposals should be written for a non-expert audience. 

UROP review process:

Selected jurors will score proposals submitted by students using the UROP scoring rubric. Equipment proposals will be evaluated with a weighting for student and community impact, and local  matching of funds.

Available funding:

The UROP program has $250,000 available through June, 2025. Each student grant can support $2,000 for salary/stipend for efforts estimated as 100-120 hours, and up to $400 for materials or other direct expenses for the project.

For summer-long projects, students can request funds that are consistent with full time work under mentor guidance lasting up to twelve weeks. Stipends for off contract faculty will be considered.

Equipment requests from faculty can be for up to $20,000 for projects with highest student impact.

Funds for successful projects will be distributed from the research business office at NDSU as sub-awards to individual campuses. 

Timeline:

Proposals for projects should be submitted by 11 p.m. on Monday, February 24, 2025.  The point of contact for the UROP program is Dr. David DeMuth, david.demuth@vcsu.edu, questions are encouraged.

Reporting:

Dissemination plans are a requirement for both student and equipment tracks. Students should plan to present their work at a relevant regional or national conference.

Funded equipment projects will include a responsibility to submit a short report on the use of the equipment, and impacts to students and/or the public via outreach activities. Faculty pursuing equipment grants should anticipate spending their funds by the end of June 2025.

For additional information, sample proposals, and proposal submission forms, visit https://urop.vcsu.edu.