Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management

STUDENT APPLICATION MATERIALS FOR THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (BSURF)

Description

The Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Fellowship (BSURF) was established to support undergraduate research opportunities in the Division of Biological Sciences within the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The Fellowship provides financial assistance to students who have not had an opportunity to participate in a mentored research experience (paid, volunteer, or for credit) since matriculating to the University of Georgia.

Summer 2025: Two Fellowships of $3,500.00 each will be awarded. Funds will be paid to the recipients in two installments. The research is to be completed during the 2025 Summer Thru session term.

Eligibility

Applicants must be current Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology, Cellular Biology, Genetics, Marine Sciences, Microbiology, or Plant Biology majors in their 1st through 3rd year and have not had the opportunity to engage in mentored, scientific research since matriculating to the University of Georgia.

Award Requirements

1. The student applicant must find a faculty member who is willing to mentor the student through a research experience. The faculty member must fill out their portion of the Application Packet via Qualtrics (see #2 in Application Process below). The faculty portion of the Application Packet will be automatically emailed to the faculty member once the student has submitted their portion of the Application Packet.

2. A complete BSURF Application Packet must be submitted through Qualtrics by 5:00 pm on March 31, 2025. Only completed packets will receive consideration. See below for Application Packet requirements.

3. The awardees must complete at least 20 hours of work per week for 8 weeks during the months of June and July (Summer Thru session).

4. The field of research must be biological in focus. Areas which may qualify include, but are not limited to: Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Ecology, Entomology, Organismal Biology, Plant Biology, Microbiology, Marine Biology, Biopsychology, Genetics, Bioinformatics, Biomedical and Bioengineering. The awardees and faculty member must agree on a suitable research project or activities.

5. The awardee must complete mandatory lab safety training.

6. The degree of the awardees' involvement in research activities is at the discretion of the faculty member and should closely follow the faculty-submitted research statement. However, in addition to the awardees' primary research, it is strongly encouraged for the awardees to participate in multiple activities (e.g. lab group meetings, journal clubs) to learn as much as possible about scientific research.

7. The awardees must provide hand-written thank-you notes/letters to the donors of the Fellowship award funds as well as possibly attend a thank-you lunch or dinner event to meet the donors.

8. The awardees are required to submit two original, written papers to biology@uga.edu on the first day of finals in Summer Thru session. These papers include one reflection paper and one research paper. The research paper should closely follow the description of the student’s research activities as detailed in the faculty-submitted research statement. Instructions for writing these papers can be found on page 2 of this Qualtrics survey. Hand-delivered, hard copies of the papers will not be accepted.

Application Process

Submission

An Application Packet must be submitted through this Qualtrics application "survey" form (including Faculty agreement) by 5:00 pm on March 31, 2025.

The Application Packet consists of:

1. Signed student agreement by the applicant (page 3 of this Qualtrics application).

2. Signed faculty agreement by the faculty mentor (this will be sent directly to the faculty mentor once the student has submitted their portion of the Application Packet).

3. A one-page personal statement that addresses why the applicant wishes to participate in research, how this award would enable them to participate in the proposed research project, and an explanation of why the applicant has not been able to participate in faculty-mentored research to date. If there were particular challenges or barriers that prevented research participation, please explain (page 4 of this Qualtrics application).

4. A .pdf copy of the applicant’s transcript or degree audit (from DegreeWorks) showing overall GPA, successful completion of CHEM 1211+L, BIOL 1107+L, and either completion of, or enrollment in, BIOL 1108+L (page 5 of this Qualtrics application).

After the Application Packet submission deadline has passed, a subset of applicants will be selected for in-person interviews with the Fellowship Award committee. After all interviews have been conducted, the Award Committee will complete a review and award selection process.

Review and Award Selection

A committee consisting of members from Division faculty, post-doctoral associates, undergraduate coordinators, advisors, or graduate students will serve as the Award Committee and will evaluate all submitted, complete Application Packets. The Fellowship is awarded on a holistic basis, considering a complete packet of the applicants' personal statements, interviews, and overall GPA. The greatest weight is given to the personal statement. The selected applicant(s) will be notified by May 1, 2025.