MENTORING

Mondays - 12:10-1:10 pm

Spring 2021 Faculty Undergraduate Research Webinar Series

Dr. Maria Iacullo-Bird, Assistant Provost for Research

  • The Value of Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry – February 22, 2021
  • How Faculty Grants can include Student Research – March 15, 2021
  • Learn about the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) – April 19, 2021

Register in advance for each meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Be a Better Mentor: Mentoring Undergraduates in Research Workshop

Dr. Avrom Caplan, Associate Provost for Research

Effective mentoring practices optimize research experiences for both students and faculty. This workshop is designed for faculty who mentor undergraduates in research to illustrate best practices and overcome problems that arise during the mentoring process.

April 16, 2021, 2:00pm-5:00pm – Virtual

The workshop is open to all full-time faculty.

Please register for the workshop here

FUNDING

Internal Opportunities for Faculty to advance undergraduate research

Vanya Quiñones, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Provost's Student-Faculty Undergraduate Research Program: Academic Year and Summer

Accepting Applications for 2021-2022 Academic Year:         Deadline to apply August 30, 2021

Provost’s 2021-2022 Academic Year Student-Faculty Undergraduate Research Program Application

The goal of this program is to support faculty-mentored undergraduate research across disciplines or artistic projects during the academic year and summer.

Designed for undergraduate students who have completed their freshman, sophomore, or junior year, this program supports projects that have evolved from mentored coursework and research settings that would benefit from further, in-depth development.

Student awardees receive a stipend paid in installments. Faculty Mentors receive one payment per award cycle paid in installments to their scholarly research account.

For the 2021-2022 Academic Year, all student awardees are expected to:

  1. attend a program orientation
  2. meet all university research requirements such as Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for human participants in research projects
  3. work part-time on their projects
  4. participate in monthly research webinars
  5. participate in regular check-ins with their faculty mentor no less than twice a month
  6. write four reflections about the research experience
  7. present at Student Research Day
  8. submit a research paper, or artistic project as the program concludes

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For Summer 2021, all student awardees are expected to:

  1. attend a program launch event in May
  2. work part-time on their projects throughout the summer
  3. participate in regular check-ins with their faculty mentor no less than twice a month
  4. write reflections about the research experience
  5. submit a research paper, or creative/artistic project as the program concludes
  6. present at the Fall Undergraduate Research Showcase

For Summer 2021, students in consultation with their faculty mentors are encouraged to develop summer research and artistic projects that can: a) be conducted remotely; b) include both remote and on-site components; or c) for on-site research include an optional remote component. All research and creative work must be done in accordance with the Office of the Provost and the Office of Research COVID-19 guidelines and requirements.

Summer 2021                                                                                              May 15, 2021 through August 31, 2021

All student awardees are expected:
  • to work part-time on their projects;
  • to participate in regular check-ins with their faculty mentor no less than twice a month;
  • to descriptive reflections about the research/artistic experience
  • to submit a final research paper, or artistic project, and;
  • to present at Fall Showcase or Spring Research Day
Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • be full-time undergraduate students at Pace University
  • be entering their sophomore, junior, or senior year in Fall 2021
  • successfully completed introductory courses in the proposed project field
  • meet minimum 3.0 QPA (overall quality point average)                 Any exception to academic eligibility requirements must be addressed in both the student application and faculty recommendation.
All student awardees are expected:
  • to work part-time on their projects;
  • to participate in regular check-ins with their faculty mentor no less than twice a month;
  • to descriptive reflections about the research/artistic experience
  • to submit a final research paper, or artistic project, and;
  • to present at Fall Showcase or Spring Research Day
Review and Evaluation:

Faculty from across the schools and colleges review student submissions based on the following criteria:

  • Overall quality, organization, and clarity of the student-written proposal
  • Student role is specified in the faculty-mentored research or creative project
  • Mentoring commitment for a supportive learning environment
  • Student goals are relevant to research project
  • Contribution of the project to the student’s discipline or field of study
  • Feasibility of the project outcomes
Federal Work-Study Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program 2021-2022 Academic Year

The Center for Undergraduate Research Experiences (CURE) is soliciting proposals from faculty for undergraduate research assistantships. Once approved by CURE, these jobs will be posted for students who hold federal work-study (FWS) awards.

After students apply, individual faculty will review the applications and select an undergraduate research assistant.

The primary round of job position proposals must be submitted by August 30, 2021 to ensure postings as classes begin and when most students are seeking their FWS positions. During 2021-2022, there may be subsequent calls for assistantship job postings based upon FWS funding availability.

FWS Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program Application

If you have questions about the grant awards or work-study positions, contact Maria Iacullo-Bird, Ph.D., Assistant Provost for Research at miacullobird@pace.edu.

Guidelines for FWS Assistantship positions:

For the academic year a student may hold either an undergraduate grant award or the work-study position but not both. The only exception is for a senior graduating in December who may hold both a one-semester grant award and a one-semester work-study research assistantship position.

Create a position that is on-campus and has the option to support remote work as needed.

The availability of federal work-study funds for undergraduate research enables Pace:

  • to involve more students in research
  • to introduce research earlier in a student’s college years, since entering freshman will be eligible along with all other full-time undergraduate students
  • to help ensure greater inclusion and diversity among student researchers
  • to provide an opportunity for faculty members to obtain support for their research and enhance opportunities for student-faculty collaboration on academic projects

According to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, once a student is paid for work, that student cannot “volunteer” to continue that same work. If the student’s work-study funds become exhausted, the faculty member must either conclude the project with that student research assistant, or, obtain an alternative funding source to continue the project with the same research assistant.

Application Deadline: Friday, March 12, 2021

See the 2020 Winners
Classroom Based Research Experiences Award

The Pace University Office of Research is offering grants for innovative ideas to incorporate original, authentic research projects into the undergraduate curriculum. For the purposes of this competition, authentic research is defined as a plan for seeking answers to a research question for which the outcome is unknown. The research question should be based on the expertise of the PI and should involve the development of new avenues of inquiry. Projects can be implemented into new or existing courses but must incorporate a researchable aim.

Proposal Submission Guidelines and Template

External Funding Opportunities

National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports research participation by undergraduate students in research projects funded by the NSF.

The REU program is designed to increase student participation in a broad range of research initiatives to encourage careers in STEM fields and in all fields that receive NSF funding including the social and behavioral sciences.

The REU Program Solicitation, which can be found under Program Guidelines on the REU Program Overview page, provides instructions on how to apply for an REU Site or an REU Supplement.

This REU Program features two mechanisms to support student research:

(1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome.

Proposals for REU Sites must be submitted by the annual deadline, which is advertised in the solicitation. REU Sites are funded by research divisions/directorates throughout the Foundation. Each disciplinary unit has a point-of-contact for questions about REU Site proposals, which can be found on the Web page REU Site Contacts.

Full Proposal Deadline Date August 25, 2021

(2) REU Supplements may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects.      

See the REU program solicitation

PEDAGOGY

Undergraduate Research as a High-Impact Practice

There is an extensive literature addressing undergraduate research as a pedagogy for advancing student success:

RESEARCH PROTOCOLS

Research Protections: IRB/IACUC

Institutional Review Board (IRB) review is required when faculty and their students are conducting research on human subjects. Undergraduate students cannot serve as a PI; a member of the faculty or staff must be the PI on undergraduate projects. Undergraduates can, however, be co-investigators on a proposal. If you have questions about whether your project/activity requires IRB approval, please email the IRB Coordinator.

For more information consult the Pace IRB website.

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