Track 2: Course-Based Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program (CUR)

This track is for applications from FRMs to stimulate undergraduate research involvement in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The successful FRM applicant will work with OUR to incorporate undergraduate research into the syllabus of a Fall 2021 course they will be teaching to boost URM participation in research, scholarly, and creative activities to mitigate the STEM-bias in undergraduate research and to contribute to the research readiness of URMs.

Program Description & Budget

To stimulate new undergraduate research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, OUR seeks applications for the Course-Based Undergraduate Research Mentorship payment. 25 FRMs in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences will receive $1,000 each amounting to a total of $25,000 in payments.

Program Objectives and Expected Outcomes

OUR’s meaningfully articulated and actionable program will:

  1. Stimulate new undergraduate research in non-STEM fields.

  2. Build research capacity in non-STEM fields.

  3. Support FRMs by providing them with resources and help from URMs.

  4. Firmly integrate students into their academic discipline by mentor-mentee ties.

  5. Aid students to develop advanced and transferable skills toward career readiness.

Program Input on Student Success

OUR’s CUR centers on student success, scaffolds around student life cycle stages, and focuses on fostering faculty-student collaboration through undergraduate research. As amply documented by the Council on Undergraduate Research, undergraduate research involvement (1) enhances student learning through faculty mentoring, (2) increases retention and graduation in academic programs, (3) increases enrollment in graduate education and provides effective career preparation, (4) develops critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, and intellectual independence, (5) develops an understanding of research methodology, and (6) promotes an innovation-oriented culture.

This type of educational experience is integral to our students' success and overall career and research readiness, aligning with UNLV’s five University Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: (1) Intellectual Breadth and Lifelong Learning, (2) Inquiry and Critical Thinking, (3) Communication, (4) Global/Multicultural Knowledge and Awareness, and (5) Citizenship and Ethics.

Faculty Eligibility

All tenured, tenure-track, and full-time non-tenure track UNLV faculty from Lee Business School, College of Fine Arts, College of Education, College of Liberal Arts, and College of Urban Affairs, who will work closely with OUR to incorporate undergraduate research into one of their Fall 2021 courses may apply for the funds detailed here.

Funding Terms

A $1000 payment will be granted to each FRM.

Faculty Mentor Responsibilities

  1. Consult OUR’s Research Skills Academy Program during fall 2021 and incorporate up to 5 research-related webinars into your proposed course syllabus. Please use this sample undergraduate research course syllabus as a template and to facilitate planning.

  2. Identify potential course-based general research topics and engage students with research projects to work individually or in groups throughout the semester.

  3. Work with URMs during the beginning of the semester to develop a research program with specific research questions, methodology, data collection/management/analysis strategies, and timetable to ensure that the project can be completed and presented at OUR’s Fall 2021 Virtual Undergraduate Research Semester.

  4. Work with URMs to determine if the project will require approval from a University review committee. Any projects involving research on human subjects must receive approval from UNLV’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Similarly, if the research will involve vertebrate animals, infectious agents, hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials, recombinant DNA, international travel, and/or patents and copyrights, the student will need to submit the research protocol to the appropriate University review committee for approval. (In some cases, the faculty mentor may already have obtained approval for the research project.) For more information about the research approval process, see the Office of Research Integrity website.

  5. Assist URMs in presenting at OUR’s 2021 Virtual Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium. All FRMs receiving CUR funds are required to have either all or some students present research at OUR’s 2021 Virtual Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium on November 15, 2021.

  6. Work with URMs who may be interested in writing a research manuscript to be submitted to the Fall 2021 or Spring 2022 issue of OUR’s Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal.

  7. Encourage URMs to participate in OUR’s two-day (October 22 & 23) 2021 Undergraduate Research Writing Boot Camp that will engage advanced URMs with an interest in publishing their research in OUR’s Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal. URMs will learn how to write abstracts, annotate bibliographies, cite properly, prepare, revise, and review manuscripts.

Program Requirements

CUR applicants must agree with and fulfill the following program requirements:

  1. FRMs must attend OUR’s virtual “welcome meeting,” featuring “Integrating Research into Course Syllabi” webinar (Monday, August 16, 2021 at 1:00pm).

  2. FRMs must require their entire class to participate in OUR’s 2021 Virtual Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium on November 15, 2021 to present course-based research projects, or, alternatively, offer extra credit to incentivize symposium presentations.

  3. FRMs must incorporate a minimum of 3 or up to 5 Fall 2021 OUR Research Skills Academy webinars to be delivered by OUR into their course syllabus and require students to attend.


Submission and Review

Complete applications will be reviewed by OUR and will be evaluated based on:

  1. Completeness, clarity, and cogency.

  2. A course syllabus with a clear course-based learning integration plan that includes scheduled OUR Research Skills Academy webinars (which may be finalized in deliberation with OUR upon issuance of the award).

  3. Clear course learning outcomes that integrate research assignments and assessment tools.

  4. Clear instructions in the proposed course syllabus about participation in OUR’s 2021 Fall Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium to be held on November 15, 2021.

  5. Clear instructions in the proposed course syllabus about publishing a research manuscript in OUR’s Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal’s Fall 2021 or Spring 2022 issue.

  6. Sample research-oriented course syllabi may be found here to serve as a template.

The deadline to submit a proposal is Monday, June 14, 2021 at 11:59 pm. Should funding still be available after the initial review, applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

OUR’s goal is to complete the review and awarding process by July 1, 2021. For questions, contact our@unlv.edu.