Faculty

Faculty Research Mentoring Grants

The Office of High Impact Practices and Undergraduate Research is committed to promoting and expanding undergraduate research opportunities across USF campuses. To increase undergraduate student participation in research and to contribute to USF’s mission to promote student success and to conduct innovative scholarship, the HIPUR office provides faculty grants to support undergraduate research mentorship.

Applications for Spring 2024 grants are now closed. Please check back in Fall 2024 when applications will open again.

Faculty Undergraduate Research Mentorship Grant

Faculty may request a stipend of $1,200 per student, and may receive an additional $500 per student for a maximum award of $2,200. Students can work together on the same project, or separately on different projects. Funding priority will be given to applications emphasizing direct faculty involvement and continuous student support as opposed to quantity of advising roles. Applications will be evaluated and will be awarded based primarily on the planned undergraduate research mentorship activities.

Terms and Conditions: 

  • For applications to be considered, faculty mentors must post the research mentorship opportunity to the USF Undergraduate Research Portal.  
  • Applications will only be considered for FUTURE mentored research oppornities. Mentoring cannot begin until after the submission of this application.
  • Student mentees are expected to submit a one-page reflection at the conclusion of the research experience. Faculty mentors are expected to provide the student reflections to the HIPUR office once available. 
  • Successful applicants are expected to serve as faculty mentors for the involved students mentees, who are expected to present at the ONEUSF Undergraduate Research Conference (April 2024) or Undergraduate Research Symposium (July 2024).
  • Beginning 2024, faculty mentors may only apply for and receive ONE research mentorship grant from the HIPUR office per academic year.

Key Consideration

The following types of research experiences will be highly prioritized:

First-Year/Transfer Students Research Experience (HIPs: First-Year Seminar and Experiences, Undergraduate Research)
Aims to facilitate faculty mentorship of first-time researchers that are entering
their sophomore or junior year at USF.

Community-Based Research Experience  (HIPs: Service Learning, Undergraduate Research) 
Aims to facilitate faculty mentorship of student research conducted inside or outside the classroom that build on, and enrich community engagement, and addresses the community needs.  

Global Research Experience (HIPs: Global Learning, Undergraduate Research)
 Aims to facilitate faculty mentorship of student research that addresses global
issues affecting local communities at home or across the world.

MindMerge: Uniting Scholars across Disciplines ($2000 per faculty mentor) 

The MindMerge: Uniting Scholars across Disciplines Grant offers a unique opportunity for two faculty members from diverse departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary research projects. This grant aims to foster an environment of cross-disciplinary exploration, encouraging faculty mentors to work together to guide students in their pursuit of innovative research. Through this grant, students from various disciplines collaborate under the guidance of these interdisciplinary faculty teams. They engage in research projects that seamlessly blend insights from different domains, enriching their learning experience and equipping them with a holistic perspective.  

The grant supports faculty mentors guiding students working on projects that embrace interdisciplinary thinking and demonstrate the potential to make a meaningful impact in multiple areas. 

Faculty Mentor Responsibilities:  
a. Faculty mentors are expected to guide and supervise the interdisciplinary research project throughout its duration.  
b. Mentors should facilitate effective communication and collaboration between students from different departments.  
c. Mentors must ensure the research project maintains its interdisciplinary nature and contributes meaningfully to multiple fields. 

Student Involvement:  
a. Students participating in the research project must be enrolled in different departments.  
b. The interdisciplinary aspect of the project should be reflected in the roles and contributions of the students. 

Terms and Conditions: 

  • For applications to be considered, faculty mentors must post the research mentorship opportunity to the USF Undergraduate Research Portal.  
  • Applications will only be considered for FUTURE mentored research oppornities. Mentoring cannot begin until after the submission of this application.
  • Student mentees are expected to submit a one-page reflection at the conclusion of the research experience. Faculty mentors are expected to provide the student reflections to the HIPUR office once available. 
  • Successful applicants are expected to serve as faculty mentors for the involved student mentees, who are expected to present at the ONEUSF Undergraduate Research Conference (April 2024) or Undergraduate Research Symposium (July 2024).
  • Beginning in 2024, faculty mentors may only apply for and receive ONE research mentorship grant from the HIPUR office per academic year.

View the Faculty Training Module Below!

Rise Articulate Course: Undergraduate Research Mentorship Fundamentals

Undergraduate Research is a high impact educational practice. There is a deep literature on what best practices in mentoring undergraduate researchers are, and this module has been designed for faculty with these in mind. Find more information about being a faculty mentor through our interactive course!


Funds Distribution

Funds will be distributed to successful faculty applicants in May 2024.