The Office of Research and Economic Development provides small grants to Mississippi State University faculty to create innovative, faculty-directed research opportunities for undergraduate students. This program is distinct from and complementary to other undergraduate research programs at MSU. A wide range of projects will be considered as long as the budget explicitly supports undergraduate research. The ideal project will engage one or more undergraduate students in meaningful research activities and may produce results that can be incorporated into a publication or serve as preliminary results for a proposal submission.
Eligibility Requirements and Guidelines
- Any faculty members whose duties include research (including tenured, tenure track, research and clinical faculty) is eligible to apply.
- Undergraduate Research program funds must support undergraduate students in scholarly activity. It is expected that students supported by this program will participate in one of the MSU Undergraduate Research Symposia.
- Each award will be funded up to $2,000 and limited to a period of 15 months, starting in June of submission year.
- Faculty may have already identified undergraduate students who will be supported by this program or may wish to recruit students to participate once funds are awarded. Faculty should consider using the Undergraduate Research and Creative Discovery portal to recruit students for projects. See https://www.urcd.msstate.edu/
- Undergraduate Research support funds may not be used for faculty salaries.
- Funding requests will be reviewed by a committee of MSU faculty and ORED staff and decisions will be made based on the merit of the proposed activities and the likelihood of supporting one or more undergraduate students in active engagement in research.
- Faculty are required to submit a year-end report to receive a reimbursement of funding. Failure to submit the required report will result in forfeiture of ORED Undergraduate Research funding.
- Undergraduate Research requests will be due by April 14th.
Application Details
- Click the Faculty Login button above and proceed to enter the faculty Net ID and password.
- Next, click the Apply for Funding tab located in the black bar under the ORED logo.
- Fill in the required fields as marked with an asterisk (*) including details about plans and budget for undergraduate research.
- You may enter the individual’s Net ID and click autofill for the department head and business manager.
- You can save the form and come back to it at any time.
- Once the form is complete, click submit to initiate the review and approval process.
- You may access the funding portal to check on the status of your application at any time.
Reimbursement
In order to receive reimbursement of Undergraduate Research project funds you must log in and complete the Undergraduate Research Activities and Expenditures Report. Reimbursement requests for 2023-2024 projects will be due by September 30, 2024.
- When activities are completed (no later than August 30th of the year following an award) log in and access the Research Activities and Expenditures portion of the form.
- Provide a summary of accomplishments including a description of undergraduate research activities and any products of the research.
- Provide a detailed list of all expenditures and a total of funds expended during the award period.
- Since the purpose of the program is to support undergraduate research activities, the original expenses must have been charged correctly within the department with a research program code.
- Remember that faculty salaries are not an allowable expenditure. Funds should be used to directly support undergraduate research activities (e.g., student stipends, materials and supplies, etc.)
- Indicate whether the student(s) have or plan to participate in the Undergraduate Research Forum.
- Funds will not be released without completion and submission of the final report. If the terms and conditions specified above are not met, any remaining funds will revert back to ORED.