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Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs)

Karen T. Romer Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards (UTRAs) provide faculty and students with opportunities to work closely on a research or course development project during the summer or academic year.

UTRAs support undergraduates whose creativity and curiosity suggest their promise as future college teachers and research scholars. Faculty benefit from the assistance and perspectives undergraduates bring to their work.

There are four basic categories of awards:

The Research Collaboration Award introduces qualified undergraduates to the methods and rewards of scholarly work. In some cases, the faculty is engaged in a new or on ongoing project in which the student might make a unique contribution based on his or her skills, experiences, and interests. In other cases, the student has selected the faculty member as a partner because of that professor's expertise and research interests. Preference will be given to students who have demonstrated a high level of motivation and interest in the field(s) represented in the project and who bring ideas and background that strengthen the probability of a collaborative partnership.

The Teaching Collaboration Award allows students to collaborate with faculty on research that precedes the creation or restructuring of a course. Faculty sponsors often find that undergraduates who have taken a particular course are especially proactive and valuable in the revision or recasting of a course. Preference will be given to projects that clearly articulate the contributions of both student and faculty in the process of curricular revision.

The Team UTRA Award supports groups of two to four students to work with one or more faculty on research or curriculum development. The application should make clear why each member is included and what specific contributions each can make to the team so that the whole has the potential to be greater than the sum of its parts.

The International UTRA supports collaborative research or teaching projects according to the guidelines listed above when both the student and the faculty member will work together at an international site.