PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
The proposal should be submitted electronically (hard copies not accepted) no later than 5:00 pm, Friday, March 22, 2024. Late or incomplete proposals will be returned without review. Proposals should include all of the following sections:
1. Cover Page to include:
- project title
- student information (name, home address; email contact; university ID, and expected graduation date)
- mentor information (name, school/college or department, email contact)
- project abstract (200 words maximum)
2. Project Description | A three-page description of the proposed summer project, written by the student in consultation with the faculty mentor. The SMART committee strongly advises students to work closely with their faculty mentors in preparing the proposal. The SMART committee is composed of faculty from many disciplines, so the proposal should be written to be understood by a general academic audience. The project should be fully described within the three-page limit (single-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins) and should not rely on the faculty letter of support for additional details.
3. Bibliography or Literature Cited
4. Project Timeline | A tentative timeline for completion of the project
5. Project Budget and Justification | Stipend amount requested by the student ($2250 or $4500); You can also include a budget for additional funds up to $2000. You will need to include a full description of the additional funds required, with a justification for each item. Possible items could include, but are not limited to, faculty summer salary (up to $1700), travel to research sites, or purchase of consumables or permanent equipment (all purchases becomes property of the University). Requests for faculty summer salary must be fully justified in terms of the amount of time required to mentor the research student. For questions about budget requests, please consult with Erika Zynda in Academic Affairs.
The faculty mentor should independently submit a letter of support that addresses three issues: feasibility and worthiness of the project, student qualifications for the project, and educational benefits to be derived by the student. The faculty letter should not be used to elaborate on the student's description of the research project. It is the responsibility of the student to describe the project fully and clearly in the Project Description section of the proposal.
All proposals and faculty letters are to be submitted in electronic format to Erika Zynda, Academic Affairs, A246H