The Provost's Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program (PURS) provides talented UH juniors and seniors with the opportunity to participate in a research project under the direction of a UH faculty mentor. For instance, this means that a current sophomore that will be a junior in fall 2008 is eligible to apply for the scholarship.

PURS recipients receive a $1,000 scholarship for one semester of research

Application Deadline for Fall 2008:

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 by 5 p.m. (CST)

Overview:
The Provost's Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program (PURS) provides talented UH juniors and seniors with the opportunity to enrich their undergraduate experience by participating in a research project under the direction of a UH faculty mentor. Scholarship recipients will receive a $1,000 scholarship to conduct one semester of research and engage in other scholarly activities with faculty members.

This scholarship is open to students of all disciplines, including research proposals in the social sciences, humanities, business, engineering, and the natural sciences. The online application is available at the bottom of this web page.

Who Is Eligible?
Any junior or senior who has either successfully completed at least 12 hours in residence at UH with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 OR who has completed fewer than 12 hours in residence at UH but has a 3.5 cumulative GPA on all college level course work taken at UH or elsewhere is eligible to apply. Applicants must have earned at least 60 credits by the beginning of the mentorship period and must enroll and maintain a minimum of 12 hours in the semester of the award unless they are graduating that semester. Students who have participated in the PURS program at UH in a prior semester are ineligible to reapply.

The scholarship is open to students of all disciplines, including research proposals in the social sciences, humanities, engineering, the sciences, technology, education, business, architecture, and hotel and restaurant management.

• Talk to current and past professors (during their office hours) from courses you have done well in and have enjoyed. Even if the professor is not currently seeking an undergraduate researcher, he or she may know of colleagues that are seeking research assistants within your discipline.
• Consult an academic advisor from your department to inquire about faculty members currently conducting research in your discipline.
• Here is a listing of UH faculty members seeking undergraduate researchers to assist them in ongoing research projects. THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST. There are many other faculty members on campus conducting research. If you are interested in any of these positions, get in touch with the contact person to discuss the potential of working with them in fall 2008 for the PURS program.

Applications:
The deadline for receipt of all applications will be 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16th. The online application will include (i) a statement of research objectives and goals not to exceed 500 words (ii) three short answer questions about your academic and research experience, (iii) a letter of recommendation from the faculty sponsor including a description of how the proposed research relates to their on-going research. An email version of the faculty letter should be submitted to Office of Undergraduate Research no later than April 16th. The letter should be emailed to Karen Weber at kweber@uh.edu.

Competitive applications generally include:

• Demonstration of strong student academic record
• Research proposals that are clear, thorough, within the 500-word limit, free of errors in spelling, grammar, and syntax, and in the student’s own words
• Research proposals with clear, realistic goals that help the student focus and indicate that the project will lead to a substantive research experience for the student
• Descriptive and informative faculty letter of recommendation (1-2 pages in length), especially addressing the prospects for results in the project time frame, the value of the research project and the ability of the student to undertake it

Please be aware this is a competitive program with finite funding, and the Office of Undergraduate Research receives many more strong proposals than they are able to fund.  The staff of the Office of Undergraduate Research is unable to share specific information about the assessment of individual applications after the decisions have been made.

How to Apply:

• Students who wish to apply for this program must first identify a UH faculty mentor.
• The student must fill out an application form online. Please see online application below.
• The UH faculty member must submit a letter of recommendation that describes the student's qualifications; identifies the area of research, creative, or scholarly activities in which the mentor will engage the student; and describe the faculty member's role as a mentor to the student. The faculty letter of recommendation should be emailed to Karen Weber at kweber@uh.edu. If you prefer to mail a hardcopy of the letter, please mail it to:

  Office of Undergraduate Research
  ATTN: PURS Fall 2008 Program M/C 2001
  211 MD Anderson Library
  University of Houston
  Houston, TX 77204-2001

  Please contact Karen Weber at 3-3367 or at kweber@uh.edu or Stuart Long, the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Research, at 3-4445 or at long@uh.edu if you have any questions or if you require additional information. Applicants should be notified of their status in the PURS Fall 2008 program by Wednesday, April 30th.

PURS Fall 2008 Deadline has passed