Undergraduate Student Research Opportunities - Research Office

The next call for proposals will be for projects to be conducted during academic year 24/25. 

The Undergraduate Research Committee is pleased to open the call for proposals for the Undergraduate Research Program/Public Health Internship.

The proposal submittal and due date is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (Late proposals will not be accepted).

Email the proposal document and cover sheet(s) in PDF format to urp@mtech.edu. (See guidelines for specific instructions) Hard copies will not be accepted.

For more information, see attached guidelines with details about student eligibility and obligations, and proposal preparation. 

Undergraduate students wishing to participate in the Undergraduate Research Program must submit a proposal. For more information on submitting proposals, please visit the program guidelines and application page.

Each full-time student participating for the full academic year will receive a $1,500 scholarship, with half provided at the start of the fall semester and half provided at the start of the spring semester.  For purposes of the awards, research is broadly defined and may include investigations of a cultural or historical question, documentary or production arts, as well as laboratory or field research more typically associated with the science or engineering disciplines. Students must be in good academic standing. Bachelor’s-degree-seeking students must be enrolled in at least 12 credits plus at least 1 URP credit to be eligible. Students in associate’s degree programs must be enrolled in 9 credits plus 1 URP credit. The scholarship amount will be pro-rated for associate’s-degree students, who are enrolled in fewer than 12 credits of courses.

Please note: students should develop their proposals with the assistance of their Research Supervisor/Mentor. The Proposal must follow the guidelines.

• URP Call for Proposals

The Traditional Undergraduate Research Program (URP) provides opportunities for students to collaborate with a faculty member to do specific research projects during the academic year for a scholarship and for academic credit. The student writes and submits the proposal, which is reviewed by the faculty URP committee. It is essential to meet with the faculty member, who would mentor the project. to do specific research projects they are interested in for academic credit and a scholarship during the academic year. Students present their results in a talk at the Montana Academy of Sciences annual meeting in April. Many students also present their results at other conferences.

The Undergraduate Research Committee is pleased to open the call for proposals for the Spring 2023 Session of the Research Assistant Mentorship Program (RAMP).  This program is for freshman, sophomore, and junior-level researchers (less than 90 credits of completed coursework) that have not participated in formal URP funded research before.  Ideally full-time faculty members will assemble teams of 3 researchers for spring semester research projects.  

Proposals (3 pages max) should be drafted by faculty mentors and submitted to urp@mtech.edu no later than 12 p.m. (noon) on Wednesday December 7, 2022.  Full details for proposal submission, and the required cover page are attached.  No late proposals will be accepted. 

• RAMP Guidelines
• RAMP Proposal Cover Sheet

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program is designed to provide an intensive, in-depth summer research experience to a small number of Montana Tech undergraduate students. Proposals are written and submitted by the faculty mentor. Projects span 9-10 summer weeks, with students working full time (40 hours per week) or half time (20 hours per week, for a proportionally reduced stipend). SURF students participate in five lunch-time professional development workshops over the summer and present a poster at Montana Tech’s SURF symposium in early August. Individual and small-team projects are allowed.

The next SURF call for proposals is expected in spring 2022 for projects to be conducted during summer 2022.

• SURF Proposal Guidelines
• See SURF posters from previous years

Undergraduate students may also engage in public health internships under the auspices of URP. Proposals are submitted at the same time and in the same manner as for research projects. The review process, eligibility requirements, scholarship amounts, and stipends are the same as for undergraduate research projects.

Some Montana Tech faculty have received funded research grants through various external agencies and many include undergraduate students as hourly employees on these projects. Talk to faculty in your department, CAMP, MBMG, or in the department doing the kind of research you are interested in to find out what opportunities are available.

In addition, many universities and federal laboratories host undergraduate research programs, often called “Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU).” The November to February time frame is when these host sites invite applications. The links below, many others, and those of the professional society for your discipline will have current information, as will Montana Tech’s Career Services Office.

• Nationwide REU OPPORTUNITIES funded by the National Science Foundation
• National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Summer Research

The following programs are offered through other institutions and may be available to Montana Tech students:

• National Undergraduate Research through NSF REU Program