UCARE Program Descripton
UCARE, funded by the Pepsi Endowment and Program of Excellence funds, supports opportunities for undergraduates to work alongside faculty members and directly participate in the campus's research or creative activities. Undergraduates may apply for UCARE awards to incorporate a research or creative experience into their undergraduate education.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE: All full-time UNL undergraduates who have completed at least 30 semester hours are eligible. First year students can apply to participate as sophomores. Students are generally expected to have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants must work with a faculty sponsor; the sponsor may be either from the student's own college or another college, if appropriate. All full-time UNL faculty regardless of rank or nature of appointment may serve as sponsors. However, visiting professors are not eligible to apply unless they serve as co-sponsors with full-time UNL faculty members. Students must have a United States Social Security Number to be paid for work completed.
Although UCARE is designed as a two-year program, students and faculty may propose a one year project to be considered for funding.
YEAR #1: During the first year, the student works as a research assistant for a faculty member on the faculty member's ongoing research or creative activity project(s). During Year #1, the student engages in "learning by doing" -- learning why and how the faculty member does research and creative activities by assisting the faculty member in completing research tasks. The student may learn such skills as how to do library literature reviews, code or retrieve data, work in a research laboratory, undertake research techniques specific to a project or discipline, assist with an experiment, work in a studio, and so on. Application for Year 1
YEAR #2: In the second year the student advances to a more independent project proposed by the student and sponsored by the faculty mentor with whom the student worked during the first year. The project may be an extension of or related to the student's UCARE experience during the first year or may simply build upon skills gained in the first year. The key factor is that the faculty member sponsor and serve as a mentor for the project. Application for Year 2
STUDENT AWARDS: A proposal may request any level of support up to the maximum. During Year #1, the award will be based on the amount of time the student works as the faculty member's research assistant; and during Year #2, the award will be based on the amount of the student's time estimated to complete the project.
The maximum award will be $2,000 for Year #1 and $2,400 for Year #2, or a total of $4,400 over the two-year period. However, different funding requests, not to exceed the maximum level of support, can be made. The actual amount requested should be determined by the student and faculty sponsor, working together, based on what is required for the specific project being proposed. The amount of award will be based (using $8/hr for estimating the budget) on the amount of the student's time required; full-time students may not contract for more than 10 hours per week, and ordinarily would not be expected to reach this maximum. The total amount of compensation will not exceed the amount of funding awarded for the project unless the faculty sponsor has some other source of funds (e.g., another award) beyond what has been awarded through the UCARE award. Awards will be made on an annual basis and students awarded a first-year award will need to reapply for the second year of funding.
Through UCARE, the student is a paid student worker and the student fills out and submits bi-weekly timecards to the individual department's support staff. The UCARE award is considered income by the Federal Government.
COURSE CREDIT: In some cases it may be possible and appropriate for the student to receive course credit (e.g., under internship or independent study listings) for the work being done. All such arrangements should be worked out between the student and his or her faculty sponsor, subject to the department's and college's rules and expectations.
EVALUATIONS: There will be a mid-year evaluation form to complete and return to the Director of Undergraduate Research and upon completion of the project, both the faculty sponsor and the student will be expected to submit a brief evaluation of the project. It is also expected that at the end of the year #2 experience that the student share the results of his/her study or activity with the University Community in an appropriate forum such as a poster session.
How to Apply
Faculty interested in having a UCARE student can advertise within the department or speak with individual students whom they may know.
Students interested in applying for a UCARE award should first consult with the faculty member with whom they wish to work. If no faculty sponsor is available, students may browse the faculty research profiles by department on the UNL web site to look for potential sponsors. Finally, students may want to talk to the Director of Undergraduate Research and ask for suggestions.
After having agreed with the faculty member on the nature of the project, students should fill out the UCARE application form and submit it to the Office of Undergraduate Studies Office, 201 Seaton Hall (0683).
The UCARE Program is sponsored by the Pepsi Endowment, created by contract between the University and the Pepsi-Cola Company, and Program of Excellence funds. UCARE supports UNL students to do research or creative activities with UNL faculty members.
