Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

URF Request Applications

The mentor, not the student, should submit request forms, though it is recommended that the student and mentor work on filling out the form together. Please select the form unique to your college or situation to provide the necessary information for a student you wish to hire as an Undergraduate Research Fellow.

• Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• Elmer R. Smith College of Business and Technology
• Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education
• College of Science and Engineering
• Non-URF Funding (grants, departmental, etc.)
• Honors URF

• Must be a full-time, degree-seeking, undergraduate student (Craft and Eagle Scholars are ineligible)
• Must have a faculty mentor. Help can be found on our Student Resources page. 
• Work expectations are up to the student, mentor, and the project itself
  -  Honors students completing their requirement (two semesters) will be unpaid and should work 8 hours a week according to the Honors program. This should be completed no later than the end of the sixth semester
• Participation in the Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship (If work is incomplete, that’s okay! We understand some work might be ongoing)
• All new URFs are expected to attend the URF Orientation in mid-September. Date, time, and location will be communicated at the time of acceptance.
• All URFs are expected to attend 2 UR events per semester (4 per academic year). See below for more information, including the list of eligible events.
• ALL URFs will be asked to complete the URF Responsible Conduct of Research CITI Training module. Instructions will be sent to URFs after they have completed the hiring process.
• URFs should be seeking additional opportunities for dissemination outside of the Celebration of Student Scholarship. See Student Opportunities for potential dissemination opportunities. 
• Evaluation/Reflection submitted by student (will be sent by the Coordinator)
• Progress report submitted by faculty mentor (will be sent by the Coordinator)
• Additional requirements are at the discretion of the faculty mentors and their academic departments

Note: if the research involves human or animal subjects, the appropriate protocol forms for IRB or IACUC review and approval must be submitted before the research begins. Please see Research and Sponsored Programs for more information.

Classroom maintenance, office work, lab staffing, and assistance with classes/teaching are not considered undergraduate research.

A request form must be filled out and submitted. The UR Coordinator will seek approval for the request and once the approval has been given, they will notify of acceptance and submit a PAR to Human Resources to begin the hiring process (unless the request is for an honors student completing the URF requirement; they are not paid). The student can start their work ONLY when Human Resources have approved them – that communication will come from the UR Coordinator and will be passed along to the student, mentor, and ADS.

This entire process can take several days or weeks. Mentors should consider this when selecting a start date for the student on the request form.

NOTE: Changes can be made to your requests in regards to hours worked. For example, a request might want a student to work 18 hours a week, but there is not enough funding to accommodate 18 hours, so the hours are changed to 10 hours a week. Changes will be communicated to the student and mentor.

If you’re a student and can’t find a mentor, please fill out our UR Interest form.

If you’re a mentor and can’t find students to work with you, please contact the Coordinator of Undergraduate Research at ugresearch@moreheadstate.edu.

URFs are required to attend a minimum of four Undergraduate Research & Creative Inquiry sessions during the academic year (2/semester). These sessions are designed to support ethical research practices, professional skill development, and preparation for dissemination and post-graduate opportunities. Completion of this requirement is necessary for continued eligibility in the Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program.

Why do we have this requirement? Benefits to students:

• Build a supportive cohort around research
• Develop professional skills
• Prepare students for external & future opportunities
• Ensure responsible & ethical research
• Improve the quality of research outputs
• Better align with UR programs at other institutions

What if I can’t attend any of the events? Students can count attendance at these events as work hours. As these events are meant to help students develop their professional and transferable skills and prepare for careers/graduate school, if students are unable to attend four events, they can meet with someone in Career Services for a resume appointment. Once the student’s resume is at the ‘ready to apply’ level, the student will then be eligible to continue in the URF program.

NOTE: To be eligible for travel funding to student conferences, students must have attended at least one of the four required events by the time of application.

List of eligible events for the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 academic year (Some dates for Spring are TBD):

Fall 2026:

• URF Orientation
• Resume Blitz
• Career and Internship Fair
• Let’s Talk: IRB/IACUC
• Let’s Talk: Finding Presentation Opportunities & Travel Funding
• Let’s Talk: External Funding
• Let’s Talk: Marketing Research on Your Resume/CV
• URF Get-Together – Coffee, Cupcakes, Cookies, Chill Conversations, & Cards
• Let’s Talk: REUs
• Let’s Talk: Abstract Writing

Spring 2027:

• Let’s Talk: Undergraduate Research: Plan for the Fall (students & faculty) Panel
• Let’s Talk: Celebration of Student Scholarship
• Resume Blitz
• Career Fair
• Let’s Talk: Abstract Writing
• CoSS Poster Printing
• Communicating Your Research for Oral Presentations
• Communicating Your Research for Poster Presentations
• Celebration of Student Scholarship

Specific details will be shared once students are accepted into the program.

Attendance at these events can count as work hours, but students must not exceed the number of hours they’ve been approved to work in a week.

• Students can work up to 20 hours a week. *If they have another on-campus job, hours must be split.
  - Be accurate with hours. The amount of funding set aside for the student is shown on the request form. Our data shows that most students do not work 15 or more hours a week. If hours are dropped, please inform the Coordinator so the extra funds can be used to pay additional students.
  - This is a reminder that two full semesters of work is 32 weeks. (If more weeks are desired, a new request for additional weeks can be submitted closer to the original end date, provided there is funding.)
  - Funding for the URFs is limited. The more students work, the more they’re being paid, which means less money to pay additional students.
• All URFs are paid at a rate of $10.00/hour. The students spend on completing the CITI training and attending UR events can be counted as work hours, but students must not exceed the number of hours in a week they’ve been approved to work.
• Honors students completing their requirement (two semesters) will be unpaid and should work 8 hours a week according to the Honors program. This should be completed no later than the end of the sixth semester.
• Due to HR and payroll policies, students cannot begin working until HR and payroll have approved them. The Coordinator will notify students and faculty mentors when the student has been approved.