Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center

• Name
• Preferred Pronouns
• CSUMB Email Address
• Otter ID
• Student ID
• Phone Number

• Expected graduation date
• CSUMB Cumulative GPA (if you are a recent transfer and do not yet have a CSUMB GPA, enter your cumulative GPA from your transfer institution)
• Major GPA
  • The major GPA average is inclusive of all letter-graded baccalaureate coursework taken in fulfillment of major requirements; coursework may be taken at CSUMB or transferred in from another institution. To calculate major GPA, add the numeric value of all courses taken in fulfillment of a specific major GPA. Please see Academic Standing Policy 2.20 for an example.
• Expected graduation date
• Major(s), Concentration/Emphasis, Minor, etc.
• Are you a transfer student?

• Ethnicity
• Family Education History
• Citizenship

Your responses to these questions will not be used to determine your eligibility for the UROC Researchers Program. They will only be used to help UROC Staff determine the sources of funding that will support you if you are accepted into the program.

Applicants are asked to upload an Academic Resume. Suggested length is two pages, but longer or short Academic Resumes are accepted.

Your Academic Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) should include relevant coursework and academic performance, college-level academic honors, professional or student organization memberships, examples of student leadership, research or internship experiences, and work experience.

For additional resources about academic resumes or the curriculum vitae visit the following online resources:

Who have you identified as your UROC Research Mentor?

As explained under the Research Mentor (Reference) Statement of Support section of this page, this is the same person that you will identify in the Reference section of the application.

What are your future academic and career goals? Describe your academic and career goals and your plans to achieve them. (250 words max)

NEW APPLICANTS

To ensure that the Research Project Description is complete, accurate, and reflects the aligned expectations of both the applicant and mentor regarding the student's role in the project, it is mandatory that the student work with their mentor to generate and revise this document prior to submission. Project description must be written in your own words.

It is vital that the applicant gets their mentor's feedback as they generate this document. Applications that do not reflect collaboration between the proposed mentor and the applicant on the Research Project Description and Research Dissemination plan will likely be evaluated poorly.

PROMPT FOR A RESEARCH PROJECT DESCRIPTION

1. The goals and focus of the research project (150-300 words)
2. The techniques and methods you and your mentor will use to accomplish these goals (150-300 words)
3. Have you completed any preliminary work on this project so far? (150-300 words)
4. How your contribution to this research project advance you toward these academic and career goals (150-300 words)
5. What do you hope to gain from your participation in UROC?

Progress Update (for Continuing Researcher Applicants)

To ensure that this update is complete, accurate, and reflects both the perspectives of the applicant and mentor regarding the student's progress on the project, it is mandatory that the student work with their mentor to generate and revise this document prior to submission.

It is acceptable to use excerpts from a previously submitted project description, as long as the majority of the description is new work.

Prompt for Progress Update

Provide a brief description of the overall goals of the research project including the research question being addressed.

• • What are the goals of the research project? (150-300 words)
  • Describe your specific role in the project (150-300 words)
  • Explain how you have made progress toward the overall goals of the project during the previous academic term (150-300 words)
  • Explain what you hope to accomplish during the academic term you are currently applying for continuing support. Be sure to include a justification for why you feel deserve continued financial support from UROC (150-300 words)
  • How does working on this research project advance you towards your academic and career goals? (150-300 words)
  • If you have failed to meet any of the expectations of the UROC Researchers Program -- see Benefits and Expectations -- you may describe and explain these issues here. Be sure to explain why, despite failing to meet these expectations, you feel that you should be considered for continued funding.

Prompt for Research Dissemination Plan

Please provide a short list (including dates where possible) of a few conferences, journals, or other research dissemination opportunities that you and your mentor feel would be appropriate venues for you to present the research product that is generated as part of your mentor-mentee collaboration.

The potential venues for research dissemination listed here should be part of a larger discussion between you and your mentor regarding expectations of authorship, productivity, and the timeline of this research collaboration.

UROC requires that you and your mentor generate this list so that you can both start thinking early on about how this research partnership will contribute to both you and your mentor's longer term professional goals.

By verifying the application, you understand that you must submit a completed application in order to be considered for the UROC Researchers Program, and that a submitted application does not automatically qualify you for the program. Your signature indicates that, to the best of your knowledge, the information given on your application is true, complete, and accurate.

You also understand that to track the progress of UROC Researchers and to evaluate program effectiveness, UROC requires access to student information. UROC is required to report individual student data such as social security number, ethnicity, GPA, and enrollment status to funding agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education. This information is also used to study student transfer, retention, graduation, and progression to graduate studies. You authorize release and use of personal information, as described above, to UROC. You understand that this information is to be used for evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the program and that individual student data will not be released to parties other than those directly involved with the program.

I commit to serving as a Research Mentor to this UROC participant as they execute a mentored undergraduate research project this academic term.

I confirm that this undergraduate research project does conform to the UROC definition of undergraduate research: “Undergraduate research is an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that addresses a specific research question, utilizes appropriate research methodologies, adheres to the standards of the discipline, and results in the dissemination of findings.”

I have reviewed (or will review prior to submission) the Research Project Description and Research Dissemination Plan that this applicant submitted as part of this application.

I will bring any issues regarding the UROC participant's performance as a mentee to the attention of the UROC staff, who is eager and willing to help address any issues that arise.

I am aware that, if accepted into the program, UROC has committed to financially support the undergraduate researcher during the term they are applying for. I am aware that UROC participants must be in good standing with the program in order to be eligible for continued funding.

Mentors will then be asked to select Yes, I agree with this statement of support. or No, I do not agree with this statement of support. If the Mentor selects No, they will be asked a follow up question requesting clarification on why they selected their answer.

Finally, mentors will be asked to provide any information regarding the applicant to support the application as this information will supplement the applicant’s packet.

The UROC Researcher program supports CSUMB students from diverse social, economic, and educational backgrounds pursuing the intellectual, academic, and professional benefits related to engagement in undergraduate research. Students at all stages of the undergraduate research process are welcome to apply.

There is no limit on the number of UROC Researchers per mentor. However, UROC is eager to support students across a diversity of majors and disciplines and will take this into consideration when evaluating applications.

The prompts are evaluated as follows:

• Academic and career goals:
  • Quality/effort of writing submission
• Project descriptions (new applicants):
  • Clarity of research project
  • Applicant's understanding of project goals
  • Applicant's understanding/description of role
  • Quality/effort of writing submission
• Progress updates (continuing applicants):
  • Evidence of progress/justification of continued need
  • Applicant's understanding of project goals
  • Applicant's understanding/description of role
  • Quality/effort of writing submission
• Research Dissemination Plans
  • List of at least 2 (virtual/in-person) conferences, journals, or other research dissemination opportunities

Additional Notes on evaluation criteria:

• All responses to the prompts must meet the minimum word count. 
• Applications are especially encouraged from students representing diverse social, economic, and educational backgrounds.
• Applications that contain a more fully developed research project description, a clear research question or objective, and a well-defined role will be evaluated higher than applications that lack these characteristics.
• Applications from CSUMB faculty-mentored students and externally-mentored students will be evaluated equally, but preference may be given to submissions supporting research opportunities at CSUMB, especially those involving new faculty starting their research programs.
• Capstone research projects do not typically qualify for recognition through this program. However, if the capstone research project is both truly exceptional and adheres to the standards outlined in the UROC definition of undergraduate research, an exception may be considered if a thorough justification of why this project qualifies for consideration is included in the project description.