President’s Undergraduate Research Awards (PURA) fund student salaries to conduct undergraduate research with Georgia Tech faculty and offset travel expenses for undergraduates to present their research at professional conferences. Between two hundred and three hundred competitive awards are offered each year. Fall 2017 PURA Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 12, 2017.
Salary Awards offer a $1,500 stipend to undergraduate students who are conducting research with a Georgia Tech faculty member or Georgia Tech Research Institute scientist. Both faculty members and students can initiate research projects, but the award proposal must be written by the student, and the student must apply by the established deadline for the semester in which the funds are requested. Funds are competitively awarded.
Rules and Eligibility
- Applicant must be an undergraduate student in good standing (GPA > 2.0).
- A Georgia Tech faculty mentor or GTRI scientist is required for the proposed research project.
- Students are not allowed to receive academic course credit for a research project funded by PURA.
- Students are limited to one salary award per academic year (summer, fall, spring).
- Students are not eligible for PURA funding if the research project is receiving funding from another source.
- All awarded salary students are required to submit a final report and short video outlining their research project and experience, and this must be submitted by the last day of finals of the award semester.
- Please note that per Georgia Tech’s Training in Responsible Conduct of Research Policy, it is a requirement for awarded salary students to complete an online ethics training course. The training must be completed prior to the start of the research semester.
How to Apply
Students can apply for a PURA Salary Award through our online application form here. The two major components of the salary application are the research project proposal and the letter of recommendation from the applicant’s faculty mentor.
RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL
Items to be included in the project proposal are:
- An overview of proposed work
- Objectives and goals for the semester project
- Related work and background information
- Methods and techniques to be used, software to be used or developed, and types of media or resources to be used
- Relation of any past research in the field that you participated in to this work
- Location of work (if not at Georgia Tech)
- Names of any graduate student or postdoctoral co-mentors
- If the project is to be undertaken by an undergraduate team, a description of your individual role and how it relates to the project as a whole
Proposals should not exceed two pages in length (excluding references).
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
Once a student submits the online application form, an email is automatically sent to listed faculty member requesting a recommendation letter. Recommendation letters must be received by the application deadline, and applications are considered incomplete until a recommendation letter is received. It is for this reason that we advise against waiting until the last day to submit an application.
Undergraduate students whose research has been accepted for presentation at a professional or academic conference may apply for up to $1,000 in PURA Travel Award funding. Multiple travel awards can be granted within the same academic year, and students may receive a travel award during the same semester of salary award funding. Funds are competitively awarded.
Rules and Eligibility
- Applicant must be an undergraduate student in good standing (GPA > 2.0).
- The research project to be presented must be associated with a Georgia Tech faculty mentor or GTRI scientist.
- Requested funding amount may not exceed $1,000. Please note that we do not guarantee funding of the full amount requested in the application.
- Funding can only be awarded to students who have already been accepted to give an oral presentation, poster presentation, or exhibit their work in another medium that is professionally accepted in their field of study.
- All awarded travel students are required to submit a final report that provides a short description of the work presented and the student’s experience at the professional meeting, and this must be submitted by the last day of finals of the award semester.
How to Apply
Travel applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Applications are to be submitted through the online application form no earlier than three months prior to the anticipated conference date and no later than one month prior to the anticipated conference date. Please do not submit an application until your paper or poster has been accepted at the conference. The two major components of the travel application are the proposal and the letter of recommendation from the applicant’s faculty mentor.
RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL
Items to be included in the travel proposal are:
- An overview of the work to be presented
- Information on the conference (conference name, location, dates)
- Format of presentation (poster, oral, performance)
- Itemized budget (registration fees, airfare, hotel, food, rental car, etc.)
- Cost-sharing available or applied for
Proposals should not exceed two pages in length (excluding references). Please note that cost-sharing is not required for a travel award application, but it is very helpful in allowing our office to fund additional student trips. If you have any questions, please contact Allyson Tant at allyson.tant@gatech.edu.
LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION
Once a student submits the online application form, an email is automatically sent to listed faculty member requesting a recommendation letter. Recommendation letters must be received no later than one month prior to the anticipated conference date, and applications are considered incomplete until a recommendation letter is received. It is for this reason that we advise against waiting until the last minute to submit an application.
For more information on PURA Salary and Travel Awards, please visit http://urop.gatech.edu/content/presidents-undergraduate-research-awards.
