URSCA - Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity​​

IMPORTANT - Due to the funding type, URSCA can support only current UWSP undergraduate student research, travel, and poster applications. If you are a graduate student and apply for an URSCA grant, your application will be denied.

As a high impact practice, undergraduate research and creative activities engage students in actively contested questions, creative expression, empirical observation, cutting-edge technologies, and the sense of excitement that comes from working to answer important questions. S​tudents gain many benefits from engaging in these activities, including preparation for graduate study, professional schools, job skills, and networking.

Funds are available​ for student ​travel, conference registrations, and poster printing.​ We hope you will consider applying, and we are here to help if you have questions. Contact us at: oscar@uwsp.edu

Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, & Creative Activity (URSCA) is piloting an undergraduate research fellowship opportunity and will award up to $3,000 to hire undergraduates on an hourly basis to assist faculty and staff mentors with extracurricular creative or research projects. By fostering student-staff collaboration, the awards encourage undergraduates to pursue scholarly and creative endeavors beyond the classroom.​

Criteria:

  • Open to currently enrolled UWSP undergraduates only.

  • A faculty or staff mentor must supervise the project and apply for a fellowship on the student's behalf.

  • Projects cannot be part of a course in which the student is currently enrolled.

  • Priority will be given to first-time applicants as well as undergraduates who qualify for Pell Grants.

  • Fellows will be encouraged to publish or share projects at conferences, exhibits, or performance venues. Separate grants for poster printing and travel expenses are available through URSCA.

  • Fellows will be encouraged to submit completed projects to Minds@UW​ institutional repository.

Process:

  • URSCA will review applications on a rolling basis. Funds will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.

  • Upon award notification, departments must hire fellows through student payroll. URSCA will reimburse the department when the project is completed or when the fellow has earned $3,000, whichever comes first.

  • URSCA will reimburse departments at a rate of $15 an hour. Departments may supplement hourly wages at their own expense, but fellows cannot earn less than $15 per hour. No stipends will be awarded.

  • Fellows cannot work more than 25 hours per week during the academic year or more than 40 hours per week in summer.

  • Awards are intended to provide support where other resources are not available. Thus, the URSCA Fellowship should not be used if the student is receiving funding for work through other means.​

Fellowship Application​


Apply for a Travel Grant (undergraduate students only)

​​Travel Grant funds are available to help students traveling to professional meetings, events, or conferences to present their original research or creative activity. Applicants must be current UWSP undergraduate students and have documentation of their acceptance to present research (poster, presentation, performance) at a professional conference, meeting, or event.

Individual grants are awarded up to $750. Groups may be awarded up to $4500 (only one applicant is needed per group). Applications must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the date of travel. Late submissions will not be considered. Please allow two weeks for processing.

Travel Grant Application​

Have questions? Please view our frequently asked questions document:

Travel FAQ ​Document​ ​

Request a Poster Print (undergraduate students only)

While funding is available, one free poster print per academic year is allowed for undergraduate students who are presenting research at professional conferences or events or other non-course related activities. Poster printing requests must be initiated by the sponsoring instructor.

Instructors: Complete the form for each conference or event for which you will be sponsoring undergraduate student work. If you have students who are working in groups, list only ONE lead student per poster. The lead student will be responsible for​ picking the poster up once it is printed. Poster printing requires a minimum of a 2 week lead time.​​

Design Guidelines:

Poster Print Application​​​​


​​Research Opportunities

54th Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
La Crosse, WI
January 14-16, 2025

2025 Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention​
Stevens Point, WI
March 26-28, 2025

Research in the Rotunda
State Capitol, Madison WI
April 2, 2025

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)​
Pittsburgh, PA
April 7-9, 2025

COLS Undergraduate Research Symposium
Chemistry Biology Building
May 2, 2025

UWSP School of Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry​

Research Help

In-person (CCC 104)
Phone: 715-346-2836
Email: librefd@uwsp.edu
Chat: www.uwsp.edu/library/chat
Appointment:One-on-one research consultation​​​​​​​​​​

Events Calendar