91°µÍø

Department of Chemistry

Department of Physics

Department of Agricultural Sciences

Department of Biological Sciences

Department of Geography & Geology

Department of Mathematics & Statistics

The College of Science and Engineering Technology announces undergraduate research funding opportunities for spring and summer 2021. These awards have been modeled after the EURECA summer FAST grant, with some modifications. The spring 2021 funding opportunity has an application deadline of February 1, 2021, while the summer 2021 funding opportunity has an application deadline of March 29, 2021. 

Eligibility: 

All faculty are eligible to apply for the COSET Undergraduate Research Award 2021. Full-time undergraduate students enrolled at 91°µÍø during the spring semester of 2021 are eligible to be team members. However, students graduating in spring 2021 are eligible for the spring award only. Faculty mentors may submit only one proposal. At least six proposals are expected to be funded. 

Faculty who have applied for a summer 2021 EURECA FAST grant are ineligible to apply for a spring 2021 COSET award for the same project, but are encouraged to apply for the summer 2021 COSET award if not funded by EURECA. If a faculty member would like to submit a proposal for a different project (with different student team members) compared to one submitted for the EURECA FAST award, they are eligible for either the spring 2021 or summer 2021 COSET award. Prior submission of a EURECA FAST proposal is not required to be eligible for a COSET award. Faculty members not funded for the spring 2021 COSET award may resubmit for the summer 2021 COSET award. 

Note – All Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols must be completed before funds will be distributed. IRB and IACUC guidelines are available on the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs website at  . 

Funding: 

Each student team member (up to two student team members maximum) will receive $2000 for participating in the project. Up to $500 per proposal is also available to fund student research supplies and travel to field sites or laboratories. Funding is not available for travel to conferences or for faculty stipends. Funding must be spent no later than August 31, 2022.

Selection: 

Awards to conduct research projects will be granted by a competitive selection process. The COSET Undergraduate Research Committee, an interdisciplinary committee comprised of faculty from each COSET department, will evaluate and prioritize proposals for funding based on the following criteria: 

• design and feasibility of the project’s plan. 
• significance of the expected results to the faculty member’s discipline. 
• potential contributions the project will make to the students’ future studies and/or future careers. 
• level and type of student involvement in the project. Outstanding proposals will have clearly delineated roles for each student member of the team, will strongly emphasize what the student team members will gain from this experience, and will clearly outline which aspects of the project each team member can lay claim to as their contribution 

For the spring 2021 award, faculty members will be notified of a decision no later than February 15, 2021. For the summer 2021 award, faculty members will be notified of a decision no later than April 12, 2021. 

Outcomes: 

Each awarded research team is required to submit a final report to COSET that includes: 

• a one-page PDF document written by the faculty mentor(s) that briefly describes the progress and findings/results of their funded project 
• a one-page reflection report from each student member outlining his or her role in the project and the project’s impact on his or her professional development 

The final report is due by October 15, 2021. Failure to submit the report by the deadline may result in the faculty member and students being ineligible for future COSET research funding. 

In addition, student researchers are strongly encouraged to present the findings of their research at the 91°µÍø Undergraduate Research Symposium, as well as at state, national, or international conferences. 

Application Process: 

Completed applications are due by 5:00 pm on the day of the deadline, and must include the following:

1. A cover page (attached; can also be obtained by emailing lys001@shsu.edu)
2. A two- to three-page proposal, written in an interdisciplinary style, that:
   • describes the project’s objectives, methods/approach to be used, and expected outcomes for the project
   • thoroughly describes how the project (or a closely related project) would be able to continue remotely should access to a laboratory or other facilities be lost due to COVID-19 related mitigation (such as a stay at home order)
     • examples of acceptable activities include statistical analysis of data sets, computer programming, and in silico projects, such as database mining
     • literature reviews and bibliographies are not acceptable
   • describes any follow-up activities to be completed in the fall (2021) and spring (2022) semesters
   • indicates whether this is a new project, or part of an ongoing project
   • explains the significance of the expected results
   • uses a font no smaller than 11-pt and has 1” margins

3. A works cited page (as needed) (does not count toward the three-page limit)
4. Student information forms for each student team member (attached; can also be obtained by emailing lys001@shsu.edu)
5. Budget form (as needed) (attached; can also be obtained by emailing lys001@shsu.edu)
6. A statement of interest written by each student team member (<200 words)

These documents must be merged into a single PDF file and sent by email to Li-Jen Lester (lys001@shsu.edu) with COSET Undergraduate Research Award 2021 in the subject line by 5:00 pm on the day of the application deadline. 

The College of Science and Engineering Technology (COSET) Graduate Achievement Scholarship is a $1,500 competitive scholarship awarded to students demonstrating outstanding academic progress in a COSET graduate program.

To be considered for the COSET Graduate Achievement Scholarship, a student must be enrolled full-time in a graduate program in the College of Science and Engineering Technology and have an 91°µÍø graduate GPA.  Students in their first semester of a COSET graduate program are not eligible for the scholarship and should consider applying for the COSET Graduate Recruitment scholarship instead.  Students who are already receiving a scholarship as a bonus to their graduate assistantship (generally, those students in their first or second semester in a COSET graduate program who have been awarded a graduate assistantship), are not eligible for the scholarship. Students receiving a PhD stipend are also not eligible.  Certain exceptions are permitted; interested students are highly encouraged to inquire about eligibility.  Please direct inquiries to Li-Jen Lester (lys001@shsu.edu).

Complete applications require:

1. a ½-page personal statement from the applicant (that includes the applicant’s Sam ID) describing their academic progress toward the degree, including planned graduation date, and progress on the thesis, capstone project, or dissertation (where applicable), and  

2. a letter of evaluation from the applicant’s major advisor or graduate program coordinator describing the applicant’s progress toward the degree and overall performance in the graduate program.

Applicants must email their personal statement as a Word or pdf document to Li-Jen Lester (lys001@shsu.edu) with Graduate Achievement Scholarship in the subject line by 5:00 pm on the day of the deadline.

The letter of evaluation must be emailed directly from the applicant’s major advisor or graduate program coordinator to Li-Jen Lester (lys001@shsu.edu) by 5:00 pm on the day of the deadline. 

The application deadline for the fall scholarship is July 1^st, and the application deadline for the spring scholarship is December 1^st.

The College of Science and Engineering Technology (COSET) Graduate Recruitment Scholarship is a $1,500 competitive scholarship awarded to outstanding students entering their first semester of a COSET graduate program at 91°µÍø and who have not been awarded a graduate assistantship.

 To be considered for the COSET Graduate Recruitment Scholarship, a student must be accepted into a graduate program in the College of Science and Engineering Technology, be entering their first semester in the program, and plan to be a full-time student.  Nominations for the scholarship will be accepted from 91°µÍø faculty, or students may self-nominate.  An international student applying for the scholarship must have a transcript evaluation on file with the COSET Dean’s office (transcript evaluations by qualified 91°µÍø faculty are acceptable).  Applicants will be evaluated by cumulative GPA.

An application can be found here, and applications must be scanned and emailed to Ms. Shellie Armstrong at sda006@shsu.edu by 5:00 pm on the day of the deadline. Paper applications will not be accepted.

The application deadlines for the Fall scholarship are April 1st (first round) and July 15th (second round), and the application deadline for the Spring scholarship is November 15th.