URP is a credit-earning opportunity (IDS 285, 286) for Honors students who wish to participate in faculty research projects. In an era of increasing work and diminishing resources, the URP program is a great way for faculty researchers to attain the assistance of some of our best undergraduate students. Research projects are posted in the Honors Office, and students are encouraged to initiate the first meeting with the faculty member. The normal procedure is for the student to fill out a URP contract before obtaining the faculty member’s signature, and then to return the completed contract to the Honors Office for final approval.
If you are interested in participating in the URP Program, please contact Julie Brooks,
To provide faculty members with undergraduate research assistance.
To encourage interaction between Honors students and faculty.
To earn Honors credit hours.
To fulfill part of the requirements for the Certificate in University Honors and the University Honors Scholar designations.
Expectations
Students may earn 1 – 3 hours of credit. One hour of credit is equivalent to 2 – 4 hours of work per week throughout the semester, 2 hours of credit is equivalent to 5 – 7 hours of work per week, and 3 hours of credit is equivalent to 8 – 11 hours of work per week.
NOTE: Students must take IDS 285 prior to enrolling in IDS 286. Students who have completed both IDS 285 and IDS 286 and would like to continue their research may want to consider Independent Honors Study (course number 299), where credit hours may also be earned. Independent Honors Study may be research-related, but is not limited to research.
Procedures
The student contacts a faculty member to see if he or she would like research assistance and would be willing to supervise the student’s research participation. Students should try to match their abilities and interests with that of the faculty’s research interests. Some faculty members submit project descriptions and requests for student participation to the Honors Program. For faculty project information, students should contact the Honors Program or contact a faculty member they are interested in working with.
The student writes a description of what he or she and the instructor agree his or her involvement in the research will be. The description should include evaluation criteria, which course the student is enrolling in (i.e., IDS 285/Honors Undergraduate Research I or IDS 286/Honors Undergraduate Research II), as well as the number of credit hours the student will earn (i.e., 1 –3 credits).
The white and yellow copies are returned to the Honors Office, the goldenrod is for the instructor, and the pink is for the student.
Once the Honors Program has obtained the student’s contract, the Honors Program enters a permit into the computer, at which point, the student may register for IDS 285/Honors Undergraduate Research I or IDS 286/Honors Undergraduate Research II. THE STUDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REGISTERING FOR THIS COURSE ONCE THE PERMIT HAS BEEN ADDED.
After the student and instructor have agreed upon the student’s role, the Honors Program reviews the contract. If there is a problem with the student’s contract, it will be returned to the student and the student will be asked to revise it.
Returned proposals are usually because the student has not indicated the number of credit hours he or she plans to earn, a course number was not specified (IDS 285 or IDS 286), or signatures were missing.
Evaluation
At the end of the semester, the Honors Office sends a copy of the contract to the instructor.
The instructor submits the student’s grade to the Honors Office.
