UPCOMING DEADLINES:

(1)    Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program (PURM): due Friday, January 18

(2)    Grants for Faculty Members Mentoring Undergraduate Research: due Sunday, January 20

(3)    Team Grants for Interdisciplinary Activities (TGIA): due Sunday, January 20

Dear Penn Faculty Member:

As you know, the Penn faculty is redefining fields of study on a daily basis.  Penn’s scholarly profile is what makes us a world class university.  Penn’s research excellence is what also attracts our students at every academic level.  We are writing today to encourage you to join us in our efforts to advance undergraduate research at Penn, which as you know is a defining part of many of our students’ college experiences.  Exposure to research opportunities is one of the fundamental distinguishing characteristics of our institution, and the university has set a goal of significantly increasing our students’ exposure to robust research experiences.  We are asking for your commitment to making this effort a success.

 Please strongly consider participating in Penn’s undergraduate research efforts.  The following four programs are administered by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships

 (1) Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program (PURM)

o   Matches and provides funding for one or two students to work with a faculty mentor on a summer research project

o   Applications due Friday, January 18, 2019; more information at: https://www.curf.upenn.edu/content/penn-undergraduate-research-mentoring-program

 (2) Team Grants for Interdisciplinary Activities (TGIA)

o   Financial support for a team of faculty members to offer an intensive, interdisciplinary summer research experience for a group of 2-5 undergraduates 

o   Applications due Sunday, January 20, 2019; more information at: https://www.curf.upenn.edu/content/team-grants-interdisciplinary-activities-tgia

  (3) Grants for Faculty Members Mentoring Undergraduate Research

o   Grants for faculty members to offset expenses incurred as they support undergraduates doing research

o   Applications due Sunday, January 20, 2019; more information at: https://www.curf.upenn.edu/content/grants-faculty-mentoring-undergraduate-research

 (4) Jumpstart for Juniors Program

o   Awards for a research project in the summer between a student’s junior and senior years

·       Both the student and the faculty mentor receive research funding support

o   Applications due Monday, March 11, 2019; more information at: https://www.curf.upenn.edu/content/jumpstart-juniors

 While these programs require the involvement of a standing faculty member, we recognize and value the contributions of non-standing faculty and therefore welcome proposal submissions from collaborative mentorship teams.  Questions can be addressed to Ann Vernon-Grey, anneliza@upenn.edu, 215-746-6488. 

 Thank you for your continuing efforts to help us introduce Penn undergraduates to the excitement and challenge of high-level research with faculty mentors. 

 Regards,

Wendell Pritchett, Provost

Beth A. Winkelstein, Vice Provost for Education