Office of Undergraduate Research Accepting Applications for Summer Research Fellowships

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 7, 2020) — Conducting research during the summer can be a transformative experience for undergraduate students, as they put their skills to the test in labs, fields, library collections, art studios and the stage. In an effort to engage students in investigative and creative activities and to invest in undergraduate research, the Office of Undergraduate Research provides students with Summer Research Grants, awarded to undergraduates in all areas of intellectual inquiry and many different levels of matriculation.

“The Office of Undergraduate Research encourages students to take their research experience to the next level with a Summer Research Fellowship,” said Jesi Bowman, student program and marketing specialist for the UK Office of Undergraduate Research.

The four different types of summer research fellowships, research options and funding include the following:

• Summer Research and Creativity Grants (up to $2,500);
• Summer Intercollegiate Sustainability Research Experience (up to $5,000), supported by UK Sustainability, UK Student Sustainability Council and The Food Connection; 
• Sustainability Summer Grants (up to $2,500); and
• Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarships (up to $5,000), co-sponsored by Education Abroad & Exchanges.

Last year, the Office of Undergraduate Research supported 62 Summer Research Fellowships, including:

• 2019 Sustainability Research Fellow Brett Quigley, a mechanical engineering major, who conducted sustainable engineering research in Uganda, Africa; 
• 2019 Research Abroad Scholarship winner Darian Parker, a mechanical engineering major, who conducted engineering research abroad at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France;
• 2019 Summer Intercollegiate Sustainability Research Experiences Grant winner Maria Sanchez, a political science, international studies, and environmental and sustainability studies major, who studied the impact of social networks and peer influence on the consumption of oysters, an eco-friendly food at the University of Delaware; and 
• 2019 Summer Research Grant winner Lucas Barrett, a biology major, who conducted biomedical translational research and studied how specific gene variants affect individuals’ health.

"This research experience has been the most positive experience of my undergraduate education," said Maria Sanchez, Intercollegiate Sustainability Research Experiences Fellow. "Not only did I learn the value of working in a team, but I am now highly motivated to pursue a master’s degree in agricultural and resource economics and continue to be involved in the highly dynamic field of experimental and behavioral economics.”

Any full-time UK undergraduate student of any major who has completed at least one semester of research with a faculty mentor is eligible to apply. The student also must be returning to UK in the following fall semester as an undergraduate.  

The proposal/application deadline for Summer Research Fellowships is Feb. 15. To apply, click here. For more information on the Office of Undergraduate Research, click here. 

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for" two years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.