CURS Sponsors 2012 NCUR Travel Scholarship Award

Looking for an opportunity to showcase your academic achievements and advance your future career? BGSU’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS) is offering a travel scholarship to students interested in presenting their completed research or creative projects at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), to be held at Weber State University (Ogden, UT) from March 29-31, 2012. Scholarship winners will receive an institutional endorsement in the form of free registration and travel (valued between $600 - $1,000 per student) to be awarded if their proposal is accepted for presentation at NCUR. BGSU students must apply for the campus scholarship before applying to attend NCUR to be eligible to have their travel costs covered by the Center. More information about NCUR 2012 is available by clicking on the conference logo, below: 

Interested students are highly encouraged to attend the NCUR Information Session on Wednesday, November 2, 5:00pm – 6:00pm, in the Honors Loft Conference Room, located on the second floor of Harshman Hall. Students are encouraged to bring a draft of their abstract for individual feedback, and will have the opportunity to view sample abstracts from previous NCUR presenters. This session will be facilitated by CURS staff and our guest, Dr. Neil Brown.

SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES:

For scholarship consideration, students must submit their application and abstracts to CURS staff for review by BGSU faculty. (Please do not submit your abstract to NCUR until after you receive notification of your CURS scholarship status). Students will receive notification of their scholarship and endorsement status, as well as additional instructions for registering, prior to the NCUR application deadline (November 18) and will have the opportunity to work with faculty mentors to polish their presentations prior to the conference.

Please note, presenters will not be given the option of requesting a specific date for their presentation, so if submitting an abstract, you must be available to attend the entire conference. Travel to Ogden Utah (likely via plane/ bus) would commence on Wednesday, March 30, with the return trip scheduled either for Saturday (very late) or Sunday (early evening). More information about travel will be forthcoming.

Priority will be given to first-time NCUR applicants / first-time conference presenters. We encourage applicants from a diverse range of disciplines.

For more information, please contact the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship at curs@bgsu.edu or (419)372-5401. For more about NCUR, go to: http://www.ncur.org/.

SUBMISSION CRITERIA:

NCUR welcomes program submissions from all disciplines. Applicants may choose to present a poster or an oral presentation, performing arts (music, dance, theatre) or visual arts (artwork) presentation. (Individuals submitting an abstract for a Visual Arts presentation must include an estimate for shipping costs). Complete presentation guidelines, sample abstracts and shipping instructions are available at http://www.ithaca.edu/ncur2011/guidelines/.

For scholarship consideration, abstracts will be reviewed for their quality and potential for being selected to represent BGSU at the national level. An abstract (250-350 words) describing your presentation must be submitted with your CURS NCUR Travel Scholarship application.

A quality abstract:

• is well-written in the professional style appropriate for the discipline (A.P.A., M.L.A. etc.);
• clearly communicates the purpose, hypothesis, methods, and findings of the project;
• demonstrates depth of thought and original scholarship;
• successfully articulates the outcomes of the research or creative activity;
• reflects the student’s understanding of the research paradigm or approach used, as well as the student’s ability to integrate content knowledge as appropriate for the discipline.

FOR SUPPORT:

Students are highly encouraged to attend the Information Session on Wednesday, November 2. If unable to do so, students seeking feedback or help in polishing their abstracts may contact:

Dr. M. Neil Browne, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Economics and Honors Faculty Affiliate, at (419) 372-8060 or nbrown2@bgsu.edu.

Students may also contact Chris Mitchell, Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, at (419) 372-5401 or curs@bgsu.edu.

QUESTIONS?

For questions about the CURS 2011 NCUR Scholarship and the selection process, please contact:

NCUR 2010: Ithaca College 

For information about last year's scholarship recipients and their presentations at NCUR 2011, please click  HERE.