The application portal is now closed. Applications were due by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, February 15th, 2022.
Students should read the Policies for Grants to understand the expectations for applicants and awardees before applying. Only applications which are compliant with all policies will be considered eligible for review.
Overview
Community Based Undergraduate Research Grants provide the opportunity for pairs or teams of students to develop research projects that apply their academic skills, experiences, ideas, and humility to community-based issues within and beyond the Commonwealth of Virginia. Projects from all disciplines that address real world problems are eligible for consideration, and interdisciplinary work is encouraged. CBURG student teams will propose a substantial research project that addresses a public need or issue under the supervision of a UVA faculty mentor and in collaboration with a community organization. These research projects are expected to be carried out in the summer and subsequent academic year following application for the award.
Faculty Mentor and Community Organization Liaison
Interested students should discuss the proposed project with a UVA faculty mentor who will advise them in their work early in the process of developing their proposal. The students and faculty mentor should also identify and partner with a community organization in pursuit of their goal(s). Both the UVA faculty mentor and the community organization liaison will be asked to submit forms in support of the project proposal as a part of the application. Upon completion the faculty mentor will submit a brief narrative assessment of the students’ project.
Funding
CBURG teams may be granted up to $10,000 to pursue their objectives, and faculty mentors receive research support in the amount of $500.
Eligibility
Current first-, second-, and third-year undergraduate students are eligible to apply for the CBURG, and teams may include one graduate student from UVA. The program welcomes proposals from all subject areas and schools at the university.
Application Process
Students should designate an undergraduate student to be the team leader, who will fill out the application for the team. The team leader will submit a single project proposal and budget request, as well as personal narratives and research backgrounds from each student on the project (details below). The team leader will be asked to provide the contact information for their UVA faculty mentor, who will complete the Research Mentor Support Form, and for the community organization liaison, who will complete the Community Organization Liaison Support Form.
Faculty reviewers will assess each application based on merit, taking into account such considerations as clarity of the research question, appropriateness of methodology, the project’s feasibility, the applicants’ preparation for undertaking the project, and the level of engagement with the community.
The project proposal is expected to be written in the style of a grant application and should clearly identify the community issue being addressed. Proposals should not exceed 2 pages (single-spaced, 12 point font, with 1-inch margins) and should include the following sections: background and question(s), methods, anticipated outcomes, and the significance of the work. Proposals should be uniformly cited using a citation style appropriate to the field of the project, and a bibliography should be included (though this will not count towards the page limit).
Each student on the team should prepare a personal narrative and a descriptive research background for the team leader to submit.
- The personal narrative should address why the student is a good fit for the project, what they plan to contribute, and how their involvement will advance their own learning and personal goals. Narratives should be 500 words or less (single-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins).
- The research background should highlight relevant experiences that have prepared the student for the proposed work. This should be 250 words or less (single-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins).
Selected Resources on Community Based Research
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Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. Volume 9, Number 3, 2003. Special issue on Community Based Research: (abstracts only)
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Community-Based Research and Higher Education. Strand, Kerry, and Sam Marullo, Nick Cutforth, Randy Stoecker, and Patrick Donohue. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2003. (preview only)