SURF
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) is an opportunity for students to participate in research and creative activities during the 10 weeks of summer.
SURF encourages future development of a project beyond the end of summer.
Additional Information
- Eligibility
Eligible students must be full time LU undergraduates enrolled in the Fall and Spring semesters. Minimum 2.8 Cumulative GPA and 3.0 or higher GPA within their discipline.
Must have at least one faculty mentor in the discipline of the research topic.
OUR may provide logistic support for the application process.
- Participation and Attendance
Participation in SURF begins the first week of June and ends the second week of August.
Grant recipients must attend the four events sponsored by OUR. Attending the mandatory OUR grant winners orientation, OUR Kick-off and OUR EXPO do not count toward the four events.
Presentation at one of two OUR sponsored fall conferences, Texas STEM or HASBSEB is mandatory.
- Stipend
Surf: $3,000
$2,000 - Student Stipend - Paid in two installments. One-half will be paid as the SURF Kick-ff Day. The
second will be paid in August upon the submission of a complete post grant report. The deadline is the SURF Award Ceremony. All paperwork must be completed prior to payment.$1,000 - Research Support - Up to $1,000 will be awarded for research support, which may includesupplies, disposable, small equipment, software, analytical services, books, research related travel or service, etc. Lamar University will retain the ownership of any equipment purchased with these funds. - Travel Support
After the completion of their work, SURF recipients are encouraged to travel to present at conferences in ones research discipline, outside of Lamar University. Travel to present at a conference will require a Request for Funds to Support Student Travel Involving Undergraduate Research/Creative Activity to the OUR office.
For more information regarding OUR supported travel call 409-880-8430 or email our@lamar.edu.
- Proposal Format
Preparation for SURF proposals can be challenging. OUR provides support through the entire application process. Reviewing the guidelines for SURF proposal submission will get you started.
Submit all five items (cover sheet, narrative, resume, budget, timeline and letter of support) electronically as a single PDF to cbahrim@lamar.edu with the subject line: SURF proposal by February 20.
The file name format should be: student_name-SURF-Year.pdf. Example:johndoe-SURF-2023.pdf.
- Final Report
A final report is due on the day before the SURF Symposium (August) and should be approved by the faculty mentor. The final report should be sent by email to our@lamar.edu and cc the mentor and their approval is required by email as well. Based on this report will determine if the student receives the second half of the student stipend payment.
The final report should include the following elements:
- One-two page narrative which summarizes the work accomplished with OUR support, including graphical results, tables and a brief paragraph indicating the possible continuation of the project.
- A three slide Power Point presentation designed to be understood by a general non specialized audience.
- One page budget justification with the summary of expenses.
- Video presentation no longer than 10 minutes focused on your research experience and results.
- One paragraph of 100 words as a testimonial about your research experience and a few good resolution professional photos taken in the research environment.
- Poster Guidelines
Need help creating a poster for your conference presentation? Use the poster guide as a template to assist you.
Schedule 2023
- February - March
February 8 Panel Discussions about writing a SURF grant proposal -Landes Auditorium 12p-2p February 20 Submission deadline (midnight) February 23 Mentors upload submission to Competition Space March 14 SURF winners notified March 20 SURF grant winners ceremony - Gray Library 8th flr - 4p-6p March 22 Workshop on literature review/library resources - Landes Rm 101 11:30a-1p March 28 and 30 SURF orientation 12:30p-3p (28th-Galloway 125 and 30th-Landes 101) March 29 Workshop on writing a narrative/research paper Galloway Rm 12:30p-2p - April - May
April 1- May 1 Spending window for purchasing materials and supplies April 21 Workshop on using library resources - Landes Auditorium May 3 First SURF stipend May 31 SURF Kick-off Day - Landes Auditorium - After May Commencement
Moving to Cardinal Village
- July - August
July 12 and 13 Mid-term report due (in person or Zoom) July 15 Workshop on writing comprehensive narrative - Archer Bldg August 5 SURF Symposium August 15 SURF post grant report due (video, narrative and 3 PowerPoint slides)