• Minigrant Overview Seminar
• Award Criteria
  • 3.0 GPA
  • Originality of the proposed project
  • Independence of student project
  • Clarity and feasibility of the proposal
  • Clear methodology/approach
  • Clear timeline
  • Well-justified budget
  • References/citations
  • Faculty mentor’s letter of recommendation
• Funding and Allowable Expenses

  Funding Available:

  • Up to $1,000 for research-related travel (non-conference) and supplies only. See the Travel Minigrants section for information on funding to present at professional and academic conferences.

  Allowable expenses for Research Minigrants include:

  • Project supplies and materials*
  • Computer software not normally available through faculty mentor*
  • Research-related domestic travel (mileage/airfare/university vehicle rental), for off campus research, not conference travel.
  • Cameras and video recorders*
  • Stipends for human subjects to participate in surveys. Applicants must have appropriate IRB approval for use of human subjects. Proof of approval must be submitted with the application for consideration.

  *All purchased supplies, materials, and computer software are University property and must remain in the faculty mentor’s laboratory or home department.

  Items that will not be funded include:

  • Student stipends or salary payments
  • Desktop computers, laptops, computer tablets
  • Reimbursements for activities that occurred prior to the project award period.
• Research Minigrant Proposal Guidelines
  • Proposals should be typed using 12pt font, Times New Roman, 1” margins, double space is preferred (1 1/2" may be considered), no more than 3 pages (including citations). The proposal must be submitted by 5pm on the application deadline. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
    • Proposal Narrative (2-3 pages) that outlines the research project and includes the following five elements:
      • Introduction/Statement of Goals: Clearly state what your project is and its relevance to your field. State the project's hypothesis, goals or objectives.
      • Methodology/Evaluation:
        • STEM: Describe your proposed activities. Provide an implementation plan, timeline, and a clearly defined evaluation of your outcome/product (demonstrate how you will know if your outcomes are successful).
        • Humanities: Describe your approach or analytical method. Explain why this approach/method is useful or relevant to your topic.
      • Budget and Budget Justification: Provide a budget breakdown that gives a general summary of expenses in the proposal. The application portal will have a section where you can provide a detailed justification of the resources that are needed for the project, including their relevance and cost. Prioritize your expenses based on level of importance to your project in case your proposal cannot be fully funded.
      • Statement of Qualifications : Include the project's relevance to your degree and career plans.
      • Citations/References to support your research. 2-3 citations minimum.
      • Graphs & Images: Although these can be useful in explaining your research, be cautious in regards to the space they use.
  • A Letter of Support from faculty mentor who will provide oversight of the proposed project. This letter must be completed by the faculty mentor. Faculty mentor, please address:
    • Student’s research qualifications
    • Student’s ability to carry out the proposed project
    • Relationship between the student’s project and faculty research, scholarly, or creative activities
    • Mentorship of the student over the course of the project
    • Expense justification.
      
      Upon submission of the application the system will email the professor a link to upload the letter of recommendation. It is the applicant’s responsibility to follow up with the letter writer to ensure that they are aware of the submissions process and deadline to upload the letter
• Minigrant End of Year Report

  All minigrant recipients are required to submit a Minigrant End of Year Report no later than June 30^th of the academic year the award was funded.  The reports should include the following:

  • Name, SID, Major, Academic Level, Proposal Title, Faculty Mentor, Faculty Mentor’s Home Department, Budget Contact Person's email, and Quarter Award was funded.
  • Indicate if the report is for a Research Minigrant or Travel Minigrant, or both (Research & Travel Minigrants).
  • Provide a summary of the research and the accomplishments made during the award period.
  • Indicate any outcomes, such as publication or conference presentations that resulted.
  • If you purchased any equipment, please remember that this is the property of the university. The equipment should be returned to your faculty mentor or departmental budget person. The report should indicate who the equipment was submitted to.
  • The report should include a budget that shows the funds awarded and the expenditure of the funds. Any funds not spent by June 30^th will be returned to Undergraduate Education, extensions are not granted. Fill out expenses spreadsheet, and upload to the Minigrant End-of-Year Report.

Travel Minigrants

Travel Minigrants enable undergraduates who have been active participates in a faculty mentored research, creative or artistic project to present research outcomes at a disciplinary specific conference. Preference will be given to proposals that have been funded through the minigrant program.  

• Award Criteria
  • Proof of acceptance to present at a research conference
  • Cumulative GPA of 3.0
  • Clear explanation of research: what is being researched, brief explanation of methodology, importance to discipline, and research outcomes to be presented.
  • Expected learning outcomes of attending the conference
  • The faculty mentor’s letter of recommendation should support the relevance of the specific conference to the discipline and the impact of presenting at the conference on the student's professional development
• Funding

  Funding Available:

  • Up to $1,000 for travel related to research presentation at a scholarly conference. 

  Allowable expenses for Conference Travel Grants include:

  • Airfare, registration, mileage, accommodations, food, University vehicle rental.

  Items that will not be funded include:

  • Reimbursements for conference expenses that occurred prior to the award period.  Exceptions may be considered for conference presentation expenses that have not been funded by any other source and could not have been submitted before the deadline.  You should demonstrate in the proposal that the call for submissions occurred after the last Mini-grant deadline.
• Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Minigrant Guidelines
  • All proposals should be typed using 12pt font, 1” margins, double space is preferred, no more than 3 pages. The proposal must be submitted by 5pm on the application deadline.  Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
  • Abstract:  Upload the abstract that was submitted to the conference.
  • Proposal Request (2-3 pages) that clearly explains the research that has been conducted (brief summary of methodology, also indicate if research has been funded by the mini-grant program); outcomes that have been achieved and their relevance to the field; the relevance of the specific conference; expected learning outcomes of attending the conference.
    • Budget should include a realistic budget and a detailed justification that explains the travel expenditures.  Prioritize your expenses based on level of importance in case your proposal cannot be fully funded.
    • Proof of acceptance to present at the conference.  This confirmation letter can be added at the end of your Proposal Request.  If you do not yet have this, indicate so in your proposal.  If you are funded, the award will be contingent upon receiving this confirmation.
  • A letter of support from faculty mentor who has provided the oversight of the proposed project. This letter must be completed by the faculty mentor. Faculty mentor, please address:
    •  Student's research outcomes
    • Relevance of the conference within the academic discipline
    • Professional development the student will undertake in preparation for presenting at the conference
    • Expense justification.
    • It is the applicant’s responsibility to follow up with the letter writer to ensure that they are aware of the submissions process and deadline to upload the letter.
• Minigrant End of Year Report

  All Minigrant recipients are required to submit a Minigrant End of Year Report no later than June 30^th of the academic year the award was funded. The reports should include the following:

  • Name, SID, Major, Academic Level, Proposal Title, Faculty Mentor, Faculty Mentor’s Home Department, Budget Contact Person's email, and Quarter award was funded.
  • Indicate if the report is for a Research Minigrant, Travel Minigrant, or both (Research/Travel Minigrant.
  • Provide a summary of the research and the accomplishments made during the award period.
  • Indicate any outcomes, such as publication or conference presentations that resulted.
  • If you purchased any equipment, please remember that this is the property of the university. The equipment should be returned to your faculty mentor or departmental budget person. The report should indicate who the equipment was submitted to.
  • The report should include a budget that shows the funds awarded and the expenditure of the funds. Any funds not spent by June 30^th will be returned to Undergraduate Education, extensions are not granted. Fill out the expenses spreadsheet, and upload to the Minigrant End-of-Year Report (link above).
• Travel Grants Deadline

  Travel minigrant applications are accepted on a rolling basis to allow time for decision and transfer of funds. Applications should be submitted as soon as you have proof of acceptance to present and no later than 2 months in advance of the conference date.

• Additional Information
  • All award funds not spent by the end of the academic year will revert back to Undergraduate Education (see award letter for details).  No extensions will be granted.
  • Minigrant recipients whose project proposals are deemed exceptional will be asked to share the proposal to assist future students in developing appropriate submissions.
  • Minigrant recipients are required to acknowledge funding support in any presentation or publication that results from the work supported by the Minigrant Program.  
    • Suggested Text:  Research reported in this [publication/press release/presentation] was partially supported by the UC Riverside Undergraduate Education MiniGrant Program.
• Minigrant Review Committee Members

  Nael Abu-Ghazaleh, Computer Science & Engineering
  Dina Aly, Sociology
  Bahman Anvari, Bioengineering
  Elizabeth Berger, Anthropology
  Paulo Chagas, Music
  Juhong Chen, Bioengineering
  Alejandra Dubcovsky, History
  Johannes Endres, Art History
  Patricio Gallardo Candela, Mathematics
  Masoumeh Ghaffari, Health Sciences
  Weifeng Gu, Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology
  Lorena Gutierrez, Education
  Rong Hai, Microbiology and Plant Pathology
  Randolph Head, History
  Hayden Hendley, Psychology
  Xiaoping (Philip) Hu, Bioengineering
  Jennifer Scheper Hughes, History
  Yasemin Irepoglu Carreras, Political Science
  Darrel Jenerette, Botany & Plant Sciences
  Dana Kaufman, Music
  Chung-Hao Lee, Bioengineering
  Linda Lemus, Hispanic Studies
  Chen Li, Mechanical Engineering
  Perry Link, Comparative Literature and Languages
  Hsuan-Ying Liu, Comparative Literature and Languages
  Kerry Mauck, Entomology
  Desireé Melonas, Political Science
  Barry (Birendra) Mishra, Business
  Joshua Morgan, Bioengineering
  Robert McKee, Bioengineering
  Seán O'Leary, Biochemistry
  Kate Ostevik, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
  Tariq Pervaiz, Botany & Plant Sciences
  Xinru Qiu, Biomedical Sciences
  Peter Sadler, Earth Sciences
  Vishwanath Saragadam, Electrical & Computer Engineering
  Elia Scudiero, Environmental Sciences
  Jun Sheng, Mechanical Engineering
  Fengyu Song, Medicine
  Annika Speer, Theatre
  Sandeep Srivastava, Biomedical Sciences
  Zhaowei Tan, Computer Science & Engineering/Electrical Engineering
  James Tobias, English
  Stefano Vidussi, Mathematics
  Fuson Wang, English
  Qixuan Wang, Mathematics
  Shawn Westerdale, Physics and Astronomy
  Joshua Wood, Philosophy
  Yadong Yin, Chemistry
  Jingsong Zhang, Chemistry
  Weiwei Zhang, Psychology
  Natalie     Zlebnik, Biomedical Sciences
  Nicole zur Nieden, Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology