Individual Grants

Applying

Student Grants

These grants allow students to take ownership of part or all of a project with an original proposal.

Award Amounts

Our Individual Grant award rates are standardized as follows: $1,500 in the Academic Year and $3,000 in the Summer term (unless recipients plan to graduate in the Fall Term). Students graduating in the Fall Term (December) may apply for Academic Year grants but should be aware that they will be awarded half the value of the standard rate ($750) due to the shorter term of the project. Award amounts are larger in the summer term to account for the additional cost of living in the Boulder area, travel expenses and other factors.

Student grant funding is paid as a stipend using the university's payroll system (job code 3205). Although students need an employee identification number (EID) and payments are made through the payroll system, UROP funding is not considered payroll wages or employee compensation. UROP funding is considered "Other Financial Aid" (OFA) according to the university's policy on paying students and all award information will be reported to the Office of Financial Aid.

Payments to recipients who are U.S. citizens are not typically subject to federal and state income tax withholding and payroll taxes (i.e., FICA and Medicare taxes). The university has no tax reporting requirement for these payments (no W-2), but is required to report payments on the federal form 1042-S.Grants, scholarships and awards received as OFA may need to be reported on tax returns if the amount exceeds qualified educational expenses as defined by . Grants and scholarships are listed on a 1098-T. Students are responsible for accurately reporting their income.

Project Proposal

Your proposal explains the “what,” “why,” “how,” and “when” of the research or creative work you plan in partnership with your faculty mentor—and argues its' importance. You will also explain your “learning goals,” or what you expect to learn—beyond project outcomes. UROP prioritizes learning objectives over project outcomes, even in Individual Grant proposals, so you should also clearly state what you will learn beyond the results of the project. In addition to the project proposal, you might need to complete additional steps if your project involves any of the following:

Proposal Prompts

Like an Assistantship proposal, this is the first part reviewers will see and serves as an introduction to the project. Your goal is also to capture your reviewer’s attention and get them excited about your work.

Student Prompts

100 word maximum: State the specific objectives/purpose of your project and, if applicable, of the larger project within which yours is embedded. Explain the project's relevance and who stands to benefit.

Creative/Performance Projects: Tell us the objectives, points of curiosity from which you're starting, hypothesis or question you're exploring and the guiding principles of the work. Discuss where and when the final project will be exhibited, displayed or performed.

100 word maximum: Situate your project within other work in the field by providing a summary of the work done and discuss the theoretical traditions influencing your project. Note what is original about your project and what contribution it makes to the field.

Creative/Performance Projects: Discuss what theoretical, aesthetic, and/or creative traditions influence your project. Include what contributions you're making to the field. Include your own creative/performance history and talk about how it's prepared you for this project.

Mentor Endorsement Prompt

100 words maximum: Comment on the development of this proposal, noting the origin of the idea and its potential impact in the field.

Section Advice

Unlike an Assistantship proposal, Individual Grants have two prompts for the “context and objectives” section. You have more space for background information, but still avoid spending too much time introducing the topic.Focus the first prompt on the project’s goals and fill in the context in the second prompt. If your project is part of a bigger project, be sure to highlight your contribution.

Like an Assistantship proposal, this section follows the introduction provided in the “context and objections” portion and serves to explain what you will do to achieve the project goals.

Student Prompts

200 word maximum: Explain the method(s)/strategy used in this project, including justification for your approach. Also justify international travel, if your project requires it.

50 word maximum: Note any experience, training and/or coursework required to complete this project, and explain how you have prepared.

Mentor Endorsement Prompt

100 words maximum: Comment on your mentee's ability to perform this project, highlighting relevant coursework, experience with methods and/or materials, and other relevant certifications and qualifications.

Section Advice

Unlike an Assistantship proposal, Individual Grants have two prompts for the “methodology and strategy” section. You have more space to explain, but still avoid overly detailed and technical descriptions of methods. Be sure to explain how you have the training and skills needed for the project or how you will learn them. You might still have limited experience when applying for an Individual Grant, but reviewers need to see how you will gain the skills needed.

Like an Assistantship proposal, this section follows the “methodology and strategy” portion of the proposal and serves to highlight how participation in the project will help you achieve your professional goals.

Student Prompt

100 word maximum: Describe how this project advances your personal, academic and/or professional goals, including how it fits within your degree plan.

Mentor Endorsement Prompt

100 words maximum: Respond to your mentee's learning goals, commenting on 1) how you and/or an additional supervisor will support these objectives and 2) how this project will advance their academic and/or professional goals?

Section Advice

UROP prioritizes student learning objectives over project outcomes even in Individual Grant proposals, so you should also clearly state what you will learn beyond the results of the project.

This is an additional element to the Individual Grant proposal not included in Assistantships and serves to explain how you will get everything you need for your project.

Student Prompt

75 word maximum: Indicate the resources and materials needed for your project, and explain how you plan to acquire and make use of them.

Mentor Endorsement Prompt

Should some of this grant be disbursed to a faculty/departmental account?

Yes: (100 words maximum) Explain the need to transfer funds to a faculty/departmental account.

Section Advice

You are not required to spend any portion of your UROP funding on supplies or other expenses for your project, though you may do so. Even if your mentor is providing all the resources, you will need to explain (as best you can) what resources and materials are required for the project. You are not required to provide an itemized budget of project expenses.

Like an Assistantship proposal, this is the last section and serves to highlight when you will do the activities outlined in the “methodology and strategy” portion.

Student Prompt

150 word maximum: Outline the major phases of your project, providing a timeline of activities.

Mentor Endorsement Prompt

Optional: Provide additional information about this project timeline.

Section Advice

Avoid overcrowding the timeline with details more suitable for other portions of the proposal. Be sure your timeline aligns to the grant term to which you are applying (summer or academic year). Students submitting proposals for projects continuing into the academic year might have similar proposals in their applications, but the timelines should be distinct.

Student Grants Guide

UROP Timeline

UROP applications for Summer 2025 and/or Academic Year 2025-26 are closed, and proposals are currently under review. Decisions will be sent in late April, and a notice will be posted here after all notices have been sent. Stay attentive to your email inbox and in communication with your project mentors. UROP might email for additional, clarifying information based on feedback from reviewers.

State your “thesis” first.

Start with the purpose of your work to get reviewers’ attention.

Frame the “bigger picture.”

Place your project in the context of the field of study.

Highlight broader impacts.

Be clear about the benefits of your project beyond impact in the field of study.

Answer “So what?”

Be sure reviewers understand why the project is needed.

Communicate urgency.

Explain why the project is not only needed—but needed now.

Avoid jargon.

Use language accessible to reviewers who might not be familiar with the topic.

Leave out citations.

UROP accepts the mentor endorsement as verification of sources without citation.

Visit the Writing Center.

Consider consulting with the Boulder Writing Center as you draft your proposal.

Participate in the Sidewalk Symposium on April 25, 2025

Developed and hosted in Boulder since 2018, UROP's Sidewalk Symposium invites undergraduates to create and share their research and creative presentations with chalk on campus walkways. UROP welcomes undergraduates at any stage of their project timeline.

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) represents an opportunity to enable student-centered education that makes the most of Boulder’s global leadership in research and creative production. With well-documented benefits from persistence to postgraduate success, engagement in the research and creative life of the university can clarify career paths and prepare students for the future of work. Donations support empowering opportunities in all fields of study. .