Independent Scholarship

SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS (SURF) PROGRAM

Program Intent:

The SCHC Science Undergraduate Research Fellowship program is designed to allow SCHC students to work with a mentor from the science, engineering or mathematics fields on a joint project in the mentor's discipline area. The student should have active and substantial intellectual input to the direction and focus of the project. Ideally, the students' contributions would be sufficient to warrant co-authorship on any resulting publications.

We encourage the viewpoint that high-quality methodologies produce valid scholarship regardless of whether or not the outcome meets the investigator's initial expectations. Therefore all SURF recipients are required to present the results of their work to date at the next USC's Discovery Day research fair (http://www.sc.edu/our/discovery.shtml) that occurs following 1 semester of funding. Students applying for subsequent grants must demonstrate participation in any applicable prior Discovery Days. Students may use a portion of their SCHC funding to be reimbursed for presentation materials to facilitate their participation in Discovery Day or for other research materials if specified in a detailed budget request.

Faculty mentors are expected to be permanent full-time faculty on the Columbia campus of USC or the Medical School. If you wish to be mentored by an appropriately credentialed person who is not a USC faculty member, please contact Asst. Dean Timmerman to discuss the feasibility of this option. If a student wishes to change mentors once an award has been made, petition must be made to the SCHC directly and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In general, requests for change after a project has been started are not approved.

Collaborative and interdisciplinary projects involving several students are encouraged. Please clearly indicate and delineate such connections among individual applications when applying.

Funding Details:

Students are paid $10/hour by the SCHC for their work up to a total of 300 hours. Hours may not be earned more rapidly than 150 per major semester or 300 for the summer (maximum of 35 hours per week), but a student may reapply in subsequent semesters for any unused portion up to a total of $3,000 per student cumulative over a maximum of four years. Please note that travel expenses may be covered under the separate travel grant program. A budget must be submitted as part of the application. If funds are requested for anything other than student stipend, a detailed budget must be supplied (list of items/expenditures with accurate costs and explanations). If during the course of a project, unanticipated needs are discovered, a student can submit a revised budget in order to receive approval for materials or expenses not included in the original budget. The work schedule is flexible: students can begin work as early as July 1 of that year and go as late as June 30 of the same academic/fiscal year. The number of hours worked per week as well as exact nature of the tasks is determined by mutual agreement between the faculty member and student. Any unused monies simply stay in the SCHC.

Other conditions:

1. A student may apply for funding for a single term or a full year at a time. Funding is capped at $1,500 per major semester or $3,000 for the summer with a maximum of 35 hrs/week during the summer. Faculty mentors must be available to meet with the student at least once during each two-week pay period, especially in the summer. Appropriate supervision to ensure the student a safe working environment must be provided at all times.

2. Students will be required to report their time through ITAMS and provide a matching written time card signed by their faculty advisor to the SCHC each pay period. Written verification of the hours must be provided before the hours will be approved on ITAMS. It is incumbent upon the mentors to let the SCHC know immediately if there is a problem with the student's work or time. Please note that hours not reported in a timely manner cannot be reported and paid later. Hours may be reported up to a maximum of one month after the hours were worked. Hours reported later than one month will not be paid.

3. Funds for materials or expenses must be approved in advance as part of the original application process or a subsequent application for revised budget. When submitting original receipts for reimbursement, please include a copy of your approved budget as well indicating which items are being paid.

4. All research involving human subjects must be approved by the USC Institutional Review Board and the student's name must be on the relevant protocol. All research involving vertebrate animals must have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol and the student's name must be on the protocol.

5. The mentor is responsible for making sure that the student is appropriately informed, trained, and supervised for all work with hazardous material, and that all relevant tutorials and permissions are completed (e.g., for Radiation Safety).

6. Any work supported by the SCHC SURF subsequently presented or published should cite the support as: "This work was supported in part by the South Carolina Honors College Science Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program (include initials of student)."

Application Details:

Applications are available at http://schc.sc.edu/Academics/Forms.html

Faculty and student should jointly fill out the SURF Program Application Form.

For the Summer and Fall of 2008, review of applications will begin April 15, 2008 with notification by May 15th.

Additional applications for Summer and Fall will be accepted after May 15th on a rolling basis pending the availability of funds.

No funds will be awarded retroactively for work already performed.

All applications must include a detailed budget indicating how the funds will be spent (stipend, materials, etc.). Budget revisions may be submitted later to cover initially unanticipated expenses or opportunities.

Notification of awards made on a rolling basis will occur within 30 days of the application being submitted.

Spring 2009 applications will be due Nov. 1, 2008.

Please direct all questions to Asst. Dean, Briana Crotwell Timmerman, timmerman@schc.sc.edu (803) 777-0822, Harper College Room 224.