Faculty Resources

Support for Undergraduate Research and Creativity Awards (SURCA)

The call for Spring 2025 projects is now live. Full details, requirements, and the application can be found on InfoReady.

Goals and Purpose:

• To enhance faculty-mentored research and creativity opportunities for undergraduate students across the diverse disciplines that characterize UNCW.
• The greatest priority with these awards is to encourage projects that integrate students early in their academic careers here at UNCW and provide them with new and innovative research opportunities. Projects that expand on existing work, whether individual or team-based, are also encouraged.

Award and Funding Information: 

Up to $5000 is available per project, per calendar year. The dissemination of funds will differ from past years to be more streamlined, but will still need to stay consistent with university policies.

• Up to $1200 can be dedicated to a faculty mentor stipend.
• Up to $3500 can be dedicated to undergraduate students ($3500 is approximately the equivalent of 15 hrs/week at $15/hr)
• Up to $1000 can be dedicated to graduate assistants
• Up to $3500 can be dedicated to supplies (purchases are bound by university regulations and so cannot include food, gift cards, etc.)
• Up to $250 can be dedicated to travel for research and creative work. Cannot be used for project dissemination.
• A minimum of $500 must be awarded to the community partner.

These projects are to take place during the Spring 2025 semester and it is expected that all funds will be expended by the end of the semester.

Eligibility

Faculty: Must hold a full-time faculty* appointment on the UNCW campus and be returning to UNCW full-time in Spring 2025. (*as defined by the Faculty Handbook)

Students: Must be registered for classes at UNCW within an undergraduate program in the Spring 2025 semester.

Faculty and students may only hold one SURCA at a time. Multiple applications can be submitted but only one will be funded. Students cannot be on multiple SURCAs at the same time. Additionally, those faculty and students holding Spring 2025 SURCAs will be ineligible for Summer 2025 SURCAs. Those that held Summer 2024 SURCAs are eligible for Spring 2025.