Undergraduate Research Scholars Awards (URSA)

One of the best things about the Rider experience is the opportunity students have to collaborate with faculty. Whether it’s fine arts students directing, performing or lighting a stage production alongside faculty, Westminster students performing with a faculty conductor at the New York Philharmonic or a science student partnering in research with a faculty mentor, you’ll be able to work, learn and have fun alongside our amazing Rider faculty.

Students interested in applying for Undergraduate Research Scholar Awards (URSA) should start planning now, discuss potential projects with a faculty sponsor(s) and be ready to submit an application by Thursday, March 26, 2009.  Please see the Application for additional deadline information.  The Undergraduate Research Scholar Awards program was established during the 2003-04 academic year to enhance collaborative work between students and faculty and to heighten the intellectual atmosphere on campus.  Students can work directly with faculty on joint research projects or on independent projects under the supervision of a faculty member.

Each year, the Undergraduate Research Scholar Awards Committee will present at least five, $5,000 research scholarships to students across the University.  Awards will be distributed based, primarily, on the merit of the proposals and efforts will be made to distribute awards across a wide range of disciplines as well as across different schools or colleges.  The committee will support no more than one project in an academic department and no more than two projects in a given school or college.  Eligible are students in the colleges of:  Business Administration; Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences; Continuing Studies; and Westminster Choir College.

For more information about the Undergraduate Research Scholar Award program, contact Dr. Nadia Ansary, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, and chair of the selection committee, at 609-895-5433 or nansary@rider.edu.  Pertinent information about the eligibility requirements, application process and the award itself follows.

Download the Undergraduate Research Scholar Awards application.

Eligibility Requirements

• At the time of application and through the project period, applicants must be matriculated students, in good academic standing, and in pursuit of their first bachelor’s degree at Rider University.
• Applicants from the College of Continuing Studies (CCS) must be enrolled and matriculated in CCS at the time of application. (Others must be full-time students at the time of application and remain so through the project period.)
• Applicants enrolled in the CCS must have completed at least 12 credits by the time the project is begun.  Otherwise, applicants must have previously completed at least 24 Rider credits. All other applicants must have previously completed at least 24 Rider credits.
• Applicant’s faculty sponsor must verify the applicant’s eligibility with the appropriate Dean’s Office.
  

Application and Selection Process (Please see Application for further information.)

• Applications are due on March 26, 2009, the Thursday following spring break.
• Applicants must submit a description of the project and a timetable for completion.
• The faculty sponsor must submit a letter of recommendation.  This letter should be written in non-technical language that would be understood by a multi-disciplinary faculty committee.
• This letter should emphasize the student’s preparation for the project, the project’s contribution to student learning, the probability of completion in the proposed time, and expected outcomes such as paper, poster, or performance.
• The selection committee will normally support no more than one project in a given academic department or program and no more than two projects in a given school or college.
• The location in a given department, program, school or college is defined by the academic discipline of the project, not the student’s major or school/college of registration.
• The goal is to distribute awards across a wide representation of academic disciplines.

About the Awards

• At least five, $5,000 awards will be made each year, provided the selection committee receives sufficient applications that are deemed meritorious.
• The $5,000 awards will be used as scholarships, allocated as $2,500 to selected students’ fall and spring bills.
• Awards for the spring semester are contingent on sufficient progress and program participation in the fall semester, as relevant to the timetable for the selected project.
• Awards may be used for undergraduate research in any semester(s) or session(s) with a single year defined as beginning on July 1.
• Typically, students will not be supported for more than one year. The Registrar’s will add the notation “Undergraduate Research Award Recipient” to each selected student’s transcript.

Responsibilities of Selected Scholars

• Scholars must work under the supervision of a sponsoring faculty member.
• Students awarded Undergraduate Research Scholarships will be expected to give a brief five-minute overview of their planned project at Independent Scholarship and Creative Activities Presentations (ISCAP) Day on Wednesday May 6,2009.
• Students will be expected to make longer presentations at the end of their tenure as a scholar at Independent Scholarship and Creative Activities Presentations (ISCAP) Day in the spring of 2010.
• Selected scholars must remain full-time students during the relevant academic year, unless a CCS applicant at time of registration.
  

Five students were awarded Undergraduate Research Scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year.  The recipients are:

• Anthony Baron:  Junior, Music in Piano & Voice Performance, Westminster College of the Arts,  “From the Opera House to the Piano:  Ornamentation Style in Bellini’s Operas and Its’ effect on Chopin’s Nocturnes”.  Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stefan Young
  
  
• Daniel Becker:  Senior, Finance, College of Business Administration, “What’s Next for the Rating Agencies?”.  Faculty Advisor: Dr. Anne Carroll
  
  
• Robert Fisher: Senior, History, College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences “Gentleman Johnny’s Germans:  Hessian Prisoners of War in the Convention Army, 1777-1783”. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Brooke Hunter
  
  
• Zarif Islam: Senior, Economics/Political Science, College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences, “Succeeding the Empire:  A Historical Comparison of the Political Economy of Ghana and Bangladesh”. Faculty Advisors: Drs. Barbara Franz and Kelly Noonan 
  
  
• Michelle Orlowski:  Junior, Biochemistry, College of Liberal Arts, Education, and Sciences,  “Does Erythropoietin Contribute to the Suppression of Immunity Within the Tumor Microenvironment”. Faculty Advisor: Dr. James Riggs