Undergraduate Enrichment

Priority is given to those undergraduate students that have completed at least six credit hours within their Taft-eligible unit. Awardees can receive up to $2,000 in total award(s) in any 24-month period.

Applications for Research Support are reviewed at the following deadlines: October 19, December 1, and March 1 by 5pm.

Open to all undergraduate students of Taft-eligible units that have completed at least six credit hours within their unit. 

Past projects include such elements as those below:

• Travel to a library, archive or other source of primary research materials
• Purchase of software or data sets
• Payment for technical services such as videotaping, laboratory analysis, etc.
• Expenses involved in conducting interviews or distributing surveys

• Workshops or seminars necessary to significantly advance a student's skill set, where such training is not otherwise available at UC.

Awardees remain eligible for other awards.

Applications must be received through the online portal no later than 5PM on the day of the published deadline. Applicants may not bypass any component of the system or ask the committee to instead view an uploaded document for the project narrative.

A complete application must include the following: 

1. Project narrative of no more than 10,000 characters (approximately 1,500 words), to include the following:
   1. Project description
   2. Preliminary or expected results
   3. Current project status, outcomes, and proposed schedule
   4. Where the project overlaps with a faculty member’s, applicants should provide a statement on the distinct, separate nature of the student’s project
   5. Description of how the proposed project will advance the student's understanding of his or her major field, beyond any course credit that might be earned through the project
   6. Detailed budget and justification for budget items
   7. A statement of other available sources of funding from UC for the particular project. Those who receive support outside Taft must report such funding to the Taft Faculty Chair upon receipt of award notification
2. A support letter from the student's advisor or project director, or the graduate program director commenting on the role of the project in the student's degree program, the significance of the project to the field and their development, and the student's ability to complete. Students must communicate with their advisor or Director of Graduate Studies and have them submit a letter through the prompt (sent to the email address listed by the applicant, once application is submitted).
3. A single PDF file containing the screenshots of costs and their grade report. If eligible for other (non-Taft) Support, this amount must be listed in the application and will likely be deducted from the budget total when calculating the award. Where other funds are available for this purpose, such funds should be used prior to utilizing Taft funds.

Where travel is involved, a travel authorization must be completed prior to submitting a funding request.

Incomplete applications or those that do not follow the application procedures may be denied, requiring submission at a later deadline.

Applicants will be judged according to the following criteria:

• The quality or promise of quality of the applicant's work as a scholar or creative writer and teacher
• The significance of the contribution that the proposed project will make to the applicant's degree program
• The conceptualization, organization, and description of the proposed project
• The current state of the research, the proposed research schedule, and the timeliness of the award to ensuring the completion of the project
• The likelihood of project completion within the stated time period.

• If eligible for other (non-Taft) Support, this amount must be listed in the application and will likely be deducted from the budget total when calculating the award. Where other funds are available for this purpose, such funds should be used prior to utilizing Taft funds.
• Failure to obtain travel authorization prior to travel may result in the revocation of award. Where deviations from the approved application occur, the awardee must notify the Taft Faculty Chair in writing and receive written approval for the changes. The total expenses to be reimbursed or paid cannot be more than authorized, nor can line items be claimed that were not authorized.
• Full disclosure of non-Taft funds received for the proposed project, both inside and outside the university, is required. The award must not duplicate other funds granted for the same purpose, except when a deficit in the project budget is anticipated. 
• All funds must be expended exclusively in furtherance of the award and all expenditures must comply with university policies relating to financial transactions, including the Code of Conduct and, as discussed in the Code of Conduct, the ethics laws of the state of Ohio which prohibit certain private financial interests in university matters. University Rule 3361:10-17-03(D).
• Per university policy, receipts and travel reimbursement request must be submitted via Concur, within 30 calendar days of the conclusion of the trip.