Funding Opportunity 1: Undergraduate Research/Creativity Assistant Scholarship

The application cycle is now open year round.

Amount: $1,000 per year

Duration: 1 year (from September of each year to the end of May the following year)
Number of scholarships available: 10

Application description:
(to download this information click here)

The Office for Student Research and Creativity (OSRC) at John Jay College is offering (10) annual scholarships to undergraduate students in the amount of $1,000 each, affording them the opportunity to conduct research or engage in creative works with a John Jay College professor over the course of (1) year (September to end of May). Receiving the Undergraduate Research/Creativity Assistant Scholarship is based on review by the OSRC Advisory Board. Students can use Research/Creativity funds at their discretion, which may or may not include covering supplies and costs for the project. At least (5) of the (10) scholarships are given to students typically underrepresented in research activities in their academic fields.

Students interested in this opportunity but in need of assistance are strongly advised to contact the OSRC Assistant Director in a timely manner to discuss the application process, seek help in identifying a faculty mentor, or for any other clarification. All application essays and accompanying faculty letters must be emailed to Bettina Muenster at osrc@jjay.cuny.edu. Students ready to apply can access the application here. Applications are open year round.

Scholarship recipients may apply for funding for a second year of research with the same faculty/project dependent on the submission and evaluation of a first-year progress report and subject to funding priorities (more details below).

Eligibility and application requirements:

Students must be enrolled at JJC for the duration of the scholarship (fall through spring of each respective year).
Scholarship applicants may come from any major, but may not be supported by any other research program at John Jay (MSRG, PRISM, McNair, etc.) for the same research project.
Students must identify a committed faculty mentor upon applying to the scholarship. In case students need assistance in finding an appropriate faculty mentor, they should make an appointment with the Assistant Director of OSRC no later than three weeks prior to the application deadline.
The letter of support must be from the JJC faculty member serving as mentor.
Student essays and faculty mentor letters must be reflective of each other, clearly indicating an understanding of the nature of the project based on the criteria outlined below.
Once the scholarship is received, both the student and mentor will be required to sign a letter of commitment to working on the indicated project.

Not required:

Minimum GPA;
Research experience;
IRB review process.

Applications will be rated based on the following criteria:

Students must:
- complete an application form through this survey monkey link;
- submit an essay of 750-1000 words (see rubric below for evaluation details) via email to osrc@jjay.cuny.edu:
  - detailing their research/creative interests and demonstrating an understanding of the project idea;
  - explaining what they hope to gain from the experience, both academically and professionally; elaborating on the potential outcomes and impact of their work.
Faculty mentors must:
- submit a letter of recommendation (see rubric below for evaluation details) to osrc@jjay.cuny.edu in which they:
  - explain in detail how they will guide the student through a comprehensive research/creative project that may include both quantitative and qualitative analysis;
  - describe the anticipated benefits of the student-mentor relationship;
  - provide the title, research question, methodology, and rationale of the project;
  - state the approximate amount of weekly hours mentees must work on the project.

Once accepted:

Students are required to work with their faculty mentors each week (exact hours to be determined by mentor in agreement with the student) over the coming year.
Research must be presented at the annual Research & Creativity Expo at the end of the spring semester, coinciding with the end of the scholarship.
Students must submit an end-of-year esssay at the end of the program (completion of project by end of scholarship year is NOT required).
Faculty may require students to submit additional products. Students are strongly encouraged, but not required, to work toward co-publication of the project results in a peer-reviewed journal.
Students are required to attend approximately (4-6) cohort meetings throughout the year.
Students are required to attend regular one-on-one meetings with the Assistant Director and must keep a journal.
In addition, students must attend at least (2) research related and/or professional development workshops, seminars, lectures, or similar events relevant to the successful conduct of research (events TBA each semester).

Students applying for the 2nd year scholarship:

Students applying for the second-year of funding will be required to continue their research as well as assume a secondary mentorship role for the incoming first-year cohort of mentees, assisting with various technical and process related mentoring tasks. First and second year cohorts will meet collectively (6) times during the course of the year. All scholarship recipients will be required to present their work at the College’s annual Research & Creativity Week. The second-year scholarship is in the amount of $1,200.

Rubric for reviewers
Rating rubric	Exemplary (2pts)	Adequate (1pt)	Inadequate (0pts)
Quality of student statement (3 criteria)	Spelling, grammar, language, style, and tone are exemplary. Student clearly states interest in and demonstrates well-defined understanding of project idea. Student shows clear appreciation of overall outcome and impact of research, including potential academic and professional gain.	Spelling, grammar, language, style, and tone are adequate. Student adequately states interest in and demonstrates understanding of project idea. Student demonstrates adequate understanding of overall outcome and impact of research, alluding to potential academic and professional gain.	Spelling, grammar, language, style, and tone are inadequate. Student inadequately states interest in and fails to demonstrate understanding of project idea. Student’s understanding of overall outcome and impact of research are inadequate.
Quality of faculty mentor letter of recommendation (4 criteria) Maximum total points possible	Faculty explains clearly and in detail how the student will be guided through a comprehensive research/creative project. Faculty presents a clearly defined mentoring role. Faculty provides exemplary description of title, research question, methodology, and rationale of the project. Faculty clearly states the approximate hours per week student will be required to work _____________ 14	Faculty adequately explains how the student will be guided through a research/creative project. Faculty adequately explains mentoring role. Faculty adequately lists title, research question, methodology, and rationale of the project. Faculty mentions the approximate hours per week student will be required to work but is ambiguous. _____________ 7	Faculty’s explanation of how the student will be guided through a research/creative project is inadequate. Faculty does not define mentoring role. Title, research question, methodology, and rationale of the project are inadequately stated. Faculty neglects to state required hours per week student needs to work. _____________ 0

Please contact osrc@jjay.cuny.edu with any questions.