A complete application consists of the following:

• Online application form
• PDF of proposal, including Part 1 and Part 2 
• Mentor Confirmation Form

Application form

The form asks for information about the student and their faculty mentor and provides a place for the student to upload their proposal in PDF format. The online application form can be found here. 

Proposal  

Part 1: Project Description (should not exceed 2 pages, plus citations)

The project description should address the following:

• Background and Significance: Provide essential background information and describe the significance of your proposed project.
  • After reading this section, reviewers should understand the broader topic, problem, or challenge that your project addresses.
• Specific Aims, Goals, or Questions: Outline what you will investigate during your proposed project. Remember the duration of the funding period is one semester.
  • After reading this section, reviewers should have a clear sense of the objectives of your proposed project.
• Approach: Discuss how you will address the specific aims, goals, or questions outlined in the second section. Briefly describe the relevant methods and techniques, data collection or analyses, and resources used.
  • After reading this section, reviewers should understand your strategies for pursuing your objectives.
• Outcomes: Explain how conducting the proposed project will contribute new knowledge to your field and impact your professional development.
  • After reading this section, reviewers should see the benefits of the proposed project.

Note that reviewers may not have specialized expertise in your specific field. Write your project description with a wider audience in mind.

Part 2: Statement of mentor/mentee expectations (should not exceed 1 page)

For this application cycle, there is not a formal template for this statement. The student should develop this section in consultation with their mentor. It should serve as a summary of what the mentor expects of the student and what the student expects of the mentor. Topics for discussion may include:

• amount of time committed to the project
• who will work directly with the student on the project
• preferred methods of communication between the student and mentor
• where important data, notes, and other materials should be recorded or stored
• how the student will acquire any new skills needed to pursue the project
• whether there are opportunities to continue research after the funding period

Students are strongly advised to consult with their mentor well before the application deadline to develop this part of the proposal.

Mentor Confirmation Form

Once the student submits the application form, which includes uploading the proposal, an email will be automatically sent to faculty mentor listed on the form. This email includes a link to a mentor confirmation form. Confirmation forms must be received by the application deadline. Applications are considered incomplete until the confirmation form is received by UROP. It is for this reason that we advise against waiting until the last day to submit an application. 

Note to mentors: The confirmation form is a change from previous PURA Salary Award application cycles. We eliminated the student evaluation fill-in fields and ranking question. Instead, the updated form collects basic information and lists "check-box" confirmation statements. By streamlining this form, we aim to enable mentors to spend time discussing the mentor/mentee expectations statement with the student. We welcome your feedback on this change and invite you to contact lwilliams363@gatech.edu with any comments.