The Mentor-Protégé Undergraduate Research Program provides awards of up to $2,000 for supplies and equipment and upon successful completion of the project up to $1,200 in travel expenses for research projects involving collaboration between professors and students. Faculty members who are not requesting funds for supplies or equipment are eligible to apply for travel funds if the application is submitted prior to initiating the proposed project with the student. The travel portion of an award pays expenses for both the professor and student(s) to attend a regional or national meeting where the student(s) will present project results.

Award Criteria

Funded proposals will have plans for engaging the targeted student(s) in applied or basic research and for disseminating results of that research regionally or nationally. Acceptance, declination, or pending acceptance with recommended modification of proposals will be based on (a) the nature and scope of the project, (b) the role of the student in the project, (c) the reasonableness of requested supplies and equipment and their costs, (d) the plans for sharing project results regionally or nationally, and (e) plans for seeking other (external) sources of funding for continuing or expanding the research project. If you wish to discuss your preliminary proposal idea to determine whether or not your proposal fits within the mission of the Mentor-Protégé Research Program, please contact the office of the Dean.

Proposals submission will be accepted from tenure-track or tenured faculty anytime during the academic year, except from May 1st to June 30. Projects will be reviewed based on the order received. Project funding is dependent on availab iloity of funds. Proposals submitted for consideration under the Mentor-Protégé program will be reviewed for funding by the College of Science & Mathematics Awards Committee.  The Dean’s Office will distribute each proposal to each of the committee members, who represent each department within the College of Science & Mathematics. The Awards Committee members will then review the proposal and provide their feedback and recommendations to the Dean’s Office who will communicate with the applicant about funding decision within two to three weeks from the time the application was submitted.  Therefore, faculty are encouraged to submit applications at least three weeks prior to the start of the proposed project.

Successful Completion & Release Credits

Faculty participants will earn a course reassignment credit for every three projects in which:  (a) the proposed research has been carried out, (b) each student in the project has made a presentation on project results at a regional or national professional meeting, and (c) each student in the project has displayed a poster presentation at a KSU Undergraduate Scholarship Symposium (held each spring semester) within two calendar years of the award date.  Upon accumulation of a “full course reassignment”, the faculty member must formally request by memo to the department chair along with an explanation of how the course reassignment will be used to benefit the department (or college) to receive the course reassignment within the academic year as the department can accommodate.

Upon completion of each mentor-protégé project, the faculty member is expected to provide the Dean’s Office (cc: to Dept. Chair) with a project report whether successful or not.  Travel funds or reassignment time will not be approved until the report has been received and future Mentor-Protégé grants will not be funded until faculty member has provided the Dean’s office (and Dept. chair) with a 1-2 pp. required report of results from previous completed Mentor-Protégé Projects.

How to Apply

Paper submissions are not accepted. To apply, the professor associated with the project may either fill out a Grant Application Form or submit the requested information to mentor@science.kennesaw.edu, either within the text of the message or as an attachment.  

Revised 7/26/07