The EURēCA! Summer Fellows Program

• Students work with their faculty mentor to complete a joint application, including a project proposal and mentoring plan
• To be eligible, students must be a CU Denver undergraduate student working toward a baccalaureate degree
• Fellowships last 8-weeks over the summer term
• Applicants can request up to 40hrs/week in stipend support (inclusive of all program activities)
• In addition to their research experience, EURēCA! Fellows attend weekly professional development trainings, office hours, and cohort meetups
• EURēCA! Fellows present their work to the CU Denver community at the conclusion of the program

Stipend Levels (total):
40 hrs/week - $5,000
20 hrs/week - $2,500

Fridays 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Topics include: Accessing library resources, how to read an academic paper, research ethics and regulatory bodies, writing an abstract, designing a research poster, presentation skills, sharing your research with public audiences, identifying your leadership skills, grad school do's and don'ts, networking, and crafting CVs and resumes

Office Hours/ Discussions with URCA Staff - Tuesdays 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Application Information (Preview Full Application Here)

• Student Info (including unofficial CU Denver transcript)
• Faculty Mentor Info
• Essay: Past Research Experience (250 words)
• Essay: Career Goals (250 words)
• Essay: Description of Independence or Increasing Responsibility (250 words)
• Project Abstract (250 words)
• Uploaded Project Proposal View Example Proposals:
  • Project Description and Objectives (500-700 words)
  • Bibliography (3-10 sources cited in proposal)
  • Detailed Project Timeline
• Uploaded Mentoring Plan (signed by both student and mentor)

An essential aspect and expectation of the EURēCA! Fellows Program is mentorship. This experience should nurture the intellectual and scholarly development of the fellow, which requires active investment from their mentor. In the application, students upload the mentoring plan for this fellowship, collaboratively written by the applicant and their faculty mentor.

• What expectations do you have for one another?
• What expectations do you have for the project? How will you measure progress?
• How will you nurture a structured learning environment (i.e. regular meetings)
• How will you maintain open lines of communication? What will you do if conflict arises?

We recommend using a mentee-mentor contract to structure your conversation. An example from our office can be downloaded HERE

If a project is selected for funding, the following agreements will be enforced:

• HOURS Students agree to work the agreed upon hours per week.
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Students agree to participate in the required Friday professional development trainings each week.
• PROJECT PRESENTATION Students understand they are required to present at the Summer Research Symposium, and agree to present their work at RaCAS the following April.
• ENROLLMENT Students agree to enroll in a not-for-credit (or for-credit) Experience through the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities and participate in pre- and post- activity assessments.
• REGULATORY BODIES  Students understand that all work involving human subjects needs to be approved by the COMIRB and all work involving vertebrate animal subjects needs to be approved by the IACUC.
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Students will acknowledge financial support received from the CU Denver Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities in any articles, presentations, exhibits, recitals, etc. that result from this funding.

For questions regarding the EURēCA! Summer Fellows program or application process, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (undergrad.research@ucdenver.edu).