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Program Guidelines & Information
The intention of this program is to provide undergraduate research students and Primary Investigators (PIs) the opportunity and support for full-time research over the 8-week summer session. To that effect, the Office of Undergraduate Research serves as the sole-employer for students accepted into the program during this time period, and maintains expectations to that of a full-time work experience.
Summer scholars cannot enroll in any course during the 8-week summer session (within ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ or other institutions) because the workload for summer courses is intended
to be high, and we do not want to incentivize students to overwork themselves. The
only exception is the zero-credit HLE course for Honors College students.
For an explanation of credit hours and time spent on the class, please click here.
| Student Eligibility: |
Primary Investigator (PI) Eligibility: |
- Degree seeking student, consistently enrolled in classes at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ State University
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Enrolled in classes the following fall semester
- Undergraduate student who will not graduate until at least one semester after the
program ends
- Has not previously participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)
- Has already identified a faculty research mentor* with whom to work on research in
the summer
International Student Considerations:
- International students on H4, L2, or E2 dependent visas are not eligible for stipend
payments, and therefore cannot be considered for SURP
- The Office of Undergraduate Research recommends students falling into those categories
get involved in undergraduate research through the following options:
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- Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ State University
- Available to actively mentor the student for the entire 8-week summer session (no
planned extended personal/professional leave or traveling during this time)
- Has already identified a student* with whom to work on research in the summer
- Has a well-defined project or multiple projects which the student will work on during
the 8-week summer session
- Eligible for the entire stipend payment ($4000) without exceeding the summer payment cap
- Faculty members who cannot receive the full payment without exceeding the summer salary
cap, are not eligible for SURP.
- Please check your summer commitments before applying.
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*Please note: While we encourage multiple student/faculty partnerships to apply, only
one (1) student per PI will be accepted.
- Upon notification of awards, student/faculty pairs will have five (5) business days to sign the SURP MOU as acknowledgment & acceptance of the position.
- Failure to do so (or to notify the Office of Undergraduate Research of any delays)
will be considered a forfeiture.
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Accepted Student Requirements:
- Required to work 40 hours per week during the entire 8-week summer session
- Required to attend professional development workshops in-person (not virtually)
- Required to submit an abstract and actively present at the Fall Symposium of Student Scholars
- Required to work supervised by a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member
- Required to abide by the ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Codes of Conduct at all times, including proper usage
of institutional resources and funding
- Required to complete bi-weekly progress reports and an End of Program Experience Survey
Failure to complete these requirements will result in ineligibility for future OUR
funding for a minimum of one (1) year.
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Accepted PI Requirements:
- Required to actively mentor the accepted student for the entire 8-week summer session
- Required to attend first (orientation) and last (wrap-up) professional development
workshop
- Required to complete bi-weekly progress reports and an End of Program Experience Survey
- Required to commit a minimum of 1-hour to judge at the Symposium of Student Scholars, each semester
As this program provides a funding resource for the accepted research projects, the
Office of Undergraduate Research maintains the above requirements for all Primary
Investigators (PIs) accepted into the program. These requirements, particularly the
progress reports and survey, are vital to collecting data on how the funding is being
utilized, as we rely on the PIs to relay this information to us. Should an audit of
Office of Undergraduate Research funding usage be requested, this is our current reporting
method.
Failure to complete these requirements will result in ineligibility for future OUR
funding for a minimum of one (1) year.
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How to ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ:
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Students Seeking Internally Funded Positions
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A limited number of internally funded summer research scholars by the Office of Undergraduate Research will be selected by a review panel that will be assembled by the Director of Undergraduate Research to evaluate applications from student/faculty pairs.
- The application must be started by the student applicant
- Applications for Summer 2026 will open on January 14, 2026
Application to Seek Internally Funded Positions:
- Student Application [to ensure that the student has a general understanding of the research project, and
is not just copy/pasting information from the PI, each section of the student application
must be written by the student in their own words]
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- Abstract: 100 words maximum
- Please note that applications with abstracts exceeding the maximum word count will
be disqualified
- Full Project Description: 750 words maximum. Required sections:
- Significance/Introduction with citations from previous research
- Methods
- Expected Results and Timeline
- References/Works Cited/Bibliography (these are the sources used in the project description).
Your References/Works Cited section should adhere to the formatting for your discipline
(e.g., MLA, Chicago, APA, IEEE).
- This will be a file upload
- Primary Investigator Application (will be auto-routed once the student application section is completed)
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- Previous Office of Undergraduate Research funding received in the last 3 fiscal years
- Recommendation letter: Maximum one (1) page single-spaced on letterhead and signed (12-point font, 1-inch
margins).
- In the letter, the PI should address the following at minimum:
- How long and in what capacity you've known the student.
- Previous work together and any outcomes from the work (for example, grant applications,
presentations, publications, student awards, scholarships).
- Ability of the student to complete this work in the time frame.
- Please list any additional summer obligations (i.e. travel, teaching hours, etc.)
- Student's Weekly Schedule
- Over the 8-wk session, please indicate, week by week, what tasks the student will
be required to complete
- Please note: Your bi-weekly progress reports will ask for a status update on the provided schedule
- Has this project been granted IRB or IACUC approval (if applicable)?
- Yes (provide IRB or IACUC number)
- No (provide timeline of approval)
- Anticipated long-term deliverables
Please note that submitting any additional materials that were not requested, may lead to application disqualification.
Please note: If the PI section is not submitted by the deadline, the application will
be considered incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
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Students with External Funding
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The Office of Undergraduate Research would like to strongly encourage students in
seeking external funding to conduct research over the summer while remaining at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ
State University under the guidance of a full-time tenure-track faculty. This mechanism
is to encourage our student scholars to compete on a national or an international
level to bring pride to ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ State University. The application must be initiated
by the student or student/faculty pair. This mechanism also encourages faculty to
mentor and discover students who are competitive in external awards.
For students receiving external funds for performing research on campus during the
summer, the OUR will provide a matching stipend for Primary Investigators (PIs) at
the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Research. Student scholars who receive
external fellowship/scholarships for work performed under the guidance of a full-time
²ÝÁñÊÓƵ faculty member will be featured in news stories from the Office of Research.
Limited funds for supplies will also be provided. Work must be performed under the
supervision of full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ State University.
Students are allowed to apply for internal funded positions while pursuing external
ones. For faculty to receive summer stipends, proof of acceptance for externally funded
students must be provided to the OUR. Please email this documentation to our@kennesaw.edu.
Documents for Summer 2026 will be accepted starting January 14, 2026.
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