Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars Program

 

Quad Undergraduate Research Grants are competitive, open-discipline awards intended to enhance the educational experience of University of Chicago College students by supporting scholarly undergraduate research and creative inquiry experiences through active participation in faculty-mentored research. 

These awards are for students who have identified or are already pursuing research with a faculty member, faculty research cluster, or other faculty-driven research initiative. "Faculty" includes instructional and senior instructional professors.  Students may undertake research with other senior scholars with University arts and research institutes; they must be formally appointed (paid) by the University of Chicago. This includes but is not limited to the Smart Museum, Court Theatre, Hannah Holburn Gray Special Collections Research Center, Franke Institute, the Neubauer Collegium, etc.

Students who receive a Quad grant will be recognized as Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars. Scholars will be supported by annual CCRF programming designed to enhance the scholars' experience and build a cross-disciplinary research community. 

Applications are accepted two times per year, near the start of the Autumn and Winter Quarters. Candidates must apply by the stated deadline; these are not reviewed or awarded on a rolling basis and extensions are not possible.

Quad grants provide $5,000 in total to support engagement in research for an entire academic year. Although there are two deadlines (Autumn and Winter) and the grants are disbursed in two installments of $2,500 each over sequential quarters, the award prioritizes a yearlong engagement with research. (See Scholar Benefits and Expectations for a fuller discussion of the research timeline.)

Awards cannot be made to recent graduates or for use the summer after graduation.

Read more about the eligibility, scholar benefits and expectations before applying to the Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars Program:

What is scholarly undergraduate research? Undergraduate research is a faculty-mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge; it is a meaningful scholarly activity that is guided by a faculty mentor or other research mentor(s), aids in the development of research tools, and enriches the student's academic experience by helping them develop a greater understanding of their chosen discipline(s) and its research methodologies.

Activities that are not considered eligible for undergraduate research funding through Quad: independent or exclusively student-driven projects or study; professional internships, externships, job shadowing, career treks, "micro-" or short-term experiences that are less than 30 days, student activities, course practicums, long-essays produced for courses, or administrative employment positions. 

APPLY HERE [Deadline has passed]

Application Deadlines:

Winter Quarter Deadline: January 8, 2024

The application system will allow you to request a letter of recommendation until the deadline--but the deadline for recommenders to submit their letters is also January 8, 2024. Please ask your mentors ASAP to author their letter of support and enter their details into the application portal.

Questions or concerns? Please contact a member of our undergraduate research team at ccrf-research@uchicago.edu.

The Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars Program is made possible by our generous donors including the Liew family and the Cheung family, as well as through the Dean's Fund for Undergraduate Research and the College. The program is managed by the College Center for Research & Fellowships (CCRF).