KU BEARS Grant Funding
Purpose: The purpose of the KU BEARS program is to support faculty/student research pairs over the summer. The goals are twofold: for undergraduate students to develop the necessary skill set to become student researchers and to provide faculty members with paid student research assistants. Undergraduate students selected for the program will receive summer pay for research tasks assigned by a faculty supervisor. By assisting faculty members in their research, students selected for the program will obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for conducting advanced research in their field.
Award: Funded projects will be allotted up to $2,500 to cover student wages and FICA (7.65% of wages) and $500 for presentation travel for the student. If two students are working on a project, $1,500 will be allotted to each student. Please note that taxes come out of the stipend. This means that the students’ take-home pay is less than the $2,500 or $1,500 stipend. The students receive the stipends minus taxes. For 2025, a total of $50,000 is available for the KU BEARS program.
KU housing will be provided for students who need housing during the summer research experience. The housing location and dates will be determined in the spring semester. Move-in is typically the last week of May and move-out is typically the beginning of August. Housing is not available between the end of the spring semester and the move-in date nor is it available between the move-out date and the beginning of the fall semester.
Students must present at the KU INSPIRES celebration of undergraduate research and creativity in April 2026.
Faculty and students are expected to attend KU BEARS kick off scheduled for 2:00 pm on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Eligibility: The program is open to all faculty members (tenured, tenure-track, and adjunct) and to those undergraduate students who are current freshmen, sophomores, or juniors. Only one KU BEARS grant may be awarded to a faculty member or student per summer. Faculty are encouraged to identify underrepresented students within their freshman or sophomore year to be part of their research program. Examples of underrepresented include low-income students, minority students, and women in the sciences.
To Apply: Use the proposal template provided below. The proposal must be formatted as a PDF and attached to the DocuSign cover sheet and also located in KU Forms. After the department chair and dean sign the cover sheet, it will be emailed to Ms. Heather Arbuckle at arbuckle@kutztown.edu in the Office of Grants & Sponsored Projects. Ms. Arbuckle will send a confirmation email back to the faculty member. Important - the section of the proposal titled “Potential for student growth and development” must be written by the student.
Deadline for Submission: Applications are due by Monday, February 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM.