The Office of Undergraduate Research offers Faculty Research Assistants Funding (FRAF) to support faculty members interested in using undergraduates to assist their research endeavors. This funding supports faculty and student engagement and collaboration while pursuing original research. Faculty will receive $1,500 to compensate the student researchers for Fall and Spring Semesters ($15 per hour of project time, as determined by the department, and compensated in accordance with UT policy) and a $250 stipend for materials. Faculty will receive $2,000 to compensate the student researchers for Summer ($15 per hour of project time, as determined by the department and compensated in accordance with UT policy) and a $250 stipend for materials.

Application Schedule

• Fall semester:  August 1 to August 15
• Spring semester:  November 1 to Wednesday before Thanksgiving
• Summer term: February 1 to March 28
  

Award notifications are made approximately 2 – 3 weeks after submissions close.

Guidelines

• Funding is for one semester only or summer only.
• Only one project abstract per faculty member is considered.
• Priority will be given to new proposals during each submission period, though previously awarded proposals will still be considered, especially when new students are selected.
• Selected students must be enrolled full-time as undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
• Priority should be given to students who previously have not held a research position.
• Students hired by FRAF faculty agree to present their research within a year of completing the FRAF position, at either the annual fall research exhibition, Discovery Day, or at the annual spring research event, EUReCA.
• Faculty members who apply for the program must have a teaching or research appointment (either full or part-time).
• Faculty members who accept Faculty Research Assistants Funding agree to judge future FRAF submissions.
• FRAF recipients also agree to judge research projects at the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EUReCA) held each spring.

Step 1

Faculty members must apply to the Office of Undergraduate Research through the website, link to the application below. The Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships will l review applications using the following criteria:

1. Project abstracts should include the project’s significance, its potential impact on the field of study, its effect on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventive interventions in the field.
2. Describe how this project furthers the research goals.
3. Describe why an undergraduate student is necessary for the project.
4. Does the project have any external or internal funding? If so, what are the other funding sources?

Step 2

If approved, it is the faculty member’s job to advertise and promote the position. We recommend using Explore, the university’s central database, for open UGR positions. Once a student is selected, the faculty member will send the Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships the acceptance form. This letter will detail the terms of the appointment (sample).

Once the acceptance letter is received by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships, funds will be transferred to the faculty member’s department. The student must be paid through the awarded faculty’s department payroll, on an hourly basis, to be administered by said department’s payroll contact. Any student funding that goes unused during the assistantship will be recalled at the end of the term by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Fellowships.

View Recent FRAF Recipients