Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge

• Proposal quality: clarity, completeness, intellectual or creative significance, realistic time line for completion and an anticipated outcome that can be shared through participation in the annual Student Research Colloquium and presentation at an off-campus site, such as a high school AP class or local, regional, national or international forum/conference.
• Faculty mentor recommendation.
• Student’s academic record and background.
• Application includes a viable plan for meaningful community service.
• Project is designed to be professionally responsible and compliant with TU policies, including IRB and other policies administered by the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs.
• Applicants requesting summer funding have complied with requirements to participate in the annual Student Research Colloquium and have provided all required progress reports for prior semesters.

Progress Reports and Application for Continuation

All students must submit a progress report for each semester of participation in the TURC program. Deadlines for progress reports are as follows:

• Fall Progress Reports are due by the first Friday in January.
• Spring Progress Reports are due by the second Friday in April.
• Summer Progress Reports are due by the last Friday in August.

Each progress report must detail the student’s project goals accomplished and any new or revised project goals. In addition, the student must identify and explain any delays, missed goals or revised activities for the preceding semester. The student must assess his or her community service commitment, including the number of hours spent on the project and the type of service performed.

Students who wish to continue in the TURC program will state the same in their progress report and must detail their project goals for the next semester, noting how their future goals and time line are related to their original proposed time line.

Mentors will provide an assessment of the student’s progress and appropriateness for continuation of the project.

Summer Participation: Those students seeking summer TURC participation will state the same in their Spring semester progress report.

Successful applicants for summer participation and funding will have complied with requirements to participate in the annual Research Colloquium and have provided all required progress reports.

Upon entering the TURC program, students agree to fulfill certain obligations. These include:

• Submitting required progress reports to the Arts and Sciences TURC Director, Danielle Macdonald by the required deadlines.
• Undertaking a meaningful community service project that involves more than a token number of hours or effort. Students are encouraged to speak with their service recipients to identify and articulate goals and steps for achieving such goals through their efforts. Community service activities should go beyond mere volunteerism or the student’s normal activities for their living groups (e.g., fraternity, sorority, residence hall) or religious communities.
• TURC students are required to participate in The University of Tulsa Student Research Colloquium, which is held annually during the spring semester.  There are many forms of participation, and notices are normally sent to all students from the Office of Integrative and Experiential Learning. Students who wish to learn about opportunities for participation, including serving as a judge or in some other capacity in lieu of a research presentation, must contact the Office of Integrative and Experiential Learning at oiel@utulsa.edu by February 10 to make appropriate arrangements.
• Different academic departments may have special rules or procedures governing TURC projects. Once a student has located a mentor, the mentor should be asked about additional department requirements

Failure to meet these obligations may render the student ineligible for further TURC participation.

Meet the Director of Kendall College TURC and Associate  Professor of Anthropology, Danielle Macdonald.