FAQs
The Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR) facilitates faculty-mentored research, scholarship, and creative activities for undergraduate students across all academic disciplines. We provide research funding from the CUGR office and external sources, as well as links to other resources for students, administrators, staff, and faculty. Graduate students are eligible to participate in MSGC opportunities and the UMaine Student Symposium. CUGR programs are managed by Mindy (Melinda) Pelletier, Program Manager, and Deanna Rice, Administrative Coordinator, in consultation with the CUGR Advisory Committee.
Detailed information on what we require in your final CUGR fellowship/MSGC research experience report can be found on our award reporting website.
If you have a specific mentor you’d like to work with, you can send them a professional email from your @maine.edu account and ask if they have any opportunities for you. Many faculty are always looking for students to work with them on research projects.
You may also check out our Research Opportunity Board.
This refers to the kind of email you should be sending to someone like a potential Faculty Mentor. You’ll want to use their full name and any prefixes they may have. Do not write as if you are emailing your best friend. Be more formal in your writing and respectful of the person’s time. It’s important not to write the email as if you are writing a text to your best friend. You also want to do your research about what the individual may specialize in by reading about them on their department’s website or their lab’s webpage. Reference why you are reaching out to them and what interests you about their work. By emailing a faculty mentor like this, you are more likely to be seen as someone they’d like to mentor and serious about your inquiry.
If you are an undergraduate student engaged in faculty-mentored research, you may apply for the CUGR Fellowship Award. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student conducting faculty-mentored research in the fields of aerospace technology, space science, earth science, human exploration/space development or other science or engineering related fields, you are eligible to apply for the MSGC Research Experience Award.
We will communicate with you via email if you have (or have not) been awarded a fellowship/research experience award.
If you have been awarded, there is a Google Classroom set up with all of the required assignments.
If you are a CUGR Fellowship awardee or a Maine State Grant Consortium (MSGC) research experience or fellowship awardee, you are required to present per your contract. Other fellowships and awards may also require you to present. Your classes may also require you to present. It is an important part of the scientific process. You will be learning how to present your own research, learning about other research at the University of Maine, learning how to network, and supporting your fellow classmates and peers.
Your funds will be distributed to you (in-person by check) after you have completed all of the required paperwork and have met with a CUGR representative.
Yes, graduate students can participate in graduate MSGC Fellowship opportunities. The eligibility requirements and important dates and deadlines can be found on the MSGC Program webpage. Graduate students are also encouraged to submit proposals for the annual UMaine Student Symposium(UMSS). Participation in UMSS allows students to network with peers and potential employers while showcasing their work.
If you do not completely finish your research by the end of your CUGR fellowship/research performance period, that is okay. We ask that you report on what you have done so far and elaborate on what you’ll be doing in the future and what you think the results will show. Email us at cugr@maine.edu as soon as you realize you won’t be able to finish in time.
You can find a UMaine/UMM faculty mentor by finding someone in the area of the research you’d like to pursue.
Yes. Depending on the faculty mentor’s funding situation and preferences, they may ask the winning student to use their monetary funds as hourly wages. This can be discussed and decided between the student and their faculty mentor.
Yes, however, we are only able to issue payment of the award to a single individual. It will be up to that individual and the members of their group, as well as their faculty mentor, to decide how that monetary award will be used or dispersed.
YES!
NASA collaborators/mentors are not required but highly encouraged when you are applying for an undergraduate MSGC Research Experience. They are required for an MSGC Graduate Fellowship. You can ask your UMaine Faculty Mentor and/or you can use the link below to find someone in your field of research from a listed NASA center.
Once you have found someone who matches your research objectives, you can email them to ask them if they would be willing to collaborate with you on this project.
“Collaborate” can mean different things, and the level at which you and the NASA collaborator, your faculty mentor, and you decide on what will be different for each submission.
CUGR Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fellowship: The CUGR Academic Year and Summer Fellowships provide financial support for undergraduate students engaged in faculty-mentored research.
MSGC: The Maine Space Grant Consortium is an affiliate of NASA’s National Space Grant College Research Experience. The Research Experience provides funding for both undergraduate and graduate students, with a faculty mentor, engaged in research in aerospace technology, space science, earth science, human exploration/space development, and other science or engineering-related fields. These are awarded during the academic year and summer.
Both awards must go through the same submission and acceptance procedures.
Please check with UMaine Student Financial Aid directly to answer this question. Every student’s situation is different. For further detailed information, please contact the Office of Student Records.
No. The research must be done within the time period for which it was awarded. Academic Year fellowships or research experiences are to be conducted from November through May, and summer research is to be conducted from May through August. If it’s a continuation of research from last semester, then yes, you may apply.
Training in the Responsible Conduct of Researchers (RCR) is a best practice for all researchers, and in particular, new researchers, including student researchers. The training helps to protect everyone involved in the research enterprise. RCR training makes sure everyone understands how to conduct research while maintaining accuracy, honesty, efficiency, and objectivity before beginning their projects. Research misconduct can harm careers and reputations because the reliability of research results comes, at least in part, from the trust placed in the researcher or institution to not misrepresent information.
Undergraduate student RCR training requirements are not fulfilled by the CITI RCR course, unless some rare exception is made. Undergraduate students are required to take the undergraduate-specific RCR workshop, which is currently held on Brightspace. This training is an asynchronous, online, self-paced course that is hosted by the UMaine Office of Research Compliance for about a month each Fall, Spring, and Summer. Course dates and more information are available on the Undergraduate Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training webpage.
