Before You Apply - Eligibility

Applications must name both an eligible mentor and an eligible mentee (undergraduate student), according to all of the criteria listed below. Failure to meet all criteria will result in an application’s automatic denial.

• “Session” refers to the summer OR academic year.  One application may be submitted for the summer session and one may be submitted for the academic year.
• The Summer and Academic Year sessions are awarded on seperate applications. Each application will only be considered for the session marked.
• Summer 2026 Applicants: You are NOT eligible to apply to the Summer ICRU Fellowship if you have a stipend-based summer undergraduate opportunity, including BSURF, BSSURP, SROP, etc.
  • Hourly-based pay for time spent outside of the Fellowship hours is acceptable (i.e. ISA, pay from research group).

Mentors 

A mentor is considered eligible only if they:

• Maintain an active appointment as a Faculty or Professional Scientific and Staff member at the University of Iowa.
• Apply for only one OUR Undergraduate Research Fellow per session.
• If you submit an application for both summer and academic year for the same project, the application should show the expected progress.
• If you have a GCRU, received a DMA Fellowship, or have a student who has received an EURA Fellowship, you are not eligible to be awarded an ICRU Fellowship for the designated term. Ex: You have a GCRU Fellowship for Summer 2026, then you are not eligible to apply for a Summer ICRU Fellowship for Summer 2026.

Students 

A student is considered eligible only if they:

• Are registered for the upcoming Fall semester as full time, degree-seeking, University of Iowa undergraduates.
• Students participating in an Undergrad-to-Grad program should discuss their timeline with their advisor and/or the OUR Staff to determine their eligibility.
  • U2G students who have received their undergraduate diploma at a prior commencement (spring or fall) are not eligible for summer fellowships.
• If you are a part of a GCRU, were selected by a Mentor to be their DMA Fellow, or received an EURA Fellowship, you are not eligible to be an ICRU Fellow. Ex: You are a part of a GCRU Fellowship for Summer 2026, therefore you cannot apply for the Summer 2026 ICRU Fellowship. 

Fellowship Restrictions

• Fellowships cannot be deferred or transferred.
• Off-campus projects will not be funded UNLESS:
  • Both mentor and student are in the same location off-campus, OR
  • Off-campus work is only a small minority of the project's timeline.

Starting the Application Process

Applications should be completed together (mentor and mentee). We highly recommend working together prior to submitting your application and having the mentor enter all responses with text you have developed together.

The application Workflow form must be submitted in one sitting. Applicants can prepare their entire application before the submission process (responses can be copied and pasted into the form). Workflow does not have a 'save to complete later' setting. 

Application Review and Decision

Applications are reviewed by a committee. This committee gives high priority to meaningful student experiences, both in the actual work done and the mentoring received. Equal weight is given to both student and mentor pieces. As Fellowships emphasize experience/training/research, the scientific/creative merit of a project is not under review.

Strong applications will:

• Include regular opportunities for mentor-student interaction and engagement into the project. This means at all stages of the project - contemplation, design, execution, analysis, and presentation.
• Include a feasible timeline.
• Show student's strong understanding of the project and its significance to themselves and the broader community.
• Convey excitement and collaboration from both the mentor and mentee.
• OUR understands that research and creative work are fluid. Unexpected issues may cause delays or changes in direction. These do not need to be incorporated into the application's timeline or reported to OUR.

Reasons for Denial

OUR reserves the right to automatically deny an application without review if application instructions are not properly followed. OUR will not contact mentors for resubmission. The following list details reasons that OUR will automatically deny an application without review:

• Either a mentor or student is listed on more than one OUR Fellowship application.
• Summer and Academic Year Fellowship Applications are identical. Expected progression should be reflected in these pieces.

OUR Fellowship Requirements

Acceptance of an OUR Fellowship constitutes an agreement with OUR to fulfill the following program requirements:

• Completion of a Mentorship Agreement by both the mentor and student.
• Agreement form will be sent to mentors and students upon notification of funding.
• Funds will NOT be disbursed until OUR receives the signed Mentorship Agreement submitted to ICON
• Presentation of the funding period's work at either of OUR's research festivals:
  • Fall (FURF - November)
  • Spring (SURF - April)

Fellowship Course Enrollment

Summer Fellows: OUR enrolls all Summer Fellows in course number URES:3995 for transcript recognition of URF participation for each semester. This is a zero-hour course graded R ("registered") or W ("withdrew"). No extra tuition, fees, or costs will be incurred by the student. OUR submits the grades for all Fellows. Mentors have no grading responsibility other than to make OUR aware if the student fails to fully participate in the Fellowship. Failure to complete OUR Fellowship requirements will result in a "W" grade for the course. Students will be contacted before a "W" grade is given.

Academic Year Fellows: OUR enrolls all Academic Year Fellows in course number URES:4000 for 1 credit hour per semester. This course is graded S/U. Mentors have no grading responsibility other than to make OUR aware if the student fails to fully participate in the Fellowship. Failure to complete OUR Fellowship requirements will result in a "U" grade for the course.

Disbursement

OUR Fellowship funding is disbursed by OUR twice during the Fellowship period. For the Academic Year, it is disbursed once at the beginning of Fall and Spring semester. During the Summer, funding is disbursed during the first and last week of June.

OUR transfers each student's funds directly into the student's Ul account as a refundable scholarship. If there is a balance in UBill, the funds will be applied to that first. The rest of the funds will then be disbursed to the student via check or direct deposit. NOTE: Be certain that the account you have on file is the one you would like your funds to be disbursed to. Once disbursed, OUR has no further control of how funding is delivered. Issues with refunds should be directed to the Billing Office or the Office of Financial Aid. 

*OUR retains the right to cancel awarded Fellowships if either the student or mentor withdraws from the Fellowship or fails to complete its requirements. Please contact OUR immediately for concerns regarding completion of or adherence to requirements.

Withdrawal from or Failure to Complete the Fellowship

Occasionally mentors or students need to withdraw their participation due to unforeseen circumstances. In such scenarios, both the Fellow and the mentor are expected to contact OUR before the beginning of the semester. If only one party contacts OUR, OUR will follow up with the other party.

If a student decides to withdraw or fails to complete the Fellowship, and OUR is not informed before the start of the semester:

• The student will need to fill out appropriate paperwork to drop URES:3995 OR the student may incur a "W" for URES:3995.
• Disbursed funds may be requested back.

If a mentor decides to withdraw and notifies OUR, we will reach out to the student to discuss possible OUR solutions. Because students are often dependent of Fellowship funds, OUR prefers not to penalize the student if a mentor withdraws. 

Withdrawal from a Fellowship does not hurt a student's or mentor's future chances of receiving an OUR Fellowship UNLESS evidence suggests the withdrawal was purposefully withheld from OUR. Failure to complete a Fellowship may negatively affect future Fellowship application results.