Office of Research
Website: research.usu.edu
Lisa M. Berreau, Vice President for Research
lisa.berreau@usu.edu, (435) 797-1180
Alexa K. Sand, Associate Vice President for Research
alexa.sand@usu.edu, (435) 797-8549
Blake Tullis, Associate Vice President for Research
blake.tullis@usu.edu, (435) 797-3194
As a research institution, Utah State University has a mandate to facilitate research and graduate education among faculty and students. USU’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies is responsible for this mission, and does so by:
- Producing internal funding opportunities and external funding guidance.
- Providing efficient research support services.
- Developing individual researcher capacity.
- Supporting graduate and undergraduate research.
These duties are accomplished by Office of Research divisions and support staff which are outlined below.
School of Graduate Studies
Website: usu.edu/graduateschool/
Shelley Lindauer, Associate Vice President for Research and Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies
shelley.lindauer@usu.edu, (435) 797-3981
The School of Graduate Studies serves as the central administrative body that promotes, supports, and reviews graduate education at Utah State University to ensure consistency and excellence in all graduate degree programs. The School of Graduate Studies works closely and cooperatively with central administration, the Graduate Council, colleges, and academic departments to provide the best possible intellectual and physical environment for graduate student education.
To learn more about USU graduate degrees, admissions requirements, student classifications, degree requirements, and general regulations go to Graduate Student General Information.
Graduate and Undergraduate Research
See Student Research web links at research.usu.edu/undergrad.
Alexa Sand, Associate Vice President for Research
alexa.sand@usu.edu, (435) 797-8549
The Office of Research and Graduate Studies supports and advances Undergraduate Research at Utah State University. Here are a few ways in that our Office supports undergraduate researchers.
Funding Research
URCO (Undergraduate Research & Creative Opportunity) Grant
The URCO grant program was created in 1975, and since its beginning has supported students in all disciplines. Students may apply individually or in groups of up to four. Individual grantees receive a $1000 scholarship and group grantees receive a $500 scholarship each. In addition, each project may receive up to $1,000 in research expenses. This is a matching program, in which the students’ home departments or colleges provide 25% of the scholarship support and 50% of the research expense support. A competitive, juried selection process takes place three times a year, providing students opportunities to seek support for fall, spring, or summer funding.
Undergraduate Research Fellows Program (URF)
Beginning in 2004, a cohort of students who show high potential as future researchers have received this $1,000/year scholarship which includes membership in the URF cohort of students vigorously involved in research, support for seeking research opportunities, workshops, and one-on-one advising. Incoming freshmen and students with six or more semesters left to graduation are invited to apply each spring, with a number of positions also granted to transfer students and those who have completed summer research intensives such as NASMP. URFs represent all eight colleges, and have an almost 100% graduation rate.
Peak Summer Research Fellowship
Endowed by David and Terry Peak, the Peak Summer Research Fellowship funds a select cohort of highly engaged undergraduate students in the Peaks’ colleges—the College of Science and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences—through a summer research experience. These fellows will spend ten weeks actively engaging in research with faculty mentors, have access to special trainings and workshops, and will come out of this fellowship poised to succeed in competitive applications for graduate school and national fellowships and grants.
Presenting Research
Utah Research on Capitol Hill
Utah’s Research on Capitol Hill is an annual celebration of undergraduate research held in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. Organized by USU and the University of Utah, it features the two public research universities’ students and their research projects. Students of all disciplines from around the state share the results of their investigations with legislators.
Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR)
The Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR) is modeled after the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and organized by a committee of representatives from educational institutions across the state. The conference celebrates academic, professional, and personal achievements resulting from undergraduate research projects or creative endeavors.
National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
The National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), established in 1987, is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students.
Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR): Posters on the Hill
Posters on the Hill is the premier national event advocating at the Federal level for support for undergraduate research through national funding agencies. A small number of students from each state are selected to represent a broad range of academic disciplines at the national capitol, where they meet with legislators, staffers, and policy makers. USU has sent more students to this event than any other Utah institution.
Student Research Symposia
Fall and Spring student research symposia showcase outstanding work done by USU undergraduate students (and in the spring, graduate students) on research, scholarly, and creative projects. The program may include oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibitions, and recitals. Students receive expert feedback on their research communications skills and their research content. The spring symposium includes prizes for the best presentations in each category, by discipline.
Curiosity: Utah State University’s Undergraduate Research Journal
This is a mentor reviewed, open access journal housed on USU’s Digital Commons, dedicated to the publication of outstanding scholarship by undergraduates at Utah State University. This journal accepts submissions of scholarly and research articles, from undergraduate students in all academic disciplines.
Travel Fund
A portion of costs associated with travel to present undergraduate student research are covered from the Office of Research through the Undergraduate Research Conference Travel Fund, available on a monthly first-come, first-served basis for qualified students. Additional mechanisms available to cover travel costs include the following:Honors Research Fund, designed to give
- Honors students access to direct funding for activities that will academically enhance their undergraduate experience. Includes funding for research, scholarship and artistic activities or materials. Requests can be made anytime. For more information: Honors Research
- USU/SA Academic Opportunity Fund, funds student travel to present at meetings. For more information: Academic Opportunity Fund
Research Recognition
Undergraduate Research Scholar Transcript Designation
The Undergraduate Research Scholar Transcript Designation is given to recognize the accomplishments of USU’s undergraduate researchers more fully.
Peak Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher of the Year
The award for outstanding Undergraduate Researcher of the Year for each college, or the Peak Prize named after Drs. David and Terry Peak who endowed it, honors those undergraduate student researchers who have made a difference through their research efforts. Students who receive this award are recognized during USU’s annual Research Week, and a university-wide winner chosen from among the college winners is announced at the Robins Awards Ceremony.
Graduate Research
The Office of Research also supports the research efforts of graduate students through various means, including graduate research assistantships funded through start-up and seed funding programs. In addition, direct support to graduate students includes the following programs:
Funding Graduate Research
GRCO (Graduate Research & Creative Opportunity) Grant
Funded by USU/SA and the Graduate Studies Senator in 2015, the GRCO grant program is administered through the Office of Research to support graduate research through $1,000 research expense funding. Application cycles run each summer and faculty review panels select awardees at the start of each fall semester.
Presidential Doctoral Research Fellows (PDRF)
The Research Fellows program was established in 2012 to recruit, support, and mentor Utah State University’s most promising incoming PhD students. A cohort of forty PDRFs represent the six USU colleges currently granting PhDs; for four years, each student receives a $10,000 scholarship and full tuition coverage from the Office of Research, and a guaranteed half-time departmental assistantship and 80% of health insurance costs from their department. PDRFs are also supported by the Office of Research through programming designed to help them build meta-professional skills and develop their own mentoring capacity.
Graduate Professional Development
Student Research Symposia
The Spring student research symposia is a showcase for undergraduate and graduate research, scholarly, and creative projects. The program may include oral presentations, poster sessions, exhibitions, and recitals. Graduate students receive expert feedback on their research communications skills and their research content. Additionally, graduate students can volunteer to receive training on, and participate in, reviewing undergraduate presentations. The spring symposium includes prizes for the best presentations in each category, by discipline.
Travel Fund
Graduate student travel to conferences is funded through the School of Graduate Studies. Additionally, graduate students are eligible for the USU/SA Academic Opportunity Fund, which covers up to $500 in conference presentation expenses. For more information: Academic Opportunity Fund
Mentoring resources and training for graduate students
USU leverages its excellence in undergraduate research to help graduate students develop as mentors. Outside of research leadership within their own labs, departments, and colleges, opportunities for graduate students to engage in mentoring include serving as URCO reviewers, using OR resources to match up with undergraduates seeking research experiences, volunteering to provide feedback to undergraduate presenters at Student Research Symposium, and leading workshops for undergraduate researchers.
Research Recognition
Master’s Student Researcher of the Year
Each year, every college selects one master’s student to be the college researcher of the year. These college winners are then nominated for the campus-wide Master’s Student Researcher of the Year, who is announced at the Robins Awards Ceremony and receives a small monetary award. All college winners are also honored at the Student Awards Ceremony during Research Week.
Doctoral Student Researcher of the Year
The six PhD-awarding colleges select one outstanding doctoral researcher each year as the college winner of this prize; these winners are then considered for the campus-wide Doctoral Student Researcher of the Year. The campus winner is announced alongside the Master’s Student Researcher at the Robins Awards Ceremony and college winners are likewise recognized during the Student Awards Ceremony as part of Research Week.
Research Funding and Grantsmanship
Research Development
Website:research.usu.edu/opd
Jerilyn Hansen, Director
jerilyn.hansen@usu.edu, (435) 797-3437
The Research Development division is dedicated to expanding externally funded research at Utah State University by managing the proposal development process on strategically important submissions, training researchers on proposal development, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and providing services to researchers that advance their skills and success in obtaining funding. The Research Development support team is comprised of a network of proposal development staff located in colleges across campus. These individuals provide a variety of services to their college researchers, in addition to pooling their efforts on large, institutionally strategic proposals, and training researchers on proposal development.
Sponsored Programs
Website: research.usu.edu/spo
Kevin Peterson, Executive Director
kevin.peterson@usu.edu, (435) 797-1223
The Sponsored Programs division facilitates university research by processing proposals, conducting negotiations, helping researchers find and obtain funding and playing an important role in contract administration. The Sponsored Programs division can assist with proposal contact information, proposal submittal, budget review and advice, and links to selected funding sources.
Research Support Services
Research Integrity & Compliance
Website: research.usu.edu/compliance
Jennifer Scucchi, Director
jennifer.scucchi@usu.edu, (435) 797-0485
The Research Integrity and Compliance division is charged with assisting and familiarizing faculty and other USU employees with federal guidelines and university policies, and helping individuals comply with those regulations. The office also coordinates training in the responsible conduct of research.
Environmental Health & Safety
Website: research.usu.edu/ehs
Eric Jorgensen, Director
eric.jorgensen@usu.edu (435) 797-2856
The Environmental Health & Safety division provides expertise for compliance with federal, state, and local safety and health regulations, as well as current professional practices and guidelines. EHS assists university personnel to comply with regulations and trains them in appropriate safety measures. General areas of focus include biological, radiological, occupational and chemical health and safety.
Human Research Protections/Institutional Review Board
Website: research.usu.edu/hrp/
Nicole Vouvalis, Director
nicole.vouvalis@usu.edu (435) 797-0567
Melanie Domenech-Rodriguez, IRB Chair
melanie.domenech@usu.edu (435) 797-3059
The Human Research Protections (HRP) Office and Institutional Review Board (IRB) are charged with protecting the rights and welfare of human research participants in research activities conducted by Utah State University students and faculty. All research conducted with living people, or which uses private, identifiable information or specimens from living people, must first be reviewed and approved by the IRB. The HRP Office offers consultations to assist with the ethical and compliance requirements required by the IRB, and provides oversight for active human subject research projects.
Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee
Website: iacuc.usu.edu
All faculty, staff, students, and others using USU facilities are required to adhere to the federal standards for the use of animals in research, teaching, and training. Programs that use animals will be at their best when animals receive quality care in a properly designed and managed animal facility. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the Animal Welfare Act policies and procedures are followed.
Laboratory Animal Research Center
Website: research.usu.edu/iacuc/larc
Aaron Olsen, Director
aaron.olsen@usu.edu, (435) 797-8141
The LARC is committed to the highest standards of research and recognizes that laboratory animals must receive the best possible care, not only to obtain valid research data, but to ensure the health and safety of animals, researchers, and animal caretakers. The facility offers a complete range of services to researchers, including comprehensive animal care and husbandry, instruction in proper animal handling, disease diagnosis, euthanasia and animal disposal, animal records, information, and consultation.
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