Student Undergraduate Research Foundations (SURF)
OCTOBER 26TH, 2026 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM | SYKES BALLROOM A
Stop By for Pizza and Chat with the ORSP!
Interested in learning about the paid student research opportunities at WCU?
PRESENTATION AT 12:00 PM AND 12:45 PM
SURF is an introductory experiential learning experience for undergraduate students with limited to no prior background experience in research or creative activity projects. This experience will help undergraduate students expand their skills and possibly move on to higher-level projects and apply their skills to their future graduate school or career plans. Undergraduate students will support a faculty mentor with an existing research project or creative activity for 5 hours per week, for 10 weeks, during the Spring 2027 semester. Students receive a $500 stipend! Students must identify their faculty mentor (name and email) in their application. Faculty mentors will be required to submit a portion of the application. All applications (student and faculty mentor portion) are due by Friday, November 6th, 2026.
Application Requirements:
The SURF application requires the following items (below). Please work with your faculty mentor on these questions before submission.
Student Portion
- Demographic information
- Faculty mentor’s name, email, and department
- Project information:
- Project description: Provide a brief description of the project you will be working on, including (a) background and significance and (b) description of what specific skills you will acquire during the SURF experience (300 words or less).
- Faculty plan: Please describe your research or creative activity plan (how often you are meeting, goals for each month, communication expectations, tentative timeline) with your faculty mentor across the Spring 2027 semester (250 words or less).
- Impact: Provide a brief explanation of the potential impact the WCU-SURF opportunity could have on your future education and/or career aspirations (250 words or less).
- After students submit, faculty mentors will immediately be notified and receive a portion of the application to complete regarding their students' skills and abilities for SURF. Please see the items below:
Faculty Portion
Please rate the student’s abilities using a 1-5 (1=lowest, 5=highest) scale:
- How successful do you think this student will be in completing this experience if selected for SURF?
- Given your involvement working with a variety of students, how committed is this student in completing the experience?
- How confident do you feel working alongside this student for the duration of the Spring 2027 semester?
- After reviewing the project description, faculty plan, and impact for this student, how would you rate this application?
- Does the student fit the goal of SURF: to provide an introductory research/creative activity experience to undergraduate students where they can work alongside a faculty mentor and contribute to their research in a meaningful way?
Please review the list of student or faculty mentor Q & A for additional support:
Undergraduate Students: Review the Student Q&A
Do I need to find a faculty mentor?
Yes! All research opportunities require WCU undergraduate students to have a faculty mentor. Your faculty mentor can be any full-time WCU faculty member. Your faculty mentor does not need to be in the same department as your major. You will need to identify who your faculty mentor is and provide their email in your application. If you don’t have a faculty mentor in mind, you can check out the RAM Research Directory to find one. You can search by name, department, or research keywords.
What should I do if I contact a faculty member and they don't respond?
Faculty members have busy schedules, so allow a reasonable amount of time for a response. You may send a polite follow-up email if needed. If the faculty member is unavailable, consider reaching out to another faculty member whose interests align with yours. You can use the RAM Research Directory to find a faculty mentor.
What will my weekly workload involve while participating in SURF?
You will be responsible for spending 5 hours per week for 10 weeks, over the Spring semester. What you are completing and how you are completing it (in-person, remotely) will depend on your faculty mentor’s existing research project or creative activity. You and your faculty mentor should establish clear goals and expectations for each week.
What are the benefits of participating in SURF?
There are so many benefits! You will gain a variety of skills, including analytical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills that you can apply to your future career. You can add your SURF participation to your resume to highlight the experience to employers or graduate school. Check out the testimonials from previous SURF scholars on the SURF webpage!
Can I apply and participate in SURF more than once?
Yes, undergraduate students can participate more than once. However, first-time applicants will be prioritized. SURF is an introductory experience for students with limited or no research or creative activity background. Once you complete SURF, there are additional opportunities at WCU to expand and excel your skills. Consider applying for the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) or presenting at Research and Creative Activity Day (RCAD) in the Spring.
When will I know if my proposal was accepted?
All submissions (student portion and faculty mentor’s portion) are due by Friday, November 6th. The review process will then take place, and students/faculty mentors will be notified by the end of November.
When and how will I receive my stipend?
After you are accepted to participate in SURF, you will receive directions to complete a W-9 with Accounts Payable. You will receive a mailed check ($500) to the address on file with Accounts Payable by the conclusion of the Spring 2027 semester. If you would prefer to receive your stipend via direct deposit, you need to submit a non-payroll authorization form with Accounts Payable.
Can I use the stipend for participant incentives, project materials, or conference registration and travel?
ORSP cannot buy or reimburse specific project-related items. However, all accepted students will receive their stipend as a mailed check or direct deposit (if signed up via Accounts Payable) by the end of the semester in which the research opportunity concludes. Students can use their stipend toward project-related items if desired.
How can I prepare my SURF application?
Identify your faculty mentor and meet with them (virtually or in-person) to discuss the research project or creative activity and preview the application questions on the SURF webpage. This will help you brainstorm your responses and ensure all questions are completed in their entirety.
Do I need to create the project, or does this need to be an existing faculty mentor’s project?
SURF is a learning opportunity for undergraduate students with limited or no background experience with research or creative activity projects. SURF projects should be a faculty mentor’s existing project. Faculty mentors will lead the project and support the undergraduate student in learning about research/creative activity. If undergraduate students have their own project they would like to complete, they are encouraged to apply for the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI), which is an advanced opportunity.
Will I need to complete the CITI training or submit an IRB?
This will depend on your faculty mentor’s existing research project. If it involves human subjects, your faculty mentor will have an approved IRB in order to complete the study. You will need to complete the free CITI training and be added to the IRB as a co-principal investigator. Your faculty mentor will support you with this process!
If accepted, do I need to do or submit anything during the Spring 2027 semester while I’m participating in SURF?
You will be encouraged to attend and briefly discuss the research project or creative activity you worked on with your faculty mentor at the Spring 2027 Research and Creative Activity Day (RCAD – April 15th, 2027). Additionally, you and your faculty mentor will receive a survey to provide an update on your experience and share any final products, pictures, or videos of the process.
Can I apply if I’m an international student?
Due to F-1 visa restrictions, international students are not eligible to receive a stipend from WCU departments and organizations. However, international students are encouraged to look into a work-study position, which could be completed with a faculty mentor on research and count as a paid work position toward F-1 visa requirements.
Faculty Mentors: Review the Faculty Q&A
Is it possible to be a faculty mentor for more than one student?
Yes, faculty mentors can support up to two students during the SURF experience each
year, but not more than two. This is to ensure the faculty mentor can devote the required
amount of time to supporting each student during the Spring semester, and to open
the opportunity to additional faculty mentors.
What do I need to complete as part of the SURF application to support a student?
After you have met with your student and decided to work together, the student should
write a draft of the application questions (what they will be doing working alongside
you, the impact of the experience, and how/when they will meet with you as their faculty
mentor), and you can review their draft prior to submission. Students will then submit
the name and email of their faculty mentor when completing their portion of the application,
and an email will be sent immediately to the faculty mentor to complete a rating scale
of the student’s abilities for SURF. The faculty items can be previewed on the SURF
webpage.
Do I need to complete my part of the SURF application by the due date?
Yes! A student’s application is considered complete once the student and faculty mentor
portions are completed and submitted. The entire application (student and faculty
portion) needs to be done by Friday, November 6th, 2026. Due to this, it is important
that students complete their portion at least several days to a week in advance of
the due date to provide faculty mentors with ample time to submit their portion by
the designated due date.
Does it matter the stage or type of my existing faculty-led research project or creative activity?
No. SURF is an introductory experience for undergraduate students with limited or
no research or creative activity background. SURF projects should be a faculty mentor’s
existing project. Faculty mentors will lead the project and support the undergraduate
student in learning about the steps and completing them with support. Research projects
(e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, field work, laboratory work) or creative
activities (e.g., performance arts, visual arts) can be of any type or at any stage.
Do I need to submit or complete anything, other than following the submitted SURF plan, during the Spring 2027 semester to ORSP?
You will be encouraged to attend and briefly discuss the research project or creative
activity you worked on with your student at the Spring 2027 Research and Creative
Activity Day (RCAD). Additionally, you and your student will receive a survey to provide
an update on your experience and share any final products, pictures, or videos of
the process!
What if my undergraduate student and I do not complete the project within the 10-week time frame?
SURF does not need to result in a completed research project or creative activity! The goal is for progress to be made during the 10-week period, and for your undergraduate student to learn new skills and experiences that they can apply to future projects and their career aspirations! However, faculty mentors and undergraduate students are encouraged to continue to work on their research project or creative activity after the Spring 2027 semester if needed.
What if a student contacts me with interest in me being their faculty mentor for SURF, but I’m unable to?
If you’re unable to serve as a faculty mentor for SURF due to other commitments, see if you’re able to connect the student with another faculty member who might have similar research interests. If not, direct the student to the RAM Research Directory to find one. They can search by name, department, or research keywords.
Ready to Apply?
Before applying for the SURF, here are a few questions to consider:
- Are you a WCU undergraduate student, and will you be enrolled at WCU during the Spring 2027 semester?
- Will you have 5 hours/week for 10 weeks to devote to research work during the Spring 2027 semester?
- Have you connected with a faculty mentor, and has that mentor agreed to let you assist them with research during the Spring 2027 semester? If you’ve not yet located a faculty mentor, you might want to peruse the RAM Research Directory to see what faculty research is being done at WCU. You can search for a faculty mentor by name, department, or research keywords! If you’re not sure how to reach out via email to ask, check out our tips and email template!
If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then consider applying below:
SURF Scholars (2026)
45 undergraduate students across the seven different colleges were awarded SURF during the 2025-2026 academic year! Check out what they have to say regarding their experience: