Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (URSCA)

In keeping with the University's mission to foster opportunities for student-faculty scholarship, the Honors College offers undergraduates the opportunity to apply for competitive funding to promote their research, scholarship, and creative activities.

Much of the research and creative activity that has been funded has gone on to be presented at regional and national meetings in the students' respective discipline or at meetings of the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). Each year, the Honors College sponsors over 20 students' attendance at the annual NCUR meeting.

The grants for Summer 2012 are each in the amount of $3,000 to the student, each payable in three installments (1 June, 1 July, and 1 August), and $500 for the faculty mentor.  Students receiving Summer 2012 URSCA Awards must register for a minimum of three semester hours of classes, which may be research, at Eastern Illinois University during Summer 2012.

The grants for Fall 2012 are each in the amount of $500 to the student and $250 for the faculty mentor.

A Summary Reflection (guidelines) must be submitted to the Honors College Office, Booth House, either 1) by the end of the semester in which the award was made, if you graduating that semester, or 2) by the beginning of the semester following the one in which the award was made, if you are continuing at Eastern. If the research, scholarship, or creative activity is still not completed at this time, please submit an interim progress report addressing as many of the required topics as possible. Failure to submit a Summary Reflection may result in the refusal of future awards and may result in a hold being placed on your records. The Summary Reflection is required in order to maintain an account of past recipients and to identify the actual use of award monies.

Past Recipients of URSCA Funding


Award RecipientProject TitleDepartment
Iwo Gross Linking water quality, body condition, parasitism, and limbs deformities in a pond-breeding salamander (Caudata ambystoma) Biological Sciences
Joshua M. Smith The Growth History of Quartz Crystals from the Youngest Toba Tuff, Sumatra, Indonesia Geology / Geography
Elizabeth J. Surbeck Cross-Cultural Issues in Contemporary Graphic Novels English
Lena Elmuti and William Fernandez Sex and Power: Does Estrogen Control Energy Production in Alzheimer's Disease? Biological Sciences
Shelly Hanson A New Way to Learn: Museum Theatre Theatre Arts
Jennifer Hindes Voices: Poetic Interpretation of Women's Lives English
Jonathan Jones Quantum Computing Using Josephson Junctions Physics
Andrew R. Kunz Palladium and silver modified perovskite thin-films for fuel cell catalysis Chemistry
Sarah Lambeth Integration of Language and Executive Function Measures Communication Disorders and Sciences
Brandon Martin Biodegradation of Organic Pollutants by Caulobacter crescentus Chemistry
Alexander Meadows Computational Study of the Thermal Properties of Nanofluids Physics
Gerald Presley Proteomic and Genomic characterization of xylan metabolism by Caulobacter crescentus Chemistry
Keith Stewart 19th Century Socio-economic Distinctions in England's Footpath System: An In-depth Look at Isaac's Tea Trail English
Jill Vogt Assessment of Skills Related to /r/ Speech Productions Communication Disorders and Sciences
Katelyn Benhoff The Effects of Victim Sex and Participant Sex on Attitudes Toward Rape Victims Psychology
Amanda M. Clevinger A Model for Predicting Statistics Anxiety in College Students Psychology
Stephanie Fanale Awareness of Deficits in Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury Communication Disorders and Sciences
Samantha Flowers Designing and Testing PCR Primers for nifH in an Acidophilic Community Biological Sciences
Matthew Payea Identification of Tat-Pathway Transporters and Their Substrates in Caulobacter crescentus Chemistry
Gerald Presley TonB-Dependant Transporter Knockout and Substrate Utilization in Caulobacter crescentus: A Novel Target for Antibiotics Chemistry
Kristen Schaibly Smallpox Inoculations and Race Relations in the United States English
Kaylin Smith Impact of prebiotics on growth and bile acid metabolism by Clostridium hylemonae Biological Sciences