Welcome to the Online SURF Application Portal!

1. Please review step-by step instructions, with screen-shots, on how to navigate our SM-Apply SURF application.
2. Applications must be initiated by the Research Mentor.
3. People using the Focused/Other or Clutter boxes in their Outlook may find some of our confirmation emails going to their Clutter/Other boxes. You can make adjustments to those boxes. Outlook Help page for Focused Inbox
4. Mentors wishing to work with multiple students must complete a separate application with each student. They should return to the Apply page and start a new application.
5. Research Mentors and Student Collaborators should login to the application with their UWM authentication.
6. The Student Collaborator can begin work on their SURF- Student Information Form as soon as they have received their invitation email. Note: Students should look for an email from SM-Apply, not their faculty mentor. They should also check their Clutter box for the email.
7. The system will save applications when you click on the save button at the bottom of each page, allowing you to return to your application in multiple sessions.
8. Once the Mentor and Collaborator applications are complete, the Mentor will receive an email requesting that the Mentor login again and finalize the submission.
9. If you have questions about creating a SM Apply account, please review the SM Apply FAQ

Program Description:

The SURF program is designed to foster and support faculty-student research collaborations.  We are particularly eager to fund work through which students have the opportunity to engage in thoughtful and progressively sophisticated work central to the overall research program of a principal investigator. We are also eager to see proposals engaging lower-division students and students who have been underrepresented in undergraduate research, including students of color, students with disabilities and, in some disciplines, women. Faculty members may prepare multiple applications if more than one student is to be engaged in the work. Students who have received support from the OUR in the past are not excluded from this funding. Proposals will be evaluated based on the funding priorities of the SURF initiative, which include providing resources for:

• Students
  • who have a record of commitment to research activity (typically, awardees have been involved in the research for credit or as a volunteer before seeking funding)
  • and who see research activity as key to their overall trajectory at UWM
• Research programs
  • that provide progressively sophisticated activities for undergraduates in faculty-led research
  • that provide a pipeline for lower-division students to additional opportunities
  • that are committed to strong outcomes for undergraduate researchers
  • and that promote inclusive excellence
• Faculty, staff, and departments
  • with a demonstrated record of successfully promoting high quality research opportunities for undergraduates
  • and with a record of careful and efficient management of budgets

Special students are not eligible for SURF funding. All students must be enrolled for a minimum of six credits to be eligible (not required for summer SURF). Please contact our office with any questions regarding a student’s eligibility for this award.