Program information

Any current undergraduate student who is engaged in research or creative activity under the guidance of a faculty/staff mentor is welcome to apply. NOTE: Not all undergraduate students who completed a research or creative activity as part of a classroom project, senior thesis, or capstone will be eligible for the program. Students must demonstrate that they went above and beyond the expectations of coursework to be considered for the URC Laureate distinction. Details should be included in the application and mentor letter of support that speak to how the student exceeded the requirements of the classroom project/senior thesis/capstone.

Students may apply at any point during their academic career but should apply prior to their graduation. Students who have already graduated but would have met the program requirements while enrolled can retroactively apply up to one year after graduation.

Please contact srcel@uwlax.edu for more information. Distinction as a URC Laureate is ongoing once achieved, so students who have already received the distinction should not apply a second time.

Eligible students must complete the following requirements:

1. Complete a research or creative experience that is a semester-long or longer overseen by a faculty/staff mentor, such as:
   1. An independent research/creative project
   2. A senior thesis or capstone project
      1. Participation in a classroom research experience does not automatically qualify a student for the URC Laureate Program. Students must demonstrate that they went above and beyond the requirements of the senior thesis or capstone project to receive the URC Laureate distinction.
   3. Another eligible research or creative activity
      1. Please contact srcel@uwlax.edu to inquire about a specific activity's eligibility for the program.
2. Present the research results or creative piece at a professional public venue, such as a professional conference or gallery. The venue can be multidisciplinary or discipline specific. SRCEL-sponsored venues, the UWL Art Gallery, and Tolland Theatre count towards this requirement.
3. Digitally disseminate the results of the research by submitting a digital work to be uploaded to the URC Laureate digital collection in Murphy Library. The submission can be:
   1. A full research paper, report, or evaluation OR
   2. A photo, video, or audio file of a creative piece

NOTE: Students who have already published or licensed the results of their research externally can provide SRCEL with a link to the publication/licensed work instead. Eligible published/licensed works must list the applying student(s) as a co-author. If there are any pending or intended external publications related to the research, the student(s) should submit a placeholder to be uploaded to the URC digital collection that is either:

1. A student-written research paper, report, or evaluation with limited redactions and/or vague methods/results sections
2. A clip of the student's performance or musical piece that does not violate fair use doctrine

The student(s) and mentor(s) must work together to ensure that the placeholder will not cause any intellectual property, plagiarism, or copyright concerns with the pending/intended external publication/licensed work. Please contact srcel@uwlax.edu with any questions or concerns.

Once students have fulfilled all three requirements, they must apply for the program and submit all necessary application materials to be considered for the URC Laureate Program. A student who has completed multiple research/creative projects only needs to submit an application for one project that meets all of the program requirements. The selected project could have been completed at any point during the student's undergraduate career (for example, a graduating senior could submit an application for a qualifying project that they completed as a sophomore).

The URC Laureate Program is not competitive, so all students who apply and SRCEL determines have met the program requirements will receive the URC Laureate distinction.

• Ongoing Academic Recognition: Being a URC Laureate is an academic accolade that can be listed on graduate school or job applications. Laureates are also permanently featured on our webpage.
• Certificate & Pin: Laureates receive a personalized certificate of recognition and a pin to wear at graduation.
• Digital Work: The full research papers, photos, videos, and/or audio files that URC Laureates submit are uploaded to a digital collection in Murphy Library. This results in a digital publication that URC Laureates can always access and link to on graduate school or job applications, add to personal websites or digital portfolios, etc.
• Non-Credit Microcredential & Digital Badge: SRCEL and GEL are in the process of establishing a non-credit microcredential (NCMC) and digital badge connected to the URC Laureate Program. URC Laureates would receive a NCMC for Undergraduate Research and/or Creativity that would be included on their transcripts. The NCMC would also include a digital badge that can be added to online resumes, LinkedIn profiles, email signatures, etc. The badge’s metadata would include information about the URC Laureate Program and the practical skills that URC Laureates have gained from their research and/or creative experience.

Students who completed an eligible research/creative project as part of a group should have their mentor submit one application listing all interested and eligible students who contributed to the project. Each student must have fulfilled the requirements of the program, meaning that everyone applying must have contributed to the digital submission/external publication and presented the research at a qualifying venue.

Faculty/staff mentors should also enroll in the Canvas course as they will have to submit the program materials to their respective assignments.

• Each project requires its own application form and letter of support, so if a mentor has more than one student applying for the URC Laureate Program in a semester, they will need to submit multiple of each (unless it was a group project, in which case only one form and one letter is required per project).
• The mentor letter of support should be 1-2 pages long and unique to each project. Likewise, it should highlight the specific achievements of the students involved in each project.

Classroom/senior thesis/capstone projects: The URC Laureate Program is intended for students who participated in research/creative pursuits above and beyond the requirements of their coursework. Not all students who participated in a classroom project, senior thesis, or capstone project will be eligible for the program. If the submitted project was for a classroom project/senior thesis/capstone, the mentor should clearly detail in the application form and letter of support how the student(s) exceeded the expectations of the classroom project/senior thesis/capstone project and why they believe the student is deserving of the URC Laureate distinction. Mentors who have questions about a student who completed this type of experience and whether they qualify can email the SREL Coordinator at nbakken@uwlax.edu.

Group projects: Only one application form and one letter of support is required for group projects. Both should include the names of the students involved in the project; the letter of support should delineate how each student contributed to the project and the digital submission or externally published/licensed work.

Multiple mentors: If more than one mentor was involved in each project, only one of the mentors needs to submit the application form (with all mentors listed), the student's digital submission, and the mentor letter of support. However, each mentor is welcome to submit a letter of support if they would like, especially if they feel it will enhance the overall application.

There are two deadlines a year for URC Laureate Program applications, five weeks in advance of the Spring and Fall graduation dates. This allows SRCEL time to review applications and verify each student's eligibility for the program.

• For 2025:
  • The Spring application deadline is Friday, April 11*.
  • The Fall application deadline is Friday, November 7.

*Students presenting at the 2025 Research & Creativity Symposium (ReCS) or UWs Symposium to fulfill the presentation part of the program requirement can still apply by this deadline. Students and mentors should fill out the presentation section of the application form with the prospective information for the symposium. These students can pick up their certificate and pin at/after the event. Failure to present at the event may result in the student's recognition being rescinded until they can identify and participate in another presentation opportunity.

Applications can be submitted any time prior to either deadline as they will be reviewed by SRCEL on a rolling basis. Students with missing/insufficient materials will be contacted by SRCEL and be given an opportunity to amend their applications until the week prior to the end of the semester in which they applied. If students need more time to finalize their submission for publication, they can submit a draft prior to the application deadline to serve as a placeholder and then submit a revised version to srcel@uwlax.edu any time prior to the graduation date for that semester. Submissions will not be uploaded to the digital collection in Murphy Library until after that semester's graduation date.

Students will be notified of their final application status at least one week prior to the end of the semester in which they applied.

Students who qualify for the URC Laureate Program will be able to retrieve their personalized certificate and pin from SRCEL staff either at the check-in desk during the Research & Creativity Symposium or from the SRCEL office (for Spring 2025, 339G Wimberly) during finals week.