Mary Ann Bolton Undergraduate Research Award

• First Place - $1,200

• Two (2) Runners-up - $800

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Eligibility

• Full-time, undergraduate students at UNI from any major at the time of project completion are eligible to participate. This includes students who graduated in 2021.
• Projects must have been completed for a UNI credit-bearing course OR for a faculty-mentored project, in any format or medium (e.g., print, video, painting, photograph, website, mobile application, 3D models, construction).
• Projects must have been completed no earlier than spring semester 2021.
• Projects must be original work and not previously published.
• Individual and group projects are eligible. Applications must come from individual students, and the essay must reflect the work of that student. However, the project may be individual or group / collaborative work.
• A completed application includes a personal essay, a final version of the research paper or creative work (except for honors theses), a letter of support, and a copy of the assignment or project requirements. All four parts must be included for the project to be eligible for evaluation.
• If a student submits more than one project to be considered for an award, each project must be complete and distinct, and each requires a separate letter of support. Each student will only be eligible to win one award during an award year.
• Eligible applicants from the past year are encouraged to apply again.

Submission Process and Guidelines

Applicants are required to complete and submit the following:

• An online application form, including a short abstract describing the project 
• Upload the following through the application form:
  1. A personal essay of 800 to 1,200 words (not including citations). The essay can be used to inform the committee about the research process, research tools used, project, and/or other criteria spelled out in the rubric linked below.
  2. A final version of the research project/creative work including a complete bibliography of resources. (In the case of honors theses, a Complete Rough Draft may be submitted, but will be judged as a final product.) The award winner will be encouraged to have their essay and project made publicly accessible through UNI ScholarWorks.
  3. A letter of support from a faculty member familiar with the applicant and his/her project. If extenuating circumstances prevent you from securing a letter, please explain. If the faculty member would like to submit their letter confidentially, they may email it to the committee at boltonaward@uni.edu.
  4. A copy of the assignment or project requirements.

The complete evaluation rubric is available here.

​Please note: All final projects and other application materials must be submitted electronically in order to be considered.