• Any currently-enrolled degree-seeking undergraduate student at the University of Utah is eligible to be nominated for the award.  

• Nominees DO NOT need to have participated in UROP or SPUR.  

• The student may be engaged in any type of research or creative scholarship on campus.  

• We recommend that you consider all students working with your college’s/school’s faculty as eligible even if they are not majors in your college/school.  

• The nomination by the college of a student may be an individual student awardee or a “team” that has a record/history of working on a research project. 

 

Please note for College of Science, College of Engineering, and College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, their colleges may submit up to two students, two teams or a team and an individual student to be awarded. All other colleges may submit either an individual or a team to be awarded. For colleges that submit more than allowed, the advisory council will review and make a final determination of whom / who to award. 

 Eligible OUR Mentor Awardees:

• Tenure-line or career-line faculty at the University of Utah are eligible to be nominated for the award.  
• Nominees must have mentored students in UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) or SPUR (Summer Program for Undergraduate Research) in the past 3 years. 
• The faculty mentor must be engaged in research or creative scholarship and teaching on campus.  

Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awardee Criteria

• Record of sustained commitment to developing research skills and knowledge under the supervision of a faculty mentor
• Evidence of independent and critical thinking
• Active participation in research-related activities on campus
• Positive contributions to the research culture of the Department, College, and University

Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardee Criteria

• Record of sustained commitment to undergraduate research mentoring
• Active participation in research-related activities on campus
• Positive contributions to the research and teaching culture of the Department, College, and University

 

Each Spring, representatives from each college dean's office collect nominations and select the year's Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher and Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awardees for their college (one faculty, one student). Recipients and their faculty research mentors are celebrated at an annual undergraduate research awards ceremony.

Effective for the awards ceremony 2026

Deadline for nominations by the college:

March 1, 2026

Nominations review and vote of approval:

• Undergraduate Research Advisory Council receives nomination packets for review after March 1
• Undergraduate Research Advisory convenes in mid-March to approve all nominations

Informing the awardees:

In late March, recipients are informed by the Office of Undergraduate Research of the award and invited to the awards ceremony.