Dean's Summer Research Program FAQ
Eligibility
What previous funding would preclude faculty applicants from a 2026 summer award?
2025 Dean’s Summer Research Award
2025 Hardie Faculty Fellowship
2026 BER Seed Funding Award
Does the faculty member need to submit the application or do students need to submit the application?
These awards are made to faculty members, and the application must be submitted by the faculty applicant.Is a retired faculty member eligible to apply?
No. The program should benefit both faculty and students. Interested students may contact other faculty members who share similar research interests.
Can one student work with more than one professor’s project?
Splitting one student’s time across two or more faculty Summer Research Program projects is not recommended.
Is a student advisor's signature or recommendation letter required?
No. This program is intended to support faculty research conducted in collaboration with a selected graduate student and must be submitted by the faculty applicant. Letters of recommendation or additional signatures are not required.
Are online or off-campus EdD students eligible for this program?
Yes. The faculty member may select a student who is online or off-campus. Because online students are not eligible for research assistantships, they would be paid on an hourly basis if the project is funded. However, priority will be given to Ph.D. students.
What limits apply to international student collaborators?
Please refer to International Student and Scholar Services' website for more information.
May a faculty member work with a student from another campus unit?
No. This program is intended to support COE faculty research while also extending support for COE graduate students.
Use of Funds
Will the program support students for more than 20 hours per week?
Campus policy allows full-time graduate students to work up to 100% of their time during summer months. However, this program will only support an assistantship of up to 50% (20 hours a week) for 8 weeks.
May the student collaborator be part of this project if also grant-funded on another project during the summer?
Yes, students may receive summer salary across multiple projects, as long as the total across all of their funding sources is at most 100% time in total. Students with partial funding from other sources may be offered a summer appointment at a percentage that does not push their total paid time above 100%.
If a faculty has grant funding for a student during the summer, would this disqualify them from applying to the Dean’s Summer Research program?
No. Faculty with multiple students may apply for the Dean’s Summer Research program. However, faculty are encouraged to allocate grant funding for student support whenever possible. A faculty member with other potential funding sources for students must disclose this in the application. As an example, a student may be funded for 20 hours from a grant and apply for an additional 10-20 hours through this program, but this combination must be disclosed in the application for this Dean’s Summer Research Program.
Can this program support the student’s dissertation research?
No. The Dean’s summer research program does not support student dissertation projects. Please refer to the COE Dissertation Award program, the Graduate College Dissertation Completion Fellowship, and to external opportunities for dissertation support. (Suggestion: use the GrantForward funding search tool, with free access for UIUC faculty, staff and students..)
Timing
What project start and end dates can be used?
Applicants are strongly urged to start student summer appointments using the regular campus budget cycle, which starts on the 16th of the month. Student appointments must otherwise be processed as hourly appointments, which could calculate to a lesser amount for students.
The proposal submission interface will offer three options:
5/16/25 - 7/15/25
6/16/25 - 8/15/25
Other (to be articulated and explained by the applicant)
Must both the faculty member and student be available for the same full 8-week period?
No - as long as the student has assigned work while the faculty is away, that’s fine.
Can the student work from outside the country during the funded period?
As long as the faculty member provides appropriate supervision, yes.
Must the funds be used only during the summer? The appropriate conference will be held in the fall.
Travel funds can be used any time during AY25-26 (June 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026).
What if a faculty does not have a student identified with whom they can work?
Proposals without identified students will not be considered. Faculty must seek out and establish an appropriate match themselves.
What if a student is interested but has yet to identify a faculty member with whom to work?
Matching MUST be faculty-initiated. Students are encouraged to seek out and connect with faculty whose work may intersect with their interests.
Who has priority for requested pairings: full-time Ph.D. students, Ed.D. students, master’s students, etc.?
Pairings with doctoral students (Ph.D. or Ed.D.) have priority. Pairings with master’s thesis students doing research will be considered if sufficient funds remain once eligible professor/doctoral student pairs are supported.
May a faculty member apply for two separate students and work with both of them in a team?
Because resources to support this pilot program are finite, the goal is to reach as many faculty as possible, one award per faculty member. Faculty could identify more than one possible student collaborator at the time of application, but would then need to make a final choice at time of award.
Could we budget for more than 20 hours/week to offset the travel week (e.g., 2 weeks at 22 hours/week + 5 weeks at 23 hours/week)?
No. The additional funding is only for those who plan to travel. You can utilize that funding for other research expenses if applicable.
Proposal Contents
What is the expected format for the Timeline page? Are you asking for dates and deliverables with explanations? Or is it supposed to be more of a traditional timeline figure with deadlines?
The faculty applicant is asked to include a timeline in the submission packet, to demonstrate that the faculty-student pair have engaged in some measure of project planning and feasibility and that the 8-week summer period will be useful for their joint goals. There is no preferred format. The main deliverable will be the publication, conference presentation, or submitted funding proposal. On this basis, please prepare a document you feel best communicates your joint plan.