Request for Proposals
2009 Wellness Scholars Awards Program
North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness

2009 Wellness Scholars Flyer

Overview
To encourage and support undergraduate research on health promotion, the North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness will be awarding one-year grant awards to students conducting independent projects on health-oriented topics.  We are especially interested in applied research or program evaluation focused on obesity prevention, employee wellness, or healthy aging in seniors.  However, we welcome applications for projects in any area of health promotion (e.g., smoking cessation, exercise motivation, health education, health marketing strategies, environmental health, economics of disease prevention).  Topics of Wellness Scholar Award recipients in the previous two years are posted on line at http://www.unca.edu/ncwell/pages/wellscholars08.htm and

http://www.unca.edu/ncwell/pages/wellscholars07.htm.

Eligibility
Wellness Scholar applicants should be currently enrolled juniors or seniors at UNCA with an expected graduation date no sooner than May, 2009.  Students from any discipline are encouraged to apply, but applicants must have a faculty advisor willing to oversee their project.  Applicants cannot simultaneously receive financial support for research from any other campus program (e.g., the Wellness Starter Grant Program, the Undergraduate Research Program).

Funds Available
Wellness Scholar recipients will receive a research award of $1000.  In addition, applicants can request funding for equipment or supplies (up to $500) and travel to a regional or national conference to present research findings (up to $400).  The grant funding period will begin as soon as decisions are made (no later than the start of the 2009 spring semester), and can extend through December, 2009.

Application

1. Cover page: (a) project title; (b) applicant name, address, phone, email address, and expected date of graduation; and (c) faculty advisor name, department, phone, and email address.

 

2. Project description (maximum of 1000 words), including each of the following sections:

  • Overview of project (background and significance; if not obvious, please describe relevance to health promotion)
  • Specific goals or objectives
  • Research design and methods (description of participants, procedures or intervention, and measures or method of evaluation)
  • Timeline for completion, including expected presentation or publication outlets

 

3. Budget.  Provide a description and estimated cost of supplies for which you are requesting funding ($500 maximum).  If applying for travel funds, give as much information as possible about the conference at which you anticipate presenting (e.g., date, place, likelihood of acceptance).  Travel money ($400 maximum) can be used for hotel costs, conference fees, meals, and mileage or airfare.

 

4. Faculty advisor letter of support.  Ask your research advisor to submit a statement (up to 350 words) describing your project as it relates to the evaluation criteria described below.  Faculty should also comment on the time they expect to be able to contribute to supervising your project.  Support letters should be mailed electronically, by the deadline, to himelein@unca.edu.

Submission

The deadline for proposal submission is Thursday, November 20th (5:00 p.m.).  Please send your proposal electronically to Dr. Melissa Himelein (himelein@unca.edu). 

 

Review Procedures

Proposals will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Research Program Advisory Council (URPAC).  Please be sure to write proposals so that they can be easily understood by individuals in a variety of disciplines.  The Committee will notify applicants of their decisions prior to the end of the fall, 2008, semester.

 

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Contribution the proposed research makes to an important issue in health promotion or disease prevention
  • Feasibility of successful completion of the research project
  • Probability of the research resulting in a refereed presentation or publication
  • Completeness of the research proposal

Terms of Award
All Wellness Scholars are required to present a paper at UNCA’s Spring (April 3, 2009) or Fall (November, 2009) Undergraduate Research Symposium.  Wellness Scholars are also encouraged to submit their work for presentation at a regional or national conference, or to publish their writing in an appropriate academic journal.  Copies of your final presentation(s) or publication should be submitted electronically to Dr. Himelein.  

Equipment or travel money that is not used during the grant period will revert to UNC Asheville.  In exceptional cases, extensions may be granted for travel funding to be used after the grant year has ended.

For More Information

Please feel free to contact Dr. Melissa Himelein (himelein@unca.edu), Department of Psychology, with questions about any aspect of the Wellness Scholars Program.