Research Experience and Apprenticeship Program (REAP)

1. Review the information in these guidelines for detailed information about the program and the application process.

2. Make sure you are eligible. To be considered for the Hamel Center’s REAP program, you must be enrolled full-time in a UNH or UNHM baccalaureate degree program; must have completed at least one full semester (fall) at the time of application; must have a minimum UNH GPA of 3.8 at the end of fall semester; and must be nominated by the instructor of one of your completed fall semester courses.

3. Make sure you have a nomination from one of your fall semester course instructors. The fall semester course instructor completes the Fall Semester Course Instructor Nomination to nominate a student based upon the quality of the student’s academic work in a fall semester course. A student who is nominated will have 1) demonstrated outstanding work in class; 2) exhibited a high level of maturity and responsibility in meeting all expectations of the course; and 3) exhibited curiosity and imagination in addressing the topics/themes of the course.  Instructors interested in nominating a student may request a nomination form from the Hamel Center director (paul.robertson@unh.edu) or download the form from the Hamel Center website. All Fall Semester Course Instructor Nominations must be received by Dr. Robertson at least one month in advance of the completed application (no later than February 28, 2025).

4. Make sure you have a firm commitment from a UNH faculty mentor.  The fall semester course instructor nominating you may offer to serve as your mentor, recommend another faculty member to serve as your mentor, or refer you to the Hamel Center for help in identifying a mentor. Note: All tenure-track, research, clinical, and extension faculty are eligible to mentor an undergraduate research project funded through the Hamel Center without prior approval.  Other non-tenure-track faculty may be eligible with prior approval.  See complete guidelines on faculty mentor eligibility.

5. Meet with the Hamel Center director, Dr. Paul Robertson, no later than February 28, 2025.  Before meeting with Dr. Robertson, students must have a firm commitment from 1) a faculty nominator and 2) a faculty research mentor (which in some cases might be the same person).  Applications submitted by students who have not met with Dr. Robertson will not be accepted.

6. Secure a letter of recommendation from a UNH faculty member.  For a complete REAP application, you will need one Fall Semester Course Instructor Nomination (submitted at least one month in advance of the application deadline) and one UNH Faculty Recommendation (submitted no later than the application deadline).  The Letter of Recommendation should come from a UNH faculty member with whom you have had coursework or other supervised academic experience (e.g. work in a lab, in a studio, etc.).  There are various ways in which this requirement may be fulfilled:

Complete and sign the top portion of the REAP Faculty Recommendation Form and give it to your faculty recommender as soon as possible.

7.   Meet with your faculty mentor to discuss the proposed REAP activities.  Given that REAP is an apprenticeship program, your faculty mentor will be expected to write the proposal and to complete the budget form (if you are requesting expense funds); but, you should plan to discuss with your mentor the research objectives/goals and the research plan.

8.   Determine if your project will require approval from a University review committee.  Certain types of research are subject to federal regulations and University guidelines. For example, any projects involving interviews, surveys or questionnaires – i.e., all having to do with human subjects – must receive approval from UNH’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) before the research begins.  Similarly, research involving vertebrate animals, infectious agents, DEA controlled substances, lasers, x-rays, hazardous chemicals, radioactive materials, carcinogenic material, recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules, NMR/superconducting magnets, and/or patents and copyrights must receive approval from the appropriate University review committee before the research begins.  If you have questions about how to obtain research approval, talk with your faculty mentor or a Hamel Center staff member.  You do not need to submit written evidence of this approval with your REAP application; however, if you are granted an award, the Hamel Center must receive confirmation of approval from the appropriate University review committee before dispensing your award money.  So, it is in your best interest to begin the approval process before or at the time of your application.  Read more about responsible conduct of research here.

9.    Prepare a draft of your “Project Understanding and Statement of Interest” essays, allowing ample time for revisions, edits, and proofreading before the application deadline. 

10.  Get the final Apprenticeship Proposal and Budget Form from your faculty mentor ahead of the application deadline, and submit your complete application by the deadline. 

The REAP Apprenticeship Proposal should be completed by the REAP faculty mentor, but it will be submitted by the student as part of the complete application.

For Mentors: 

REAP is an apprenticeship experience intended to prepare talented students, after their first year, for advanced research, scholarly, or creative work, including opportunities sponsored by the Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research, the senior thesis, and other capstone experiences.  With this in mind, REAP activities should deepen the student’s understanding of how knowledge is developed and interpreted within the discipline or across disciplines and of the approaches, theories, methodologies, and techniques employed by faculty in their own work.  REAP students may assist their mentor in his/her research activities or may pursue research specifically designed for the apprenticeship under the mentor’s guidance.

Following the proposal outline and prompts below, please describe the research, scholarly, or creative project to be undertaken by the REAP applicant during the summer.  When describing the project (topic, background, objectives, and week-by-week research plan), please provide sufficient detail, keeping in mind that reviewers may not be familiar with your particular discipline. Proposals should be accessible to colleagues who are not experts in your field.  

In the spirit of apprenticeship, we encourage you to involve the REAP applicant in the preparation of this proposal as much as possible.  For example, you might engage the student in a series of conversations about the research topic; guide the student in how to identify appropriate previous research on the topic (including how to do a proper literature review using the library); familiarize the student with the necessary tools for conducting the proposed research activities.  

Apprenticeship Proposal: 

[Page 1]

Title page:

• Program name (REAP)
• Project Title
• Student’s Name and Major(s)
• Faculty Mentor’s Name and Department
• Research Location(s):  principal location of project work; other research sites to which the student will travel

[Page 2]

Project Summary (one page maximum, single-spaced)

1. Project Summary (200 words maximum): concisely summarize the project and its goals (i.e., topic, background, research question/hypothesis, significance)
2. Objectives (list 2-5, one bullet point each): What are your specific objectives for the research and for the student’s learning during the summer?
3. Timetable (one line or row per week maximum, using bullet points or a table): What activities will the student engage in to meet the research and learning objectives above?  Note: A successful REAP project will require a substantial amount of time, effort, energy, and focus to complete. The estimated research plan or timetable should anticipate 10 weeks of full-time research.

[Page 3]

Mentoring and Research Plan (one page maximum, approximately one paragraph per question)

• What is the relationship between the proposed project and your own research or areas of expertise?
• What is the student’s specific research role in the project?
• What are your plans for mentoring the student? 
• What will be the nature of your communication and collaboration (e.g., weekly meetings, daily briefings, training sessions, etc.)? Please keep in mind that the faculty mentor is expected to assume the primary mentoring responsibilities for REAP, even if other individuals, such as graduate students, are involved in the proposed research activities.

Please save the proposal as a PDF to be uploaded to the online application portal.  Use this naming format: StudentLastname_StudentFirstname_REAP_Proposal

Please review the following instructions before completing the Budget Form.

The Budget Form should be completed by the REAP Faculty Mentor (in consultation with the student). Together, mentor and student should determine as accurately as possible the estimated expenses for the apprenticeship project. List each item and its exact cost per unit, and briefly note its importance to the project. You may request up to a maximum of $600 for expenses directly related to the completion of the project. We encourage you to prioritize project expenses to ensure that the most essential research costs are covered first. Note: Expense awards only cover costs directly related to the completion of the project.  They do not cover the cost of copying a final research report/paper, or costs associated with presenting the research, such as research posters.

Note:  The Hamel Center may not be able to fund all of the project’s expenses. It is understood that the budget represents your best estimate of the costs. The budget should represent the total amount without which the project will not be possible.  If this total exceeds $600, please use the “Contributions from Other Sources” chart on p. 2 of the Budget Form to indicate the sources (including personal) from which the remaining expenses will be drawn. 

• Supplies: These include, but are not limited to: note-taking supplies (e.g. paper/notebooks, pens/pencils), art supplies, supplies for lab or field work (e.g. chemicals, lab animals, etc.).  You should provide the exact cost of each item. You may do this by looking through supply catalogs, or shopping around. If you are ordering supplies from a company off-campus, be sure to include the cost of shipping and handling.
• Travel Expenses: Travel expenses may include the student’s commute from his/her summer residence to the designated research site or sites.  These may include sites on the UNH campus or off campus (e.g. libraries, archives, museums, and the field). Travel using a personal vehicle will be reimbursed at the IRS Standard mileage rate in effect at the time of travel. The current rate is available at Procedure 07-002 Website for Travel References. Compute mileage for travel by car based on this rate.  Where possible, students are strongly encouraged to consider public transportation, which is often cheaper.  Include only those travel expenses related to the completion of the project.  Please take note of these particular guidelines:
  • If UNH will be the primary research site, travel expenses may include a $50 summer parking pass for the student. 
  • Travel expenses may not include food/lodging expenses (e.g. if a hotel stay is necessary during off-campus/field research). 
  • REAP funds may not be used for the costs of presenting research results. If the student wishes to present the results of the research at a professional conference or meeting, there is a separate Research Presentation Grant for which s/he may apply after the research is complete.
• Other Expenses: This category refers to any expenses in the following areas – photocopies, phone calls, postage, special fees for access to research sites, fees for instrument time, or services rendered – along with any expenses that might not be covered within the other categories. Most of these items should be calculated by the number needed for the research project and the cost for each. For example, 100 photocopies multiplied by 10 cents each will give you the total amount of $10 needed. For “services rendered,” you should contact the person or department where the work will be done for an estimate of the cost.
• Permanent Equipment: While the Hamel Center is willing to provide support for permanent equipment necessary to the apprenticeship project, we may request that the faculty mentor’s home department share the cost of such equipment. Non-expendable items purchased with REAP funds (e.g., books, computer software, music recordings/sheet music, electronics, mechanical equipment, durable lab equipment) are University property and must be returned to the University once the project is complete. Please take note of these particular guidelines:  
  • Software: The Hamel Center will approve the cost of software only in special instances, and where the applicant provides a clear rationale for needing to purchase the software – as opposed to accessing the software through other University resources. Several software applications (including SPSS) are available for use at no cost by the entire campus through a central UNH network license. Faculty and students can access these licensed applications through their own personal computers or through the campus-wide computer clusters. Thus, student-faculty teams who are requesting Hamel Center grant funds to support the cost of software must include in their application a clear explanation of why the purchase of software is necessary to the success of the research project.  For more information about UNH Academic Software Applications available through network license, see https://td.usnh.edu/TDClient/KB/ArticleDet?ID=770 
  • Books:  If you include books among the project expenses, you must verify that these books are not available through the UNH Library system, including Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and the Boston Library Consortium (BLC).  See www.library.unh.edu for more information.
• Save the Budget as a PDF to be uploaded by the student to the online application portal.  Use this naming format: StudentLastname_StudentFirstname_REAP_Budget

Student Applicant: Please respond to the questions below in a maximum of two (2) pages total (typed, single-spaced, Times New Roman 12-pt font with one-inch margins). 

At the top of the document, please include: the name of the document (REAP: Project Understanding and Statement of Interest), your name and major(s), your faculty mentor’s name and department.

Please respond to the following, using each number/question as a section heading. Your answers should be approximately one paragraph for each question.

1. What is your understanding of the proposed REAP research topic (i.e., the general problem/issue/question to be addressed) and why it is significant?
2. What is your understanding of the proposed REAP research activities and their specific aims/objectives?
3. Why are you interested in this research topic?
4. What past experiences (academic and non-academic) do you think have prepared you for the proposed REAP project?
5. How is this proposed project related to your educational and/or long-term career goals? 

Your answers above will be evaluated on their detail and clarity; your understanding of the project (topic, activities, significance); and your preparation and enthusiasm for engaging in the REAP experience. 

Save the statement as a PDF to be uploaded to the online application portal.  Use this naming format: Lastname_Firstname_REAP_Statement

Complete the top portion of the REAP Faculty Recommendation Form and give the form to your faculty recommender well in advance of the application deadline.  Your recommender will be responsible for uploading the form and their letter of recommendation to the online portal no later than the application deadline.

Each application is reviewed by at least three UNH faculty members drawn from a range of disciplines and colleges. An application may receive a maximum of 30 points from each reviewer.  Applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1.    Quality of the Apprenticeship Proposal: 10 points

• Is the proposed project well defined, with clear learning objectives and potential educational value for the student?
• Is the proposal complete and detailed? Are all parts clearly explained in accordance with the proposal outline?
• Does the project timetable provide sufficient details of activities to be carried out by the student apprentice?
• Is there a detailed and clearly articulated mentoring plan?
• Is the project manageable and appropriate for the REAP time frame (i.e., anticipating 10 weeks of full-time research/apprenticeship)?

2.    Quality of the Student’s Project Understanding and Statement of Interest: 12 points

• Are the student’s answers well developed and written clearly?
• Does the student demonstrate a sound understanding of the proposed REAP project and what the research activities will entail? 
• Is the student prepared for engaging in the REAP experience? 
• Does the student exhibit enthusiasm for the REAP experience?
• Does the student articulate a clear relationship between the REAP project and his/her academic goals?

 3.   Appropriateness of the Budget: 2 points

• Is the budget itemized?
• Is it clear why the items are necessary to the project?

 4.   Faculty Recommendation and Fall Semester Course Instructor Nomination: 6 points

• Does the student demonstrate good potential for planning and carrying out the proposed research activities in the time period allowed? 
• Does the student have both academic abilities and personal qualities that will enable him/her to undertake a successful summer research apprenticeship? 

Notification:  All student applicants and their faculty mentors will be notified of the review committee’s decision in writing by April 15.  If the application is successful, the student and mentor will be asked to sign a Letter of Intent and will receive further program information, including procedures for receiving the stipend and expense award.

In addition to the expectation that the student-mentor team will conduct/complete the research project proposed in the application, the REAP award comes with the following requirements:

1. Final Report: to be completed by the student, describing the project and findings (~2000 words).
2. Final Evaluation: to be completed electronically by both the student and faculty mentor. 
3. Letter of Appreciation: to be written by the student to the sponsoring donor(s).

Presentation of Research: REAP students are encouraged (though not required) to present the results of their research in an appropriate forum (e.g., to a class, to department majors and/or faculty, at an on- or off-campus conference).  UNH’s Undergraduate Research Conference, held each spring, offers an excellent opportunity for presenting your research. 

REAP students are also encouraged to consider publishing a research brief, commentary, or article in Inquiry, UNH’s online undergraduate research journal, and/or to contribute to the Hamel Center’s Undergraduate Research Blog.