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Undergraduate Student Research Award

Undergradresearchaward

About the Award

The University Libraries recognizes the excellence and creativity of students through the annual Library Research Award for Undergraduates. The award is given to undergraduates who demonstrate outstanding ability to find, evaluate, and synthesize library and other information resources in the creation of an original course project, either as an individual, or as a group. This award was established through the generosity of The Kenneth S. and Faye G. Allen Library Endowment and Libraries’ Excellence fund.  Since its inception, more than $100,000 has been awarded to students!

Questions?

FAQs
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Awards

The number of awards varies from six to ten awards each year.

  • Upper Division Thesis – $1000
  • Upper Division Non-Thesis – $1000
  • Lower Division (students with fewer than 90 college-level credits) – $1000
  • Honorable Mentions – $500
  • Separate award: Population Health Award – $250

A Note About Financial Aid

The award may affect your financial aid. Please consult your financial aid advisor.

Dates and Deadlines

  • Submissions Open: April 1, 2026 
  • Application Deadline, April 20, 2026 
  • Reception: June 5, 2026
20240107 Houston Pregame R5120

See Winning Research Projects!

The winning applications for the Research Award for Undergraduates represent a diverse spectrum of subjects, perspectives and formats, offering many thought-provoking ideas and research opportunities showcasing UW excellence and innovation.

View Winners

Eligibility

  • Open to undergraduates on all three campuses for projects completed Spring 2025 – Spring 2026
  • Individual and group projects are eligible
  • Projects completed for UW course credit, for the Undergraduate Research Program (URP), or the Undergraduate Research Symposium anytime Spring 2025 – Spring 2026
  • Projects accepted in any format or medium, including but not limited to written papers, posters, art, websites, or musical compositions
  • Projects accepted in any language, but reflective essay must be in English
  • Individual and group projects are eligible.  Each student will be judged individually for group projects.

Required Application Materials

The application has four parts: a reflective essay, a research project, bibliography and instructor recommendation. The following information is intended to help you develop your application and improve your chances for success.

Application
Instructor Form

Your application must include a 500-1,000 word reflective essay describing your research strategies, and use of library tools and resources. This essay should provide the reviewers with information about your research process and the way you approached your research, responded to challenges, redirected inquiry, and demonstrate your growth in using disciplinary information tools and resources.

Essay Components

Your essay must address 3 broad themes: process, search strategy, and use of resources, each offering a lens through which to narrate your research experience. Consider the following questions and suggestions as you draft your essay.

Process

Theme 1

Outline the strategies employed in your information search

  • What strategies did you use for conducting your search for information? How did you begin, and how did you proceed?
  • Did your approach for finding information change as you learned more about your topic? If so, how? Did anything cause you to redirect or rethink your strategies?
  • What did you learn about the research process as a result of this experience? How will it inform your work moving forward?

Search Strategy

Theme 2

Describe your overarching methodology in information sourcing

  • What was your overall approach to finding information on your topic?
  • If you encountered any “roadblocks”  or “dead ends” in finding information, how did you navigate them?
  • If you had difficulty finding sources for information you needed, how did you fill in those gaps?
  • What specific search techniques and vocabulary did you use?
  • How thorough were you in searching for information?  Were you able to uncover unique or hard-to-find sources on your topic?

Resource Use

Theme 3

Elaborate on your discoveries regarding research tools and techniques

  • What specifically did you discover about tools and techniques for research?
  • What library resources or services did you utilize for this research project?
    • Library resources and services may include but are not limited to: research guides, article databases, UW Libraries search, monographs, media, archives and special collections, reference and consultation services (in person or online), subject librarians, and interlibrary loan.
  • What did you learn about finding and evaluating information on your topic or in your discipline? How did you go about selecting the most appropriate sources for your research project? What criteria did you use?

We accept a variety of research projects for consideration for the Library Research Award. Projects can be in any language. Accepted project formats include but are not limited to:

  • Written research essays or papers
  • Senior thesis or capstone projects
  • Multimodal projects
    • Infographics
    • Podcasts
    • Websites
    • Documentaries
    • Digital Stories
  • Digital scholarship projects
  • Literature Reviews, especially those from the Sciences/STEM
  • Artwork
  • Music composition
  • Performances (video submission)
  • A speech
  • Research posters

When preparing your bibliography keep in mind these points:

  • Format your bibliography using a style guide appropriate to your project’s discipline. See our Citations and Writing Guide for help using APA, CBE, Chicago and MLA style guides.
  • Cite all sources you used, even if you did not directly quote from them.
  • Review your project and make sure each in-text citation has a corresponding reference in your bibliography.
  • For long bibliographies, subdividing your sources into categories may be helpful, although an alphabetical list is also acceptable.

Send the Instructor Support Form to your course instructor. They will provide an assessment of your use of research strategies and tools in your project, and how it fits in your discipline. The form can be filled out by faculty, TAs, and instructors.

Evaluation Criteria

The three student components — reflective essay (30 points), project (20 points), and bibliography (10 points) — will be judged on how well student researchers demonstrate:

  • Unusual depth or broadness in the use of library resources and collections, including, but not limited to, printed resources, databases, primary resources, and materials in all media.
  • Extraordinary ability to identify, locate, select, evaluate, and synthesize library resources and to use them in the creation of a project in any medium that shows originality and/or has the potential to lead to original research in the future.
  • Demonstration of significant personal knowledge in the methods of research and inquiry.

The following rubrics are used to evaluate these three components of your application:

Developing
(1-10 points)

Competent
(11-20 points)

Accomplished
(21-30 points)

Process

  • Fails to explain or reconstruct the search process
  • Does not offer insights on how the project contributed to student’s overall growth as a scholar

Process

  • Explains or reconstructs the search process in vague terms
  • Offers limited insights on how the project contributed to student’s overall growth as a scholar

Process

  • Explains or reconstructs the search process with clear detail
  • Offers in-depth insights on how the project contributed to student’s overall growth as a scholar

Search Strategy

  • Search strategies not described
  • Does not demonstrate ability to adjust search strategy when an obstacle is encountered
  • Does not demonstrate ability to address unmet challenges and information gaps, and/or to respond to failure
  • No evidence of use of basic search techniques
  • Lacks use of flexible and creative approaches to search language
  • Selected sources display little awareness of the need for in-depth digging for research materials throughout the research process.

Search Strategy

  • Search strategies described in vague or general terms
  • Demonstrates limited ability to adjust search strategy when an obstacle is encountered
  • Demonstrates limited ability to address unmet challenges and information gaps, and/or to respond to failure
  • Evidence of use of basic search techniques
  • Demonstrates limited use of flexible and creative approaches to search language (e.g. controlled vocabulary terms, subject headings, keywords, etc.)
  • Selected sources display some awareness of the need for in-depth digging for research materials throughout the research process.

Search Strategy

  • Search strategy explicitly described
  • Demonstrates ability to adjust search strategy when an obstacle is encountered
  • Ability to address unmet challenges and information gaps, and/or to respond to failure
  • Evidence of use of advanced search techniques
  • Demonstrates flexible and creative approach to search language (e.g. controlled vocabulary terms, subject headings, keywords, etc.)
  • Selected sources display awareness of the need for in-depth digging for research materials throughout the research process.

Resource Use

  • Does not display awareness of resources appropriate to the project (e.g. research guides, databases, monographs, media, archives, reference and consultation services, interlibrary loan, etc.)
  • Lacks criteria for evaluation of sources

Resource Use

  • Displays awareness of some resources and services appropriate to the project (e.g. research guides, databases, monographs, media, archives, reference and consultation services, interlibrary loan, etc.)
  • Criteria for evaluation of sources is incomplete or unclear (e.g. currency, relevance, accuracy, scope)

Resource Use

  • Displays awareness of resources and services appropriate to the project (e.g. research guides, databases, monographs, media, archives, reference and consultation services, interlibrary loan, etc.)
  • Displays clear criteria for evaluation of sources selected (e.g. currency, relevance, accuracy, scope)

Developing
(1-6 points)

Competent
(7-13 points)

Accomplished
(14-20 points)
  • Writing lacks clarity; research evidence and related writing does not support or justify project argument and/or thesis.
  • Most claims or assertions are lacking sufficient in-text references/citations.
  • Poor selection and integration of quotes and acquired ideas.
  • Selected sources address a minimal (or no) range of viewpoints and perspectives  appropriate to the project.
  • Inconsistent or ineffective organization of ideas; argument is lost or obscured throughout the project.
  • Writing occasionally lacks clarity; research evidence and related writing adequately supports and justifies project argument and/or thesis.
  • Some claims or assertions lack in-text references/citations.
  • Quotes and acquired ideas are adequately selected; some misuse of quotes or lack of integration within argument.
  • Selected sources address a satisfactory range of range of viewpoints and perspectives appropriate to the project.
  • Ideas are presented and organized clearly and consistently; attempts made to maintain an argument throughout the project.
  • Well-written; research evidence and related writing clearly supports and justifies project argument and/or thesis.
  • All claims and assertions have in-text references/citations.
  • Quotes and acquired ideas well selected and integrated conceptually within argument.
  • Selected sources address a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives appropriate to the project.
  • Excellent organization of ideas; argument is maintained and supported throughout the entirety of the project.

Developing
(1-3 points)

Competent
(4-6 points)

Accomplished
(7-10 points)
  • Sources lack variety in appropriateness and format.
  • Cites sources, but with significant omissions and in an inconsistent way.
  • Most or all in-text citations do not have corresponding bibliography references.
  • Sources display a variety of appropriateness and format, but fall short of complete breadth and depth.
  • Cites sources, but not in a standard or consistent way
  • Most in-text citations have corresponding bibliography references.
  • Sources display a rich variety in appropriateness and format; complete breadth and depth.
  • Cites sources in a standard or consistent way.
  • Every in-text citation has a corresponding bibliography reference.

Volunteer to be an Evaluator

Interested in reading and evaluating student submissions for the Library Research Award? Being an evaluator includes three rounds of evaluations in May.

Contact Us

Frequently Asked Questions

About

The number of awards varies from six to ten awards each year. The $1,000 awards are given in three categories: Upper Division Thesis, Upper Division Non-Thesis, and Lower Division. Honorable mention awards of $500 may also be given. You may also apply for an optional Population Health Award of $250 that is available for innovative, interdisciplinary or well-written research papers relevant to population health.

You may submit a completed first draft if you feel confident enough with it.  However, this will put you at a disadvantage as you compete with completed final projects.

Eligibility

Unfortunately, we cannot consider projects completed before the quarters specified.

Your project is eligible for submission, but it will be very important for you to explicitly distinguish which parts of the project you completed, and which parts your professor completed.  Your project will be judged on the parts that you created.

Project Criteria

Library resources may be print or online books and journals; databases; primary resources such as those found in the Libraries Special Collections; and library materials in any media. Note that an applicant can use any library anywhere, so items requested through interlibrary borrowing are acceptable, as are items found in the online collections of any library.

No. Projects should follow the length guidelines given by your instructor.

Application Procedure

Yes, you may submit multiple projects, but you may receive only one award.  Please submit separate forms and letters to accompany each essay and project.

Yes.

To answer this, you can count up the college-level credits you have completed at the time you turned in this assignment. You should count both credits you’ve earned at UW and credits you’ve transferred from other institutions.

Here’s the official UW breakdown: 0-44 Freshman; 45-89 Sophomore; 90-134 Junior; 135+ Senior. So, if you have under 90 completed credits, then you would be eligible for the lower division category.

That’s acceptable! Projects in all media are encouraged. You must provide a written version of the speech, plus the other required elements. A video of the speech is not required but is welcomed. Email [email protected] for instructions on where to bring your course project when it is an artifact that cannot be submitted online.

You may submit a letter of support from either the course instructor, or the teaching or research assistant who you feel knows the most about your research.

The form has specific questions about the applicant and their project. If students are submitting as a group, one letter can be written for the whole group.

Notification & Prize Disbursement

The money will be deposited directly into your UW account.

YES! The award may affect your financial aid.
Please consult your financial aid advisor:
Phone: 206-543-6101
Student Financial Aid

All applicants will be notified by the first week in June whether or not they received a Research Award.

The awards will be distributed at the end of Spring quarter.

Acknowledgment: University Libraries would like to thank the University of California, Berkeley Library for its assistance and inspiration in the development of this award.