To receive a Wentz Research Award, you must arrange a faculty member to supervise your project. In the past, only tenured or tenure-track faculty at the OSU-Stillwater or Tulsa campuses were eligible to mentor Wentz projects. This requirement has changed, though we request an email from the faculty mentor's department head if they are not tenured or tenure-track. It is highly recommended that students meet with their mentor prior to completing their proposal and application. As soon as the application is submitted the mentor will be notified via email and asked to complete a recommendation form for the student. The mentor has an additional week after the student deadline to complete their recommendation. 

To receive a Wentz Research Award, you must submit an original research proposal that...

• Was conceived and written by you (the student)
• can achieve meaningful results within one academic-year (fall and spring semester)
• Explains the "what" (the question your project attempts to answer), "how" (the strategy you'll employ to answer the question), "why" (the reason an answer is needed to your question and how your results will answer it)
• Is one (1) single-spaced page in 10+ point font, which can include figures (diagrams, graphs/charts, images, etc.) and references (formatted according to the disciplinary mode of citation). Please note references can be a bit smaller as long as they are still legible.

Note : PROPOSALS MUST NOT INCLUDE PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION, such as the student's, mentor's, graduate assistant's, research team's or lab's name, to ensure the integrity of the blind review process

Past successful proposal examples

Wentz Research proposals are reviewed by one of six OSU faculty committees based on the disciplinary focus of the project, not the student's major:

• BUSINESS (Accounting, Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Hotel & Restaurant Admin., Communications, Agribusiness, Management, etc.)
• EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL STUDIES (Elementary, Secondary, Music, Physical & Agricultural Education, Apparel & Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, etc.)
• FINE ARTS & HUMANITIES (Art, English, Foreign Languages, History, Music, Theater, Philosophy, etc.)
• LIFE SCIENCES (Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Zoology, Entomology, Botany, Horticulture, Nutrition, Ecology, Physiology, etc.)
• MATH, PHYSICAL SCIENCES & ENGINEERING (Physics, Statistics, Engineering, Mathematics, Architecture, Geology, etc.)
• SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (Sociology, Psychology, Human Development & Family Sci., etc.)

Note: These options are NOT ORGANIZED BY COLLEGE OR MAJOR OF THE APPLICANT but rather the disciplinary focus of the project. The examples provided are NOT COMPREHENSIVE and are only intended for general guidance.

Proposals are evaluated in a blind review process (in which the committees cannot identify either the student applicant or faculty mentor) according to the following criteria:

• Originality and Creativity | The project proposal demonstrates originality of thought and creativity in approach and project design.
• Context | The project proposal's results and objectives are clearly positioned within the "bigger picture" of the disciplinary frame or wider context.
• Scale and Scope | The project proposal achieves meaningful results in one academic-year (fall and spring semester) without interfering with regular coursework and extracurricular obligations, including a timeline of activities.
• Methodology and Strategy | The project proposal clearly explains the research methodology and/or strategy to achieve meaningful results and objectives.
• Resources | The project proposal makes thoughtful, efficient use of available resources.
• Style and Grammar | The project proposal is written in jargon-free language free of grammatical errors and is readily understandable by a broadly educated reader.

Wentz Research Award funds are disbursed directly to the student recipient's Bursar account in two equal payments at the beginning of each semester (fall and spring) of the award year. $500 of the total $4,500 award may be disbursed to a departmental account for project-related expenses. The applicant's faculty mentor will decide if $500 should be withheld for departmental disbursement at the time of application.

In addition to maintaining a 3.0+ cumulative grade-point-average (GPA) and completing twelve (12) credit hours each semester of the award year (fall and spring semester) while remaining classified as an undergraduate at OSU, Wentz Research Award recipients must fulfill the following program requirements or the award funding will be rescinded:

Progress Report | Wentz Research Award recipients must submit a "progress report" near the end of the fall semester of the award year that summarizes project-related activities to date and describes project-related plans and expectations for the remainder of the award year.

Wentz Symposium | Wentz Research Award recipients must present the results of their project in poster format at the annual Wentz Symposium near the end of the spring semester of the award year.

Final Report | Wentz Research Award recipients must submit a "final report" of project results (five (5) pages minimum) to The Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research by the end of the spring semester of the award year.

Meetings and Seminars | Wentz Research Award recipients must attend all mandatory program meetings scheduled throughout the award year or make other arrangements with the Program Manager for Undergraduate Research, Latasha Tasci.