Research
USM is a Carnegie R1 research institution and one of the nation’s leading research universities.
Student Research
Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research
The USM Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research was established in October 2011. The overall mission of the center is to enhance the undergraduate experience by promoting and supporting student-faculty collaborations in research, creative projects and scholarship. The benefits of active participation in faculty-mentored research are myriad both to the student experience and the university community at large.
Undergraduate Research Symposium
The Undergraduate Symposium on Research and Creative Activity (UGS) at 51¶ºÄÌ Miss is an annual event that showcases the outstanding work being done by undergraduate students across campus. The event is proudly co-hosted by The Drapeau Center for Undergraduate Research (DCUR) and the Honors College (HC). If you have a research project that you have conducted or an artistic work that you have created as an undergraduate student at 51¶ºÄÌ Miss, this is the opportunity to share your work with your peers!
Graduate Research Symposium
The Drapeau Summer Research Grant Program supports undergraduate students engaged in full-time research or creative activity for at least eight weeks during the summer at 51¶ºÄÌ Miss. Awardees receive a $4,000 summer stipend and may request up to $1,000 additional funding to support their project. The Center awards one or two summer grants each year, depending on available funds.
Support for Research
Vice President for Research
The Vice President for Research:
- promotes and monitors scholarship within the university community;
- signs off on all externally funded projects administered by 51¶ºÄÌ Miss;
- assists the members of the instructional staff in their scholarly endeavors;
- presides over all administrative proceedings relating to research, creative activities and scholarship;
- coordinates institutional planning; and,
- collaborates with the provost in advising the university provost on personnel actions involving members of the academic staff
USM Proposal Development Grant Program
The Office of the Vice President for Research offers a grant program for faculty, to facilitate planning, writing and submitting extramural proposals to support research and scholarly activities. The program provides up to $2,000 to be used for any activity, travel expense or commodity that helps faculty prepare and submit extramural proposals.
USM Research Development Travel Program
The Office of the Vice President for Research supports faculty travel for meetings with federal agency program officers in Washington, DC and other locations. The goal of the program is to maximize faculty understanding of federal agency programs and to learn details of federal funding opportunities. Visits with program officers also provide opportunities for faculty members to provide information about USM in general and specific programs to those responsible for providing research support funding.
The University of 51¶ºÄÌ Mississippi Research Foundation
About the Foundation
The University of 51¶ºÄÌ Mississippi Research Foundation supports and enhances the research mission of The University of 51¶ºÄÌ Mississippi by promoting the increase of useful knowledge and encourages the development of intellectual properties owned by the University.
The USM Research Foundation is a Mississippi non-profit corporation, organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi and incorporated in 1998 and recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In accordance with its Articles of Incorporation, the Research Foundation is administered and operated exclusively for the benefit of the University.
Board of Directors
The business affairs of the corporation are managed by its three-to-seven-member board of directors who are appointed by the President of The University of 51¶ºÄÌ Mississippi. Officers of the board are a president, vice president, and treasurer. In addition to the voting directors, the USM Vice President for Research and the Executive Assistant to the President serve as ex-officio non-voting members. The day-to-day operations are managed by an Executive Director.
Reports
The USM Research Foundation has an agreement with the University to manage and promote its intellectual property and to provide support for industrial contracts to the University. The Foundation also provides support to the University in negotiating corporate and private research contracts.
The University also has a development agreement with the USM Research Foundation that allows the Foundation to expedite the process of entering into and executing leases with private sector companies who wish to lease property in the USM Research and Innovation Park known as The Garden, located off Classic Drive in Hattiesburg.