Directorate for Biological Sciences
Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences

Information for PIs when Preparing
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Supplemental Funding Requests
February 20, 2008

To prepare the REU supplement request, go to the Fastlane page on the NSF website (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp), click on “Proposals, Awards, and Status”, login, click on “Award and Reporting Functions", and then click on “Supplemental Funding Requests."

The information required is detailed in Sec. V.A. of the REU Program Announcement, accessible from the REU home page (http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/start.htm), under the heading "Request for REU Supplement". Please read this section carefully and include all the required information in your request. For optimal consideration for funding in the current fiscal year, your request should reach us by March 31 .

The following checklist can be used in preparing the request:

1) Description of the REU project:

a) Specific statement that this is a request for an REU supplement
b) Description of the form and nature of the student’s involvement in the PI’s NSF research project
c) Description of the selection criteria of the student participant
d) Brief description of the PI's other experience with involving undergraduates in research
e) Results from previous REU supplement support (if applicable)
f) Statement that the student is an undergraduate and will be so throughout the period he or she receives money from the REU supplement
g) Statement that the student is either a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or its possessions
h) Desired start date and duration of supplement
i) Expiration date of grant (The supplement must be used up by the time the grant expires.)
j) Brief C. V. of the student if he or she has already been selected

2) Budget checklist:

a) All student costs should be entered in Box F (“Participant Support Costs”).
Stipends are expected to be roughly $450 per week for full-time work in the summer, with academic year stipends comparable on a pro rata basis. This is a guideline figure, neither a floor nor a ceiling. Student costs can include a small amount of money—usually around $250, rarely ever more than $500—for supplies for the student in addition to the stipend. The supplies should also go in Box F, on the line labeled “other.”
b) Administrative allowance, if requested, entered in Box I (“Indirect Costs”).
The maximum allowable administrative allowance is 25% of the stipend only. Do not include supply money as part of the stipend when calculating the 25%. No indirect costs beyond this allowance are permitted.
c) Total budget (including the administrative allowance) should not exceed $6,000 per student per year (academic year and/or summer).