How to Apply

Award Eligibility

UMKC School of Medicine students, except year one, are eligible to submit applications that are available through the Office of Research Administration. Please note, year two students must have prior approval from the Student Research Committee, in accordance with the medical school Research Policy for Years One and Two Students (PDF).

Application Deadline

The deadline to apply is Nov. 15 at noon. If Nov. 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the application deadline shall be the next university business day at noon.

Compliance Requirements

All requirements and regulations of the UMKC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for research involving animals and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for projects involving human subjects must be adhered. The student’s mentor and student are responsible for compliance with committee policies and university and/or affiliate hospital research policies.

Criteria for Consideration

Award applications will be considered based on the following:

  • Quality of proposed research proposal and outcomes
  • Completion of all application materials
  • Detailed project budget
  • Scholastic achievement, including academic transcripts

Required Application Materials

  1. Application form (PDF)
  2. Reference form (PDF) from two university faculty; one of the references should be submitted by your UMKC School of Medicine faculty mentor
  3. Project protocol — review sample protocol (PDF)
  4. Project budget — review sample budget (PDF)
    1. The current award amount maximum is $3,000 per Sarah Morrison Student Research Award.
    2. Proposed budgets shall detail specific itemized costs directly associated with the project. All expenses must comply with current university spending requirements. Some expenses, such as expenditures at other institutions, will require university contractual agreements.
    3. Travel costs for academic/technical enrichment or publication costs. A minimum of $500 of the budget must be allocated for travel costs to present your project at a national meeting or to offset publication costs. Travel costs may be as simple as conference registration only. If including publication costs in the budget proposal,
      • the student must be a listed author,
      • UMKC affiliation must be recognized on the author affiliation, and
      • the UMKC Sarah Morrison Award should be recognized in the acknowledgments.

      More than $500 may be budgeted for travel or publication costs. If no travel or publication costs are allocated on the proposed budget, the award may be issued by the School of Medicine for $2,500.

    4. Research at Children's Mercy Hospital (CMH). If you are conducting research at CMH and expect to incur project expenses, such as laboratory procedures, radiology procedures, other potential patient (research participant) expenses or other CMH costs, contact Courtney Drerup-Dixon with CMH Research and Grants Administration for assistance with including the correct CMH charges in your project budget. Email Courtney or call 816-302-0330. This must be completed by the student and mentor prior to submission of the Sarah Morrison Student Research Award proposal.
  5. Current academic transcript (Pathway transcript accepted) — how to access your unofficial transcript (PDF)
  6. Resume/CV

Send application materials to:

Office of Research Administration, Rm M4-308
UMKC School of Medicine
2411 Holmes Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
somresearch@umkc.edu

Application resources