Does OUR provide housing?

We are not able to provide housing. However, FAIRE students can find off-campus housing resources through UMD's Off-Campus Housing Services.(https://och.umd.edu/)

FAIRE - FACULTY APP INNOV&RESEARCH EXP

Campus Partners: Provides faculty with a summer-based opportunity to recruit and work on-site with a talented and motivated undergraduate student.

Students: Provides financial support for students to work on-site with a faculty advisor during an 8-week summer period.

What is FAIRE?

FAIRE is a summer program designed to assist both campus partners (faculty) and students. The program enables faculty to recruit an undergraduate student for a mentored 8-week on-site research experience during the summer. The student recruited will receive a $2,000 award and will be expected to conduct on-site research under the faculty advisor's supervision.

Expectations for On-Site Engagement, Timing & Duration

This program is designed to fund an in-person, on-campus research partnership between a faculty member and an undergraduate student. Research will primarily be conducted on-site for an 8-week period beginning near June 1, 2026, and concluding near the end of July 2026 (with some flexibility for faculty and student conflicts). Students will be expected to be on-site for at least 15 hours per week during this 8-week period of time.

Both faculty and students involved with this program commit to these expectations. Remote or virtual work cannot be funded by this program at this time.

Key summarized details:

$2,000 award for selected students
Research performed on-site
8 weeks (June & July 2026)
15 hours per week (minimum commitment)

How Does the FAIRE Process Work?

Faculty post one or more projects in ForagerOne.
Students apply for these projects using ForagerOne.
Faculty review applications and select their strongest candidate.
Faculty submit the project and candidate to the FAIRE program for funding consideration.
OUR evaluates all faculty-submitted connections, decides on final awards, and confirms participation with both faculty and student applicants.
OUR confers the award to the student, and summer research begins!

Setting Funding Expectations

Each year, we aim to fund as many of these projects as possible. The total funding pool is finite and determined dynamically in April. As such, we cannot guarantee funding for campus partners or students who engage in this process together.

Timeline

The following dates will guide the FAIRE process in 2026:

Early March 2026 - Posting of FAIRE projects in ForagerOne.
March 27, 2026 - Deadline for student applications for FAIRE projects in ForagerOne.
April 4, 2026 - Deadline for faculty to communicate projects and candidates to OUR.
April 10, 2026 - Deadline for OUR to announce funded candidates.
June 2026 - Awards conferred to selected students.

Starting the FAIRE Process

FAIRE projects must be posted on ForagerOne. If you do not yet have an account, please visit the link provided in order to learn how to use your UMD Single Sign-On (SSO) to log in to this resource and set up your profile.

Establish Your ForagerOne Profile

Before posting a project, it is highly encouraged that you establish at least a basic profile on ForagerOne. Please indicate that you are Accepting Students so that students can find you when they use filtered searches for research-active faculty.

Posting a FAIRE Project

In order to post one or more FAIRE projects, navigate to the Projects area of ForagerOne and click on Add Your First Project.

Details for Your FAIRE Project

Please follow these requirements for your FAIRE project posting:

Project Title:

There are no specific requirements - you are encouraged to browse ForagerOne to see how your faculty colleagues describe projects in ways that are clear and compelling to students.

Seeking:

Undergraduate(s)

Opportunity Type:

Paid

Time commitment:

15-20 hours/week

Application Deadline:

3/27/2026

Description:

Copy and paste the following text to begin the Description process. It is imperative that you use this template text to ensure inclusion in the FAIRE program (students will be searching using the FAIRE keyword).

This opportunity is part of the Office of Undergraduate Research FAIRE program. Students can read more about this program at the link provided, including the requirements for on-site research during the summer and the award funding provided. Please apply here (Compose Request) on ForagerOne for consideration for this opportunity.

Project Description

My research focuses on ....

During an 8-week summer period, I aim to accomplish the following with an undergraduate student:

Applicant Skills & Abilities

The successful applicant will be able to ....

Example FAIRE Project Posting

The following example meets all previously communicated requirements. Your project posting should look like this at this point:

Complete FAIRE Project Posting

You now need to complete the Project Description and Applicant Skills & Abilities. Perhaps you do not have a clear project description at this time, and you are simply looking for an undergraduate with the right skills/abilities to help you get the inquiry process started? That's completely fine; you can remove this section of the project Description if needed.

Click Add Project to complete the posting - it is now live on ForagerOne!

Communicate with Candidates

Students will apply for consideration on ForagerOne. You will likely receive email notifications based on how you have set notifications up in your ForagerOne Account Settings.

Make a Decision on Candidates

Faculty are empowered and responsible for the decision regarding the best student candidate. Please communicate outcomes to all candidates and let the chosen candidate know that the project and their UID/name will be submitted for funding consideration.

Submit Project & Candidate for Funding Consideration

Submit project and candidate information to OUR by the deadline communicated in the Program Information section of the FAIRE program above (Deadline for faculty to communicate projects and candidates to OUR).

Once your project and candidate information are submitted, OUR will drive the process from there. We will be in communication with you and your student candidate regarding outcomes.

Starting the FAIRE Process & Populating Your Profile

Be sure you take time to populate your profile with as much information as possible about you as a student and researcher. This will help faculty see you as a compelling candidate when you apply for consideration for FAIRE projects.

Search for FAIRE Projects

All FAIRE-related projects in ForagerOne will have the word "FAIRE" embedded in their descriptions. As such, students should search for "FAIRE" in ForagerOne to see all projects connected with this program.

Apply for Consideration for FAIRE Projects

Use the Compose Request button (pictured above) to apply for consideration for one or more FAIRE projects. It is important that you study each project carefully and ensure you have the Applicant Skills & Abilities that a faculty member has communicated they are seeking.

Note: the FAIRE program and the faculty projects therein are not necessarily intended for students starting their research experience. Please do not apply for projects that you are not qualified to engage in at this time. If you are new to research, you might consider the OUR IRIE program, offered each summer to help students begin their research journey.

Communicate with Faculty

Faculty will respond to your requests and will let you know if you are a chosen candidate for the project that they posted. Please be professional, polite, and timely with all communications.

Communicate with OUR

If you are the chosen candidate for a project, OUR will consider the project when submitted to us, and we will communicate all outcomes with both faculty and students by the deadlines communicated in the Program Information section above.