Using the Online UROP System
The UROP application process is online. Note: students must initiate online applications no later than 5 PM on the posted UROP deadline for the given term/mode of participation.
Comprehensive instructions to help you navigate the online UROP application and review process, can be found below, including:
Using the Online UROP System
Use of the UROP system requires authentication using MIT web certificates. To obtain certificates, please go to: http://ist.mit.edu/services/certificates/, and follow the instructions provided.
Once you have certificates installed, you can access your UROP homepage via the following link: https://sisapp.mit.edu/uropweb/departmentHome.mit.
As your department's UROP Coordinator, your homepage displays options to:
- View proposals needing your review,
- Search UROP projects (including numerous search fields with which you can look-up current and past projects in your UROP department),
- Produce reports on your department's UROP participation, and
- View faculty authorizations.
Reviewing Online Proposals
- If students have submitted online applications that have been approved by their faculty supervisor and are ready for your review, then you will see a link labeled Proposals in Department review with a message that notes the number of proposals awaiting your review.
- To access these proposals, click the Proposals in Department review link, which will provide you with a list of proposals submitted for you to review.
- To view a given student's project detail, which lists term pay or credit information and provides you with access to the submitted project proposal, simply click on the link on the student's name.
- To review the student's proposal, click the View Proposal link. NOTE: this will open a PDF version of the student's proposal in another browser window.
- If any required fields are not completed, then you will see an error message at the top of the page.
- To correct errors and omissions, simply click the Edit Application button and correct any missing or incorrect fields, then click the Save Application button.
- Review the application detail once more to make sure that all edits have been saved.
- Click the Submit to UROP Staff button to approve the electronic application and submit it to UROP Staff for review and approval, or
- You may return the application to the student with a comment (e.g. need to expand/revise proposal, etc.).
NOTE: clicking the Submit to UROP button is the electronic equivalent of signing the paper application form.
Both the student's faculty supervisor and you, as the department's UROP coordinator, must approve all UROP applications either electronically or on a hard-copy form printed for your signature, before they can be submitted to the UROP staff.
Searching UROP Projects
To look up current and past student projects supervised by faculty in your department, simply click on the Search UROP records link, which will bring you to a search page that will allow you to search for projects by student and or faculty member name, student ID, term, UROP type, application status, and a number of other options.
If you are unsure about the spelling of a given name, you can use a portion of the letters and the % symbol (e.g. smit%) to call up all records that begin with the given letter combination.
From the search page, you may also elect to view query results as a query list, as a list of student or faculty contact information only, or as a student or faculty email list.
In addition, you may choose to export your results in either Excel or XML format.
NOTE: Only those UROPs supervised from Fall 1995 to present are available for online viewing. Any projects submitted in the old paper format will display project details only and will not include proposals for online viewing.
Running UROP Reports
As your department's UROP coordinator, you may need various reports that detail UROP participation in your area.
- To obtain up-to-date funding type reports and summary statistics for UROP projects in your department, simply click on the Request UROP Reports link.
From the Reports page, you may either:
- Select a term-specific funding type report by selecting both the term and appropriate UROP department from the available dropdown lists. Then, click the button for the given report that you wish to view, or
- Select a departmental statistical UROP summary by selecting the appropriate term, academic year (fall-spring only), or full UROP year (e.g. fall-summer) for which you would like to produce a report, and then click the UROP Statistics button.
NOTE: Once the given report is produced, you may choose to download the report in Excel, XML, or PDF format. Also, please be aware that reports can only be run on data from Fall 2003 to present.
Verifying Faculty Authorizations for Your Department
As your department's UROP coordinator, we ask that you periodically review the list of individuals who are currently authorized to serve as faculty supervisors in your area.
- To access the authorized faculty list, simply click on the Faculty Authorizations link on your homepage to access the Faculty Search and Authorization Form.
- From this page, you may search for and view UROP-authorized faculty in your department(s) by faculty name, email, address, or phone.
- To obtain a complete list of people authorized in your department, simply select your department from the UROP Department dropdown menu and hit the submit query button.
- If you find individuals listed who should not be or faculty in your area who are not authorized, but should be, please contact UROP staff at urop@mit.edu to notify us of your requested changes.
Understanding UROP Status Codes
Below you will find a list of the common status codes that you will encounter in the UROP system, along with their equivalent meaning.
- Faculty Review: Student has submitted an online proposal for the faculty member to review, but the faculty member is still reviewing the application and still needs to submit it to the department for coordinator review.
- Department Review: Student has submitted an online proposal, his/her faculty member has approved it, but the department coordinator is still reviewing it and needs to submit it to UROP staff for final review/approval.
- Admin Review: Student has submitted an online proposal, his/her faculty member and department coordinator have approved it, and it is now being reviewed by UROP staff. There are also a number of sub-statuses that may appear for application that are under UROP admin review; examples include:
- Review: signature missing: Student submitted a paper application or a combination of an online and paper application that is missing a required approval signature.
- Review: info missing: The application is missing required information (e.g. proposal detail, payroll/credit information, etc thus the application cannot be approved until this information is supplied).
- Review: need off-campus form: Student indicated that s/he is working off-campus, so we require that they complete an off-campus form with our staff in Room 7-104.
- Review: travel forms missing: Student indicated that s/he is traveling within the US or abroad for this UROP project and the required travel forms are not yet on file. Students cannot be approved until all required travel forms are submitted.
- Review: evaluation missing: Student has yet to submit a required end of term UROP evaluation from a prior UROP, thus the application cannot be approved until it is received.
- Review: holding: Reasons for proposals being in 'holding' can vary (e.g. UROP staff read the Direct Funding proposal, but are making funding decisions and are not yet ready to issue a decision, etc.).
- Approved: The student's proposal has been approved for the term by faculty, department coordinator, and UROP staff.
- Returned/Rejected: Reasons for returning or rejecting projects can vary (e.g. denied UROP funding, student failed to correct required missing or incomplete application information, etc.), thus a number of sub-statuses will appear to explain the return/rejection in more detail. Example sub-statuses include:
- Returned: denied funding: Student's request for UROP Direct Funding was not approved.
- Returned: info missing: Student never responded to requests to clarify missing required information, thus the application was returned.
- Returned: evaluation missing: Student never responded to requests to submit a required end of term UROP evaluation, thus the application was returned.
- Rejected: Student's application was rejected for one of two reasons; it was received late or the proposed research was deemed inappropriate for a UROP. The rejection reason will appear as a sub-status (e.g. Rejected: received late or Rejected: inappropriate, etc.).
- Cancelled: Student submitted a UROP application for the term, but it has been cancelled for some reason (e.g. lack of time to complete the UROP, s/he decided to switch to pay or credit, etc.). If a project is cancelled a sub-status will appear in parentheses to indicate the status of the application prior to cancellation; these will include:
- Cancelled (Approved): Application was cancelled after UROP staff had already approved it.
- Cancelled (Admin Review): Application was cancelled while still under review by UROP staff.
- Cancelled (Draft): Application was cancelled by the student before submission for faculty and department review.
- Expired: The student had created an application that never reached a final status (e.g. approved or cancelled).
NOTE: when applications are returned to the student, s/he must initiate a new application and resubmit it to change the funding type or correct errors/omissions. Students will not be able to initiate a new application after the UROP deadline for the given term has passed.
How to Report System Issues or Other Concerns/Suggestions
Please note: the the system is NOT available between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EDT due to regularly scheduled server maintenance.
Should you encounter any other error messages when using the online system, please copy and paste the text of the message into an email to UROP staff at: urop@mit.edu, so that we can troubleshoot the issue and get you back online as quickly as possible.
In addition, should you have any other system concerns or usability suggestions that you wish to share with our staff, do let us know.
