Opportunity Overview
Open West Virginia higher-education STEM funding opportunity. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission STaR Division is accepting proposals for the Summer/Semester Undergraduate Research Experience Program (SURE), Program Announcement STaR.SURE.2026. The program provides institutional block grants to expand substantive undergraduate research experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Funding and Deadline
Maximum annual funding per award: $75,000. STaR anticipates approximately $300,000 in total annual program funding and an estimated 5–6 awards. Selected institutions may propose a single-year program or a continuing program for up to three years, dependent on funding availability. Student research stipends are $500–$2,000 per participating undergraduate.
Proposal deadline: October 16, 2026. The controlling RFP does not publish a submission clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer one.
Eligibility
Eligible organizations are all regionally accredited public and private baccalaureate colleges and universities in West Virginia. The principal investigator must be the president, provost, or another senior academic official. If another individual or agent applies, provost endorsement is required. Only one proposal may be submitted by each eligible institution.
Program Design and Submission
The institutional plan must describe current undergraduate STEM programs and demographics, the number of students to be supported, specific research projects and student duties, faculty mentors and qualifications, program duration, opportunities for students to present their work, networking and mentoring, pathways to graduate STEM study, program management, evaluation, and any institutional or external support. Proposals that link with thematic research areas at West Virginia research universities are encouraged.
Applications must be submitted through the STaR Grant Opportunity (GO!) system. The proposal includes a one-page project summary, a project description of up to 15 pages, biographical sketches of no more than two pages for key personnel and research mentors, and the required GO! budget template.
Budget Rules
No cost share is required. STaR may consider the positive impact of leveraged internal and external support. Overhead is not allowed. Supplies and equipment costs are not allowed, except that a student may elect to purchase supplies with the student stipend. Reasonable travel for student and mentor participation in research-related events may be considered.
N9+ and Dr. Miltie Fit
N9+ Fit Score: 7/100. This is not a device-purchase or telehealth-equipment grant. The controlling RFP expressly excludes equipment and ordinary supply costs. A health-science or nursing research project could potentially use a Nonagon N9+ remote physical examination platform already owned or otherwise provided outside the SURE budget as part of a legitimate research environment, but Atlas does not treat N9+ hardware, software, or services as grant-funded costs under this solicitation.
QC Healthcare fit is similarly low and conditional. A healthcare organization could potentially serve as an external research setting or collaborator where an eligible West Virginia institution controls the SURE application and research plan, but the SURE award is made to the institution and is primarily designed to support undergraduate student research stipends.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 82/100. SURE is a sizable, statewide, no-match higher-education opportunity with clear rules and a multi-year pathway. It can be relevant to nursing, health sciences, biomedical research, public health, digital health research, and other STEM areas when the institution designs an eligible undergraduate research program. Dr. Miltie is not an eligible direct applicant.
High-Fit West Virginia Applicant Example
West Virginia Wesleyan College: 93/100 organizational opportunity fit. WVWC is a private four-year West Virginia college with a regionally accredited institution and a baccalaureate nursing program. Its School of Nursing identifies Dr. Kimberly White as Director of the School of Nursing and BSN Program Chairperson and emphasizes student scholarship, evidence-based practice, and inquiry. That creates a credible health-science pathway for an institution-led SURE research plan, subject to the College’s one-proposal institutional limit and senior-academic approval.
Contacts
Program questions: Dr. Janet Rorrer, Senior Director, STaR Division, janet.rorrer@wvresearch.org, 304-352-6322. GO! technical assistance: Dr. Quinn Clark, Associate Director, quinn.clark@wvresearch.org, 304-352-6349.
Official Sources
West Virginia HEPC STaR — SURE 2026 RFP