Faculty Resources
FUNDING SOURCES (INTERNAL AND UT SYSTEM)
Seed Grants
- COS: Amount open-ended; available for individuals or multi-disciplinary teams
- Provost: $5,000 for individual or $10,000 for multi-disciplinary proposals
Conference Travel
- Faculty Travel Support Program (UTRGV Office of Provost- matching funds up to $800)
Equipment
- Rising STAR (UT System): Up to $300,000 (limited to expenditures for research equipment and laboratory renovations) for recruitment of promising faculty members.
GRANT SUPPORT
1st step when you want to begin a competitive proposal:
- Fill out Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) Intent to Submit a Proposal. You will be assigned an OSP staff member to help prepare your proposal. Read OSP Handbook.
Grant Writing Support
- COS CAREER pathway program: Mentoring program for NSF CAREER proposals
- Writing-Mentoring Program: General grant- or manuscript-writing support
GRADUATE STUDENT COSTS & SUPPORT
Costs
- Tuition (excluded from IDC on grants)
- Wages: varies by department and (suggested for TAs and RAs: $15,000/year + fringe)
Support
- Dept of Biology TAship application
- Graduate College Scholarships
- Sustainability Fellowship
- UTRGV scholarships
- Student conference travel Graduate College: Up to $500
UNDERGRADUATES AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Biology undergraduate degree program
- Students may get up to 8 credits doing independent research in a lab. Enroll in BIOL 4X99. Email SIBCS@utrgv.edu with your name, student’s name and ID, and term.
- ESAA (Engaged Scholar and Artist Awards): Funding ($2-$4K) for student wages or travel, allowable materials. Max $500 for faculty mentor travel expenses related to the project. 3 deadlines/year. Max 1 undergraduate student per year per PI.
- Center of Excellence in Stem Education (CSTEM)
- UTRGV High Scholars Program – faculty mentoring of high school students in research every summer (June – July), culminating in poster session, monetary support to faculty is available.
Campus Resources
CAMPUS RESOURCES:
- WISE (Women In Science Network)
- Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE): Offers monthly workshops throughout the year.
- Center for Online Learning & Teaching Technology (COLTT): Individual course designers assist with migrating content in Blackboard, tech expertise in video recording/editing/captioning.
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
- Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP): policies and procedures, governance of UTRGV.
DETAILS ABOUT THE AREA
Cost of living (based on bestplaces.net)
Main K12 school districts and community colleges
- South Texas ISD (Edinburg, Weslaco)
- IDEA (across the valley)
- Edinburg Consolidated ISD
- McAllen ISD
- Brownsville ISD
- South Texas College (across the valley)
- Texas Southmost College (shared campus with UTRGV Brownsville campus)
Outdoor recreation & Nature parks (ordered from west to east)
- Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge (spans entire valley)
- Bentsen State Park (Mission)
- National Butterfly Center (Mission)
- Mission Hike and Bike Trail
- Quinta Mazatlan (McAllen)
- McAllen Nature Center
- Edinburg Scenic Wetlands & World Birding Center
- Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge (Alamo)
- Valley Nature Center (Weslaco)
- Estero Llano Grande State Park (Weslaco)
- Hugh Ramsey Nature Park (Harlingen)
- Harlingen Thicket
- Resaca de la Palma State Park (Brownsville)
- Sabal Palm Sanctuary (Brownsville)
- Southmost Preserve (Brownsville)
- Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (Los Fresnos)
- Sea Turtle, Inc. (SPI)
- Laguna Madre Nature Trail (SPI)
- South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center, and Alligator Sanctuary (SPI)
Other main attractions & news
- Gladys Porter Zoo (Brownsville)
- International Museum of Art & Science (McAllen)
- Museum of South Texas History (Edinburg)
- RGVision magazine
Contact Us
For questions or assistance please reach out to:
School Director
Robert K. Dearth, Ph.D.
School Associate Director
Kathryn E. Perez, Ph.D.
Biology Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Tobias Weinrich, Ph.D.
Biology and Chemistry Graduate Program Coordinator
Frank Dirrigl, Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program Coordinator
Yonghong Zhang, Ph.D.
Edinburg
Julie Perez,
Administrative Assistant II
Brownsville
Daisy Garcia,
Administrative Assistant II
