KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

What KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships does

The KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF) is an administrative unit within the University of Kansas, operating under Academic Affairs - Undergraduate Education. Headquartered at Summerfield Hall 203 in Lawrence, Kansas, CURF provides research and fellowship advising services to KU undergraduate students across all academic disciplines. The center connects students with faculty mentors, guides them through competitive fellowship applications, administers internal research funding (including $1,000 Undergraduate Research Awards), and operates presentation venues such as the Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium and Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol.

CURF's core offerings include structured programs such as Emerging Scholars (for early undergraduates), Rising Scholars (for advanced students), and BESST — Building Emerging STEM Scholars of Tomorrow, a two-year paid research assistant program for low-income STEM students funded by NSF Award 1003667. The center also manages campus nominations for external fellowships including Astronaut, Goldwater, Truman, Rhodes, Marshall, Churchill, Fulbright, Boren, and Gilman. The Kansas Research Collective, a student ambassador network operating under the CURF umbrella, extends peer-to-peer outreach through drop-in hours and class visits.

CURF is funded entirely through University of Kansas allocations and Kansas Board of Regents public funding, providing all services at no direct cost to students. The center employs 7 staff members and operates under Program Director Mulu Lemma. There is no commercial revenue model, and the entity serves exclusively as an institutional support function within the public university system.

Name

KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

Legal name

Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

Website

https://curf.ku.edu

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CURF is a University of Kansas administrative unit that advises undergraduate students on research opportunities and competitive fellowship applications, administers internal research awards, and manages campus nominations for external scholarships. It serves KU students across all majors at no cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Support & Learning Assistance (Tutoring Centers) (EDALABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI), Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ)

Keywords

• Undergraduate research advising
• Fellowship application support
• Research funding awards
• Academic mentorship programs
• Scholarship endorsement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. University Funding: As a unit of the University of Kansas under Academic Affairs - Undergraduate Education, CURF is funded through university allocations and public funding from the Kansas Board of Regents. Services are provided at no direct cost to students.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF) is a university service center that provides undergraduate students with research advising, mentorship matching, fellowship and scholarship application support, research funding awards (UGRAs up to $1,000), and presentation venues. It also administers structured programs such as Emerging Scholars, Rising Scholars, and BESST (for low-income STEM students), and serves as the campus nomination and endorsement entity for prestigious national fellowships and scholarships.

Product overview

The KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF) is a university support service, not a commercial product company. It offers a portfolio of interconnected programs to guide undergraduate students through research and fellowship opportunities. The core offerings include undergraduate research awards (UGRA), specialized research programs (Emerging Scholars, Rising Scholars, BESST for STEM students), research presentation platforms (symposia and showcases), comprehensive fellowship application advising, and instructional resources. These services work together to support students from initial research engagement through competitive fellowship applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Kansas Research CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership where KRC student ambassadors assist CURF during drop-in office hours, helping answer student research-related questions. KRC operates under the CURF umbrella and extends outreach capacity across campus.
• Astronaut Scholarship FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational foundation that provides approximately 60 STEM scholarships annually. CURF serves as the campus nomination entity, identifying and preparing KU candidates for this prestigious award.
• Barry Goldwater Scholarship ProgramcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrestigious STEM scholarship program. CURF manages the campus nomination process and supports students through the application process.
• Fulbright Program (US State Department)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCURF serves as the campus endorsement office for Fulbright study/research grants, Boren Awards, and Gilman Scholarships—federal study abroad programs.
• Rhodes, Marshall, Churchill ScholarshipscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrestigious UK graduate scholarships. CURF manages campus selection processes and provides application support for Rhodes, Marshall, Churchill, Gates Cambridge, and Knight-Hennessy programs.
• National Science Foundation (NSF)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCURF supports students applying for NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) and administers the BESST program funded by NSF Award 1003667.
• Kansas Geological SurveycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministers the BESST (Building Emerging STEM Scholars of Tomorrow) program for low-income STEM students, providing paid research assistant positions.
• Hall Center for HumanitiessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides Hall Fellowships and Hall Center Grants for humanities undergraduate research, with CURF facilitating access for students.
• University of Kansas Honors ProgramsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners on University Scholars and Global Scholars semester-long programs that combine seminar enrollment with faculty mentorship and stipends.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Princeton Office of Undergraduate Research: Princeton's OUR centralizes undergraduate research opportunities and fellowship advising for students across all disciplines, closely mirroring CURF's model of connecting students to research, funding, and external fellowships.
• Columbia Undergraduate Research and Fellowships: Columbia's undergraduate research office provides structured advising for research opportunities and competitive fellowships (e.g., Fulbright, Goldwater). Comparable to CURF in centralized fellowship application support and interdisciplinary research mentorship.
• University of California, Berkeley Undergraduate Research: Berkeley's undergraduate research office supports mentored research and fellowship advising at a flagship public research university. Comparable to CURF in mission and structure, though with significantly greater scale and resources.
• MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP): MIT's UROP is a university-run program that funds and supports undergraduate research across all majors. It is directly comparable to CURF in mission (connecting undergraduates to faculty-mentored research) but operates at significantly larger scale.
• University of Michigan Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP): U-M's UROP is a flagship public-university undergraduate research program supporting mentored research across disciplines. Comparable to CURF in serving a large public research university student body and providing structured funding and advising pathways.
• Harvard College Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships: Harvard's OUR and fellowships office provides centralized advising for undergraduate research and competitive fellowships such as Rhodes, Marshall, and Goldwater. Directly comparable to CURF's fellowship nomination infrastructure and research mentorship support.
• University of Texas at Austin Office of Undergraduate Research: UT Austin's Office of Undergraduate Research supports mentored research, fellowships, and presentation venues at a large public research university, similar to CURF's structure and offerings at a peer public institution.
• Stanford Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education: Stanford's VPUE oversees undergraduate research and fellowships programs at a major research university. It is comparable to CURF as a centralized hub for undergraduate research advising, faculty mentorship matching, and competitive fellowship support.
• Yale Center for Undergraduate Research: Yale's undergraduate research center supports student research, fellowships, and presentation opportunities across all majors. Comparable to CURF in function and scope, though operating within a much larger and more heavily resourced institution.

Broad incumbents

• Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR): CUR is a national membership organization supporting undergraduate research across hundreds of institutions. Comparable to CURF as a sector-level infrastructure for undergraduate research, though CUR operates at the industry/ecosystem level rather than serving students directly at a single university.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KU_CURF
• Facebookfacebook.com/KUCURF
• Instagraminstagram.com/ku_curf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ku-curf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships