In addition to the general programs and services that support the ability of CUR's members to achieve undergraduate research goals, there are direct membership benefits for each class of CUR member. 
 

Any person interested in CUR's goals can join as an individual member, and can affiliate with one of the CUR disciplinary divisions or the at-large division, with full voting rights.  Individual members are eligible to be elected to serve as councilors of their division.  Even those who are not councilors may volunteer to work on CUR-wide or divisional committees.

Personal benefits of membership include:

• A subscription to the CUR Quarterly, featuring news and information about undergraduate research activities at other schools, descriptions of research funding available from federal and foundation sources, and feature articles on undergraduate research.  Members are encouraged to submit articles to the Quarterly for consideration by the editors.  Available to non-members at a cost of $40 for individuals, $85 for libraries.

• Major discounts to attend CUR's National Conference at a member school and our CUR Dialogues in Washington, DC, both of which include workshops and opportunities to network with peers and representatives of funding agencies. (The discounts alone are greater than a year's membership fee in CUR.)

• Access to special information on funding opportunities, jobs, and other resources for undergraduate research on the members' only portion of CUR's web site and over CUR's listserv.  

• Eligibility to receive mentoring or pre-submission proposal reviews from colleagues in your discipline.

• The opportunity to develop and be recognized for leadership skills within the academic community by serving on CUR committees and on the General Council or participating in departmental consulting, speaking, and other leadership activities.

• The resources to help you support research in the undergraduate environment, including the development of national policy affecting undergraduate research.

CUR Institutional Membership for Colleges and Universities

Institutional membership is designed to assist colleges and universities with their continued development and support of undergraduate research.  CUR can be a catalyst for campus transformation, offering opportunities for faculty professional development in research and curriculum.  Institutional membership exemplifies administrative commitment to undergraduate research, a message that is much appreciated by the faculty and prospective students.  In addition, institutional members join with many other prestigious colleges and universities in support of undergraduate research as an important component of higher education.  Our national contact base allows us to be particularly effective in representing the interests of those concerned with undergraduate research in all disciplines.

Nearly 600 colleges and universities are Institutional CUR Members.  Our members come together as one voice for the impact and importance of undergraduate research.   

Institutional Benefits:

• Keep up with inside information on government relations, funding opportunities and breaking news.  Keep your institution up to date with valuable news and information on issues affecting undergraduate research and education at the federal policy level.  Through action alerts, you will have an opportunity to add your institution's voice to the national policy debate.

• Receive special notice on all CUR programs and events.  Receive priority notice of CUR Institutes and other eventsReports on the status of undergraduate research based upon CUR's surveys of academic institutions and information from organizations, agencies, and foundations synthesized from many sources available to CUR.

• Receive three individual memberships.  One membership is automatically granted to the chief academic officer, the other two are to be assigned at the institution's discretion.  Deans, directors of undergraduate research, sponsored research directors, and department chairs are all appropriate to be listed.  The three representatives receive the same membership benefits as individual members.

• Enjoy Substantial Discounts.  Institutional members receive discounts on CUR Institute Registration fees and CUR consulting services.  Popular CUR Institutes (workshops for teams of faculty members and administrators) include Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research, Proposal Writing, and The Vital Faculty: Issues after Tenure and our two newest institutes Mentorship, Collaboration, and Undergraduate Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and Initiating and Sustaining Undergraduate Research Programs.  CUR's consulting service will provide your institution with qualified consultants for overall program assessment or more specific objectives.  CUR will help you implement faculty development retreats, as well as departmental and college-wide reviews and planning exercises.

• Benefit from CUR Institutional Membership as a Public Relations Tool.  Mentioning your CUR institutional membership in recruiting materials and grant proposals sends a message to prospective students and funders that your institution supports high-quality undergraduate research - an important standard to many incoming students as well as funders and policymakers.  Institutional membership places your campus in the same category with other CUR institutional members.

• Mentoring Service: Experienced faculty helping others along—this is the essence of CUR.  Individual members can be matched with someone close to your interests, with whom you can discuss job applications, grant applications, tenure documents, whatever you like.

• Media Contacts:  CUR prepares media kits that are sent to national media for contacts when they need comments on national issues.  This is an opportunity for campuses to receive national media coverage and recognition.

• Participation in the Posters on the Hill.  This highly competitive event brings 60 students with their faculty mentor each year to Washington D.C. to present their research on Capitol Hill. Institutional membership will be one consideration in the selection process.

• Reduction on fee to receive Graduate Student Registry.  Doctoral degree-granting institutions will receive a discount on subscriptions to the Graduate Student Registry.  The Registry lists students who have had significant undergraduate research experience and wish to pursue a doctoral degree.

• Gain Public Notice.  Information about your institution that is also related to CUR's mission can be posted on CUR's website and printed in CUR publications.  Your institution's website can be linked to CUR's online listing of institutional members.

• Receive CUR Publications.  A copy of each publication in the 'how-to" series will be sent to all new institutional members.  Current publications include How to Get Started in Research, How to Develop and Administer Institutional Undergraduate Research Programs, How to Get a Tenure Track Position at a Predominately Undergraduate Institution, and How to Mentor Undergraduate Researchers.