Application

Get $7500 to support your research idea!  The IRI program provides UCLA undergraduates with funding to pursue the research ideas that they are passionate about!

Applications are now open for the 2024/2025 IRI program until April 25, 2024

The IRI program accepts applications on an annual basis.  Please apply here: https://forms.gle/cbinZAgWFRcB128e6

Here are general instructions on IRI applications:

Your application should articulate your commitment toward a well-described research project that addresses some aspect of technology development, social trends or problems, art and design, ethics, and/or justice, as it contributes to the advancement of the future Internet.

After reading our FAQ and the IRI Mission Statement, please review and prepare answers for the questions listed below. When you are ready to apply, please submit your responses through our online application form. If you have any questions about the application, please contact us at iri@cs.ucla.edu.

The application questions are below, annotated for your convenience.

Note: You can use the $7,500 prize money for anything from research to living expenses. However, you may encounter certain restrictions on the use of funds from the IRI Prize, primarily that you must be enrolled full time each quarter for the full academic year to receive the prize. Please refer to our FAQ for information about the prize money and the disbursement of funds through UCLA Financial Aid office

Prize recipients will participate in monthly meetings throughout the prize year, including a kick-off event at the beginning of Fall quarter and a final showcase of research work at the end of Spring quarter. In addition, students will submit short monthly updates on their progress.

Applicants to IRI should structure their proposed project in three distinct parts, culminating in a “milestone” at the end of each quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring). Prizewinners will present their deliverable at the end of the academic year to showcase the work they have done. This deliverable will also be featured on our website in upcoming years.

These are the application questions:

1. Give a short descriptive title for your project. (10 words or less)

Note: This title can and probably will change later, but for now, give us something that helps us remember your project proposal.

2. Write a 200 word abstract describing the project you are proposing:

You may address some of the following questions in your abstract:

  • What is the problem or issue you are investigating and why?
  • How will your project address that problem or issue?
  • What is your proposed project?
  • Why is your project is unique?
  • What will be the benefit of your work?
  • Who will benefit?
  • What are the social implications of the work?
  • What are the technical implications of the work?

3. Outline your approach, including what is different about it. Applicants to IRI should structure their proposed project in three distinct parts, culminating in a “milestone” at the end of each quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring). What three milestones can you plan for that will demonstrate that you are on target throughout the year?

4.  You may choose to identify current mentor(s) you’d like to work with.

Note:
By participating, applicants warrant that the research, through its creation and its submission as an entry, does not infringe upon or violate intellectual property rights held by any third person or party.

When you have prepared your answers, they must be submitted via the Online Application Form.