Policies related to Office of Admissions
Description of policies for undergraduate research programs looking to accept non-Texas A&M students and admit them as non-degree seeking students during the summer term.
AdmissionsPolicies related to TAMU 499
Description of policies for externally-funded undergraduate research programs, including placement in TAMU 499, a tracking mechanism ensuring student access to campus services and resources.
TAMU 499Purpose of Support by the Office of Undergraduate Research
The Office of Undergraduate Research (UGR) is a gateway for information and policies related to undergraduate research experiences. UGR collects and distributes campus policies that impact NSF-REU summer programs as well as other non-NSF undergraduate research experiences, and provides limited support to colleges, departments, and other units that coordinate programs for undergraduate researchers.
Application of Policies
Undergraduate research programs vary in structure, timing, eligibility, and funding source.
Note that some of the policies in this packet apply only to externally funded programs that operate in the summer semester (e.g., NSF-REU sites).
For example, the 0-credit hour TAMU 499 course offered in the summer semester is meant only for externally funded students because a tuition and fees waiver is applied automatically to all students enrolled in the course. The ability to apply this waiver to students in the course is tied to Texas Education Code (TEC 54.217), which says that the program must be fully funded from federal or other sources. As such, by providing a tuition and fees waiver to students enrolled in TAMU 499, Student Business Services (SBS) is confirming with the State of Texas that the entire program has been funded through grant or research funds from an external source. Furthermore, this means that SBS is confirming to the State of Texas that Texas A&M University is not receiving state funding for the course/program. SBS must be able to prove in a state audit that no TAMU or TAMUS funds were used to pay for the course/program.
Additionally, some of the guidelines in this packet are only applicable to programs that accept nondegree seeking/non-Texas A&M students. Information in this packet will apply to different programs for different reasons.
For example, programs that accept non-degree seeking/non-Texas A&M students should be familiar with the guidelines provided by the Office of Admissions. It is important to understand where funding is coming from for TAMU students or non-TAMU students.
Current/continuing/degree-seeking Texas A&M students do not have to reapply through the Office of Admissions.
Finally, discussions are underway related to preferred processes for internally funded programs that are open to non-Texas A&M students.
Reach out to ugr@tamu.edu for clarification, if needed.
Notable System and State Regulations
All University policies can be found in the Office of General Counsel Policy and Regulation Library.
Agreements related to Research Programs, Compliance, and Intellectual Property can be found in Chapters 15, 16, and 17 respectively. Agreements related to Ethics and Civil Rights can be found in Chapters 7 and 8 respectively.
All Texas Statues, including Sec. 51.3525 of the Education Code, modified by Senate Bill 17 effective January 1, 2024, can be found on the Texas Constitution and Statues website.
Refer to the guidance provided by both the Division of Risk, Ethics, and Compliance Scholarships, and Scholarships & Financial Aid for additional guidance on SB-17: