Arts and Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Awards
The Awards
Arts and Sciences is looking for applicants to join a diverse community of undergraduate scholars and researchers from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Awardees receive $3,500 to support 10 weeeks of independent research and scholarship during the summer term. Awardees will participate in the Honors College Brackenridge Summer Fellowship program weekly round table discussions and Johnstown retreat. Awardees will present their finished projects at the Brackenridge presentations.
Awards are provided by the USS Foundation, Christine Toretti Fund, Leonard Baxt Fund, and the James Harrison Fund.
Deadlines and Eligibility for summer 2008
Applications are due Tuesday, February 26, 2008.
Applications will be accepted from any Arts and Sciences undergraduate student who:
- is in good academic standing,
- has declared a disciplinary major,
- and has a faculty sponsor who is within the project discipline and who will be responsible for the oversight of the project.
Application Requirements
Applications will be judged on the merits and originality of the proposed research, and the completeness of the application. Applications should include the following:
- Cover Sheet (PDF) that includes information about the applicant, faculty sponsor, faculty referee, and any of the applicant's previously funded summer immersion research experiences (i.e. doing research for four weeks or more, full time).
- Two-page project description that indicates the relationship of the project to extant research or scholarship in the field, and the nature of the faculty sponsor’s involvement. This description should be written as an overview, articulated clearly, and understood easily by a non-specialist. The description should be typed in 12-point font and use 1-inch margins. No more than two pages should be submitted (excluding citations). Appendices and addendums are not allowed.
- Complete academic transcript and curriculum vitae (résumé).
- One-page letter of commitment from a faculty sponsor who accepts responsibility for oversight of the project as is appropriate within the relevant discipline. The faculty sponsor should clearly indicate in his or her letter that this is the only Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Award he or she is sponsoring.
- One-page letter of reference by a second faculty member who is qualified to judge the student’s abilities and the value of the project.
All application materials should be submitted to the Office of Experiential Learning in B4 Thaw Hall by Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 5:00 p.m.
Upon receipt of an award, the student agrees to do the following:
- work on his or her research project full time for 10 weeks over the summer,
- participate in the weekly Brackenridge round table presentations (usually held on Thursdays, June–August),
- and participate in the Johnstown Retreat (usually five days in early–mid July)
Students may not hold any other summer research awards simultaneously (e.g. OEL Small Grant, Beckman, Brackenridge). If you have questions about this program, please contact Margaret Heely (heely@as.pitt.edu).