Call for Applications for Student Summer Independent Research or Creative Work

As a complement to the R.E. Lee Scholars program, which promotes collaborative research between students and faculty members during the summer, the College announces a call for applications for independent research for students during summer 2007. 

The R.E. Scholars program works wonderfully well in the sciences and  in some number of faculty research projects in the social sciences and humanities; however, for much of the scholarship in the social Sciences and humanities, and for creative work in the arts, the fully collaborative nature of the R.E. Lee model does not apply.  Much of that scholarly and creative work is independent and conducted solo-both in terms of faculty research projects where it  is difficult to imagine students as genuine collaborators, and in terms of students' own scholarly passions and interests.

The SSIR grants are intended for rising seniors to have the opportunity to pursue their own research or creative interest, with the mentorship of a faculty member. These independent summer opportunities do not earn credit.

In this initial pilot year, these grants are intended for rising seniors who intend to do honors theses in their senior year. A student must propose a topic for the thesis and describe what work would be accomplished with the assistance of the summer funding. That work need not be performed on campus; the student may plan to use the grant to travel to the appropriate place(s) to do first-hand research, or consult libraries or archives. The student should approach a faculty member for advice on the project and ask if he or she would serve as the mentor for the summer months of the project.  Typically, that faculty member will serve as the student's primary thesis adviser during the senior year.

The SSIR grant will provide a stipend equal to the R.E. Lee Scholarship for a minimum of four up to a maximum of ten weeks of summer work. If there are no extraordinary expenses, the stipend is $310 a week. However, students with higher expenses may submit a budget for fewer than ten weeks of work plus expenses-for example, a student doing research abroad might submit a budget for 4 weeks of work ($1240) plus $1500 for airfare and higher lodging/food expenses. The maximum grant amount that will be awarded is $3,100.

An application should be no more than a two-page description of the project and the work to be accomplished during the weeks of the grant, plus a budget page if applicable. The faculty mentor will submit a letter of support. During the summer, the student and mentor are expected to stay in regular contact, at least by email, sharing ideas and work-in-progress, and the product of the summer work will be submitted to the mentor for review at the end of the grant period. After the summer, students will submit a brief report of the summer's accomplishments to the Dean of the College.

In this first year, the College will fund five SSIR grants on a competitive basis, with the review and recommendation of the College Council. Applications are due April 2, 2007.