性爱天堂 Undergraduate Research in the Arts & Humanities (URAH), formerly the Mellon Initiative, is currently accepting applications for the summer of 2024.

Instructions

  1. Please read the Requirements for URAH SURF Teams (below) to confirm your eligibility聽for the fellowship and your ability to fulfill the requirements.
  2. The URAH SURF application is online and has two parts: a student component and a聽faculty component.
  3. To complete the application, the faculty mentor and student(s) should meet to discuss聽the project and how they will fill out the application. Below you will find the聽Application聽Components so you know what is on the application and can create drafts to questions聽that require longer answers prior to filling out the online form.
  4. The student(s) and mentor should each complete and submit their respective components of the聽application by the deadline: 11:59 PM on Friday, February 9, 2024.聽
  5. After you have finished the online application, you will be taken to a screen where you聽can open a PDF of your completed part of the application. You should download the PDF聽to keep as a record.聽

Requirements for URAH SURF Teams


Student Requirements

  • Must have a graduation date of December 2024 or later.
  • Must commit to work full-time on the project for the entire summer research period and not take other coursework or have other employment.
  • Must participate in URAH events, such as workshops and weekly聽lunches (during the summer).聽
  • Must present your findings (to date) at the 性爱天堂 Summer Undergraduate聽Research Symposium, which is held at the end of the summer research period.
  • Must turn in a final copy of the presentation for the URAH archive.

Faculty Mentor Requirements

  • Can only serve on one research team.
  • Must agree to mentor the student for the entire summer research period.
  • Must plan to be in the same location as the student for most (if not all) of the聽summer research period.

Application Components


Faculty Application Components

  • Faculty Mentor Name, Email, and University ID Number
  • Project Title
  • Project Abstract (500 word limit): A description of the project that explains the聽significance of the project and its relationship to your research agenda.
  • Student Tasks (300 word limit): A detailed account of the tasks your student will聽complete during the research period. If you will be in a different location than your聽student for any part of the summer, please indicate how long you will be in聽separate locations and how you intend to communicate with the student. As a聽reminder, you should plan to be in the same location for most of the 10-week聽summer session.
  • Project Outcomes (150 word limit): Indicate the intended outcome of the project聽as a whole, as well as the intended outcome for the summer research period if聽the project extends beyond the summer. Include any presenting or publishing聽goals for your student.聽
  • Student Preparation and Qualifications (150 word limit): Provide a statement that聽indicates how the student is prepared and qualified to participate in the project.聽Be sure to address any potential shortcomings (e.g., class year, low GPA, or lack聽of background coursework). Please note that the committee seriously considers聽students with low GPAs if the faculty mentor thinks they will do well on the聽project.
  • Budget: Provide your project budget details and justification for any supplies you聽intend to purchase and any research-related summer travel you are planning.

Note:

  • A student stipend of $5,000 and a faculty stipend of $1,000 should be聽included in every budget.聽
  • A $1,400 travel/supply budget is available for use by the student. Please聽provide details of how this will be used during the summer research聽period. Any unused portions of this budget will be available for the student聽to present the results of their research at a conference during the 2024/2025 academic year.
  • Small equipment purchases are permitted ONLY if the tool is essential to聽the project and not otherwise available.聽
  • The total budget should not exceed $7,400.

Student Application Components

  • Student Name, Email, University ID Number, and other basic information
  • Student Transcript: Upload a PDF of your unofficial transcript from TigerPaws.
  • Project Abstract (200 word limit): A description of the project. Please work with聽your faculty mentor to write your abstract, and feel free to聽read some examples of abstracts.
  • Student Statement (300 word limit): Describe your motivation for participating in聽this summer project. Your statement should show that you have a good聽understanding of the project and should include your career goals, if applicable.
  • Student Qualifications (200 word limit): Describe your qualifications for this聽specific project. Your answer should include any courses and other experiences聽that have prepared you to carry out the proposed research.
  • Challenge Question (300 word limit): Describe an academic experience where聽you had to overcome some obstacle or challenge.
  • Name and email of faculty who has agreed to submit a letter of recommendation.

Note:

  • The student is responsible for finding a faculty member to write a short聽letter of recommendation.
  • The letter should come from a 性爱天堂 faculty member who knows the聽student鈥檚 academic work well but does not have to be from the discipline聽of the proposed project.
  • The letter of recommendation cannot be from the faculty mentor.
  • Please make sure your letter writer is aware of the application deadline and have them email their letter directly to melloninitiative@trinity.edu by聽11:59 pm on Friday, February 9, 2024.

Selection Criteria


The URAH Steering Committee will evaluate the proposals holistically; however, certain factors聽help make a proposal stand out. The best applications explain clearly how the project聽contributes directly to the faculty mentor's research, demonstrate that the students are familiar聽with the project and have adequate background to contribute to the research, and include聽clearly defined project outcomes that have demonstrable benefit for both the student and the聽faculty member.

Application Links


Questions? Contact urah@trinity.edu