Provost Summer Scholars Announcement

AY 2014-2015 Provost Summer Scholars Announcement 

OVERVIEW 
Advanced undergraduates are invited to apply for an American University Provost’s Summer Scholar Award for 2015. Undergraduate Provost Scholars will be awarded $4,000 to conduct full-time summer scholarship that leads to a significant scholarly or creative work.  SOC will choose one Provost Scholar from among SOC applicants. 

Provost Scholars will work closely with faculty mentors to enhance faculty scholarship or creativity. Faculty mentors will receive a $1,000 stipend to guide students through their scholarship apprenticeship. (Both awards are taxable.) 

The “scholarship” will be broadly defined. In addition to traditional scholarly research, SOC students could propose work that involves a film, a journalistic enterprise, or Strategic Communication research.

The faculty member must actively mentor the Provost Scholar throughout the application process, scholarly endeavor, and final presentation. The faculty member will aid students in all phases of development, design, implementation, analysis/interpretation and presentation of the scholarly or creative work.  During the summer, they will remain in frequent contact with students and provide timely feedback. Finally, faculty will help students find appropriate venues for sharing the results of their scholarship.

The student and the faculty member must agree to participate in the project before the application is submitted.

Projects may be conducted jointly with professors or with other students, but the project must show evidence of significant original work by the Provost Scholar.  For example, if the Provost Scholar is directly involved in a faculty research project, the student must have his or her own area of intellectual inquiry to investigate and participate in all phases of design, development, execution, analysis, and conclusions. In essence, the relationship would be one of apprenticeship rather than research assistance.

Provost Scholars are required to work full-time on their scholarship for a designated period of eight weeks in the summer. The $4,000 award is expected to cover living expenses during this time. Any summer session courses taken by a Provost Scholar must fall outside the eight weeks identified as their scholarship period.

Scholars are encouraged to participate in workshops on scholarship sponsored by the University Honors program, CTRL, the Academic Support Center, or the University Library— and may be asked to attend information sessions or workshops after receiving the award.  

All Provost Scholars will be expected to publically present their completed work. They might incorporate their work into a senior or honors capstone; present their work at a conference at AU or elsewhere; or publish, display, or perform their work on or off campus.

Application REQUIREMENTS & Deadlines

Applicants must have a minimum major GPA of 3.3 and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, have earned at least 60 credits, and be registered for classes in the subsequent fall semester.

The application must include a proposal for scholarly activity and a letter of reference from the intended faculty mentor.

The proposal is limited to 750 words, not including references.  It should include a description of the project and an explanation of its significance and a brief description of academic preparation that will enable her or him to undertake this proposed activity.

Applications should be submitted to Rose Ann Robertson, Associate Dean of Academic Administration, by March 5, 2015. The winner will be announced after spring break.

CONDITIONS of the Award

In cases in which events prevent students or mentors from starting or completing the project, both the student and the faculty member must return the funds. In cases in which reimbursement is not prompt, the Vice Provost’s office will place a stop on the student’s account.

At the end of the registration period in April, the Office for Undergraduate Studies will ensure that fellows are registered for fall 2015 classes. Fellows must be undergraduates; their fall 2015 classes may be at AU or at AU Abroad.

Selection PROCESS

The intention of the program is to give talented students an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest in depth and at length. The eight weeks of scholarship is understood to be the beginning of process that might take six months or a year from conception to final product. The student’s scholarship might find its final form in an independent study in the following year as the student’s thinking matures.

The selection committee will be composed of the Associate Deans for Academic Administration and Faculty Affairs, and may include program division directors.

The committee will make one award. Awardees will be determined by the quality of the proposal, presentation and answers to questions posed by the committee.

Acknowledgement and Publicity

Provost Scholars and their mentors will be acknowledged in the spring at a College event. The Office for Undergraduate Studies will notify various university and other publications about the winners, both in the spring after the awards and in the fall after the symposium.