VCU Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship
2010 Summer Fellowship
- Program Announcement -
For the Summer of 2010, we are offering to fund a limited number of undergraduate student
fellowship awards for projects mentored by VCU faculty. Successful student applicants will
receive a cash stipend of $3000. The student's faculty mentor will receive an additional $500 to
defray expenses associated with the fellowship project.
> Eligibility - Full time VCU undergraduates, receiving a Bachelors degree May 2011 or
later.
> Application Process - The application consists of four elements:
1. The student must write a maximum 5 double-spaced-page proposal, detailing:
• The significance of the proposed work - briefly, what similar work has been done by
others, and how has it contributed to human knowledge?
• A research question - what do you propose to find out in your project?
• The specific aims of the work - what objectives are you setting out to accomplish?
• The methods to be employed - what will you do to answer the research question and to
meet your specific aims?
• Results expected - what outcomes do you expect from your project, and how will you
know whether or not you have achieved them?
2. The student must write a maximum two-page personal statement addressing these
questions:
• What experience or qualifications have prepared you for the work you propose?
• What will the Summer Fellowship do to help you advance your career goals?
3. The mentor must write a letter of support for the Summer Fellowship application,
addressing the following questions:
• How long and in what capacity has the mentor known the student applicant? Have you
mentored this student before?
• What experience, knowledge, skills, or capacities does the mentor believe the applicant
possesses that qualify the student to conduct the proposed work?
• How does the mentor believe the Summer Fellowship experience will help the student
meet his/her career goals?
4. The student and mentor together must write a detailed work plan:
• Covering 10 weeks during summer 2010, assuming 20 to 40 hours of work per week.
• Containing elements that correspond to the specific aims laid out in the proposal.
• Including a statement wherein the student pledges to submit a mid-term project
report by August 1, 2010, and to participate in the VCU Undergraduate
Symposium/Poster Day in Spring 2011.
Proposals are to be submitted on-line at a location on the Resources for Undergrad
Research web site. The application facility will be open beginning February 1, 2010 and
close at 11:59 on March 1, 2010. Awards will be announced April 15, 2010.
For help in thinking about your Summer Fellowship project, or about other ways to participate in
research or creative scholarship, visit the Resources for Undergrad Research web pages,
especially the For Students page. If you have questions contact Dr. Earl Dowdy at
eedowdy@vcu.edu
