Description

The Young Scholar Program permits students to pursue full-time independent research under the close supervision of faculty members for a minimum of ten weeks during the summer. Free from the pressures that often arise with normal course work, summer scholar projects do not involve credit hours or grades, giving students the opportunity to focus entirely on scholarly pursuit. In that sense the Young Scholar Program offers a unique undergraduate venue in which to experiment with ideas and artistic expression, pursue an intellectual passion, and focus intently on the resolution of a question over a sustained period of time. They study, they reflect, they create, and they write. All the while, they are pushed to the boundaries by faculty mentors whose goal it is to model the scholarly path of point and counterpoint, testing ideas and data, and pushing creative frontiers. In short, Young Scholars have the real experience of a scholar — one that is immensely valuable in its own right, but that can also serve as a testing ground for possible graduate or professional studies.

Student Responsibilities

• Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible.
• The research will culminate in a writing or artistic project by the student, to be completed by August 16 and submitted to The Gilpatrick Center. The project will be reviewed by the faculty supervisor who will write an evaluation of the student's work by mid-September.
• Students will share their work in a presentation in early fall. (We will provide training sessions for students on how to best present their work, whether through a poster format or another method.) Students are also required to write an evaluation of their summer scholar experience.
• Students who accept another major summer scholarship are not eligible.
• Young Scholars may not hold jobs during the term of their research. Students may serve on the June Orientation staff if they receive permission from their supervisor, and they may also complete a Denison Internship Program Project prior to the Young Scholar period. However, prospective faculty supervisors should be wary of students trying to pack too much into their summer schedules and not giving the research the attention it warrants. Whatever else the student chooses to do during the summer, all Young Scholars will devote a full 10 weeks exclusively to their research project. Students proposing to commit fewer than 10 weeks should indicate this at the time of application.
• Research that requires a substantial amount of time away from campus is not funded by the Young Scholar Program. However, one to three weeks absence from campus for field or research trips is permissible.
• Ordinarily students will be in residence at Denison from about mid-May to about mid-July.
• The summer 2013 Young Scholar Award includes a $3,700 stipend plus on-campus housing. Students receive five payments, one every two weeks. The federal government taxes both stipend and housing. Students who serve as Resident Assistants in the residence halls will be compensated for that work by the Office of Student Affairs.

Application Process

Students apply for the Young Scholar program by submitting a proposal for summer research. Proposals are due Thursday, January 31, 2013 by 4:30 pm in the GilpatrickCenter. All proposals should be submitted electronically to sunkle@denison.edu in pdf format. Please name them with your last name, first name and proposal, (i.e. Smith John proposal.pdf).

• Individual Proposals: Proposals from individual students, supported by one or more faculty, may be submitted. These shall be called “individual proposals.” Each individual proposal shall be judged on its merits.

• Collaborative Proposals: Proposals from individual students may be submitted with a plan to collaborate with other students during summer research under the supervision of one or more common professors. These proposals shall be called “collaborative proposals.” Each individual proposal shall be judged on its merits. All, some, or none of the proposals in a collaborative effort may be funded.

• Joint Proposals: A single proposal may be submitted by a group of students who propose to work collectively on a common research or creative project under the supervision of one or more professors. These shall be called “joint proposals.” Each joint proposal shall be judged on its merits and shall be funded for all the students who submit it or not funded for any of the students submitting the proposal.

Each proposal shall have the following elements:

1. Cover sheet with:

   1. Title of the project

   2. Name of the supervising professor(s)

   3. Each student submitting the proposal should include his or her: name, gender, Denison ID number, Slayter Box number, and graduation year.

2. Proposal narrative of no more than 1800 words which includes:

   1. the purpose of the project, including the questions to be explored or creative effort to be undertaken, and the project’s goals;

   2. a statement about the importance of this work and its potential contribution;

   3. an exploration of the existing body of work to which this research or creative effort will contribute;

   4. a description of the method or the nature of the work to be undertaken in the project;

   5. e. a work plan covering the 10 weeks of summer work including meetings with the project’s supervisor(s).

3. Bibliography of works and sources of information relevant to the project.

4. A letter from the supervisor(s) addressing the quality of the proposal, according to the criteria below, as well as addressing the capabilities of the student(s) to complete the proposed project. These confidential letters should be submitted separately and electronically to the GilpatrickCenter (sunkle@denison.edu) by February 1, 2013 at 4:00 pm.

Faculty Responsibilities

1. Letters from supervising faculty endorsing a proposal should address the quality of the proposal, according to the criteria listed in Section V, in addition to addressing the capabilities of the student(s) to complete the proposed project. The letter should also confirm that the faculty member will be present on campus during the 10 weeks of the project. If the faculty member intends to be away from campus during this time, the length of time away should be addressed as well as any plans for staying in contact with the student during the faculty member's absence. If more than one faculty member is sponsoring a proposal, the letter of endorsement should be signed by all the faculty who intend to supervise the project. Letters of endorsement are confidential and should be submitted directly to the GilpatrickCenter (sunkle@denison.edu) by February 1, 2013 at 4:00pm.

2. Faculty should meet in person at least twice weekly with their student(s) during the 10 week research period. This minimum may vary one way or the other over the 10 weeks because of the varying rhythm of the research process. Proposals indicating Young Scholar supervision from a distance will not be funded.

3. Limits on faculty endorsements and supervision of research: (a) faculty may not supervise more than three students in any one summer; (b) faculty may not endorse more than three individual or collaborative proposals, nor may faculty endorse more than one joint proposal, in any one summer; and (c) joint proposals must have at least one supervising faculty member for every three students included in the joint proposal.

4. Faculty shall submit an evaluation of the student's work by mid-September to the Director of the GilpatrickCenter.

Criteria for Selection of Young Scholars

1. Originality and Importance of the Project

   1. Does the project proposal reflect the activity of an informed and lively intellect and talent?

   2. How original is the project?

   3. Are the intellectual and/or artistic issues to be addressed important?

2. Clarity of Purpose and Method of the Project:

   1. Is the proposal clear about the purpose of the research/creative work to be done?

   2. Is the proposal clear about the method or nature of the research/creative work to be done and is it appropriate for the project?

   3. Is there adequate discussion and understanding of the existing work on the topic?

   4. Is the proposed work of appropriate size and substance to fill, but not exceed, 10 weeks of dedicated research?

3. Student Preparation and Supervision:

   1. Does the student have an appropriate background to successfully complete the project?

   2. Is the planned faculty supervision of the project adequate to ensure a successful educational outcome?

Selection Process and Principles

Young Scholars will be selected solely on the basis of the merits of their proposals, according to the criteria above, by the Student Research Grants Committee. No preference shall be given to joint, collaborative, or individual proposals. Students may apply in successive years, and no preference shall be given to first-time applicants.

The Student Research Grants Committee shall be elected by the teaching faculty, and shall be composed of one member from each of the four divisions of the University.

Students may not submit more than one proposal to the Young Scholars program, however, students may submit the same proposal, or different proposals, to the Young Scholars and other summer scholar programs simultaneously. Other programs which select summer scholars apart from the process and competition described here include: Ashbrook Scholars, Woodyard Scholars, Burton-Morgan Scholars, Freeman Scholars, Richard Kraus Scholar (English), DURF Scholars, departmental scholars (e.g., Environmental Studies), and all summer scholars in the sciences. Students with awards from any of these programs are called “summer scholars” and their supervising faculty are entitled to a stipend from the University. However, a student may not accept more than one summer scholar appointment in any single summer.

The Young Scholars program is intended to be a highly selective one, and to this end the number of awards made in any year may be limited for reasons other than the availability of funds.

Previous Summer Scholar Spotlights

http://www.denison.edu/academics/research/summer_scholar_2009.html