The Wake Forest Research Fellowship Program is designed to encourage individual Wake Forest undergraduates to join their professors as junior partners on scholarly research projects. While improving opportunities for mentoring and helping students to progress into advanced work, these are also a means of supporting successful and dedicated students with financial scholarships. Up to 55 competitive, merit-based fellowships will financially assist students who collaborate with faculty mentors. Since the Plan for the Class of 2000 stated that some fellowships should be used to encourage the professional growth of students from groups that are under-represented in certain disciplines, ten of these Fellowships will be set aside for the Women in Science Program.

For the summer of 2009, up to 55 fellowships will be awarded. Each award will provide a $4,000.00 stipend. Fellows will be expected to engage in research fully across a 10 - week period. It will not be possible to enroll for any summer sessions' courses while working as a summer fellow. Each candidate is invited to apply for support for on campus housing. The fellowship will cover one - half of the charge for a double room across both summer terms.

In addition, when it is necessary and appropriate for the conduct of a given project, the student researcher may propose, as part of the initial application, a supplies and expense budget not to exceed a maximum of $500.00. This request will be evaluated and must be approved by the committee as part of the complete fellowship proposal. Such requests, written in memorandum form and describing in as much detail as necessary its various items, are to be attached to the application form for the committee's evaluation.

The Wake Forest Research Fellowship Program augments many other research opportunities available to Wake Forest students. It is hoped that many successful projects begun in the Fellowship program will be continued after the Fellowship period has ended. For example, some projects may be continued in the form of independent study or directed research courses or in the form of grant-supported research.

Qualifications and Expectations

Student applicants must have a cumulative 3.0 grade point average at the time of application. Sophomore standing (25 or more hours passed) is required by the time the research project begins.

Students applying for the summer, 2009 fellowships must submit completed applications by no later than March 17. The committee will begin its deliberations immediately thereafter. Proposals are to be developed jointly with the project mentor. Should a student propose a project involving research at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, a mentor will be required from both the Hawthorne and Reynolda campuses. A maximum of 55 fellowships will be available for each summer. Any student applying for a second fellowship award will be considered, assuming grant funding remains, only after all first - time applicants' proposals have been reviewed.

Completed proposals should be presented to Dean Hale in the Office of the Dean of Summer Sessions, 125 Reynolda Hall. The Research Fellowship Committee will review each proposal, and the student and his or her faculty collaborator will be notified of its disposition. Should modifications of a proposal be called for, the participants will be so notified.

As an integral part of the program, each Fellow will be required to submit to the Committee a project-ending piece of work. These concluding pieces may come in various forms: a poster, a written report, a visual report, an artistic production to include art pieces, theatrical productions, computer-based productions, pieces of creative writing, and so forth. These projects must be submitted to Dean Hale's Office, 125 Reynolda Hall, as soon as possible after the research period has ended. In no case should the submission period for the completed projects extend beyond a six-week span.