We are proud to announce the 4th year of the Honors Capstone Research Summer Program. You may be approached by current Honors College students who would like to apply, so here’s the relevant information:
The purpose of the grant is to support research or creative experiences that lead to capstone projects for Honors Students in all fields of study, foster collaborative research and creative endeavors, expose Honors students to the highest levels of academic and creative work, and to further UAH’s research mission.
This grant is funded through the Honor College Fee and is modeled on the UAH Research and Creative Experience for Undergraduates (RCEU) Summer Program. In fact, once final selections are made for both programs, the two will join together as part of the summer community of scholars that also include National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) students who are spending the summer at UAH. HCR students will receive a total stipend of $3,750. The length of the program (10-12 weeks) and number of contact hours (32-40hrs/wk) are all the same as the UAH RCEU.
No funding is provided to the mentor through this program, but Honors students can also apply for the Honors mini- and travel grants to cover some of the costs associated with the project.
The main difference between the UAH RCEU and the Honors Capstone Research Summer Program is the application process. For the Honors program, the student, with support of the mentor, writes a one-page proposal for consideration by the selection committee. Mentors may apply for both the Honors program and the RCEU, but the proposals cannot be the same, and must be distinct to each program. The eligibility and requirements for the Honors program can be found at https://www.uah.edu/honors/research-capstone/capstone-summer-program. They are also stated below:
Honors Capstone Research Grant
Eligibility and Requirements
- Current, full-time, degree-seeking Honors College student in good standing
- Any major and academic year are eligible, but students must not graduate before the Fall Semester of the year they participate in the program (Fall 2020 for this upcoming program)
- Student must not have any outstanding disciplinary issues
- Student must be working under the guidance of a mentor who may be a UAH faculty, research staff, or professional community member. Applications involving a non-UAH mentor must be approved by the Honors Dean
- Student should write the proposal in consultation with the mentor, and the final proposal should be reviewed and approved by the mentor before submission
- Students can receive this award only once during their undergraduate career
- Students selected for this program are also eligible to apply for one Mini Grant and one Travel Award during each academic year
- Students selected for his award must be willing to present/publish their work at applicable dissemination events/publications including, but not limited to: the end-of-program poster session, Research Horizons Day, the Alabama System Honors Research Day, Honors recruiting events, other professional symposia. Students participating in this program are required to submit a manuscript to Perpetua, the UAH Journal of Undergraduate Research, and must submit at least one entry to the Honors Research Blog during the summer.
- The student and mentor should be willing to participate in the summer shadowing program (June 2020, exact date TBD)
Applications are due December 6, 2019, and award notifications are made early in the Spring semester. Awards will be given until funds are exhausted (approximately 15 awards). Any student that goes onto Honors probation at the end of the Spring Semester in which the fellowship was awarded must make every effort to prepare themselves to recover their good standing in the next Fall Semester.
Application Materials
- A one page, single-spaced description of the project. This description must:
- be understandable to a non-specialist
- include the project's start and end dates (10-12 weeks between May and August)
- be written by the student in consultation with the mentor; the mentor must review the application to ensure that all appropriate information is included, and sign off on the proposal’s accuracy and practicality as a capstone project.
- Student’s cumulative GPA
- One letter of support from the mentor submitted via email to the Honors Dean. The letter should confirm the legitimacy and practicality of the proposed project as a capstone project.
Students should apply online at: https://forms.gle/VjVohT8onfgdXzBK8
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us:
David Cook, Director of Undergraduate Research, Honors College: david.cook@uah.edu
Dr. William Wilkerson, Dean, Honors College: william.wilkerson@uah.edu
