The Fellows program provides a unique opportunity for a group of juniors and seniors to gather from across all three divisions of LSA; the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Participants learn from one another about the nature of research across this whole range, comparing the modes of work, nature of valid evidence, styles of presentation, and special challenges. Being a Summer Fellow will provide you with space to participate in substantive interdisciplinary interactions at a time in your studies when many influences are pushing you to specialize.

Honors Summer Fellows will be brought together in an interdisciplinary cohort for ten weeks in Ann Arbor during the summer of 2012, from May 28 to August 3. Fellows will spend most of this time engaged in full-time pursuit of their thesis project. In addition, all Fellows will meet together for two hours each week with Honors Director Tim McKay. These sessions will be dedicated to regular reports from Fellows on their progress, discussions on the evolving nature of scholarly work, presentations from several UM faculty panels about their research and academic lives, practical training in scholarly writing, academic presentations, and public outreach, and tours of labs and research collections. Fellows will be expected to play an active role in designing these sessions, and to participate electronically even if off campus for short periods.

The Fellows program provides a unique opportunity for a group of upper class students to gather from across all three divisions of LSA: the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Participants learn from one another about the nature of research across this whole range, comparing the modes of work, nature of valid evidence, styles of presentation, and special challenges. It is an unusual opportunity to reclaim the interdisciplinary interactions which play such an important role in a genuine liberal arts education at a time in your studies when many influences push you to specialize.

In addition to the intellectual and moral support provided by the cohort of Fellows, financial support is available to enable students to remain in Ann Arbor and dedicate substantial time to their thesis projects. Students seeking financial support will receive a summer grant of $4000 for the ten week program. This can be supplemented by half-time support from other sources. Fellows may also apply for additional support for research expenses, to attend academic conferences, travel to archives or research sites, or pay publication costs. Some Fellows will already be fully supported by departmental or lab research grants. Such students are encouraged to apply to the Fellows program as non-stipendiary fellows so that they may take advantage of the many benefits provided by participation in this interdisciplinary cohort. All Fellows will be expected to work full-time on their thesis projects through the term of the fellowship.

Honors Summer Fellows may be engaged at any stage of their thesis work, from exploration of a thesis topic to advanced research at the core of an established project. Applicants will typically be third year students advancing to their senior year. In many departments, they will already be accepted into Honors concentration programs, though in some this will not yet have happened. In some cases, students advance rapidly enough to begin serious thesis research after their second year. Applicants who have just finished their second year should be sure to explain why they feel they would benefit from this program at an unusually early stage.

The program has four requirements, all intended to enhance the senior thesis experience for Fellows and to enhance the visibility of the thesis process within the Honors Program.

    • All Fellows will be expected to spend the 10 weeks of the program engaged in disciplined pursuit of their thesis topics.

    • All Fellows are expected to be active participants in weekly two-hour meetings of the Fellows cohort, and to provide insight and support to other Fellow’s work.

    • During the summer, each Summer Fellow will be expected to make two 5-minute presentations describing how they got to this point in their thesis to groups of entering Honors students attending orientation.

    • During the summer, Fellows will reflect on the thesis process and their progress in a manner intended to make explicit the tacit knowledge which characterizes expertise. This will include producing:
        o An academic abstract appropriate for submission to a conference in their discipline
        o An oral or poster presentation appropriate for a conference in their discipline
        o Reflective work in a variety of web accessible new media formats, suitable for explaining the content and importance of their research to a lay audience.

To apply, Honors students must provide the following:

• An Application Form, including an explanation of the level of financial support desired. This should be submitted as a PDF file with name ‘yourname_hsf_application.pdf’ to the Ctools site below.
• A CV showing relevant educational experience, awards, honors, and memberships. This should be submitted as a PDF file with name ‘yourname_hsf_cv.pdf’ to the Ctools site below.
• An unofficial transcript: This should be submitted as a PDF file with name ‘yourname_hsf_transcript.pdf’ to the Ctools site below.
• A 1000-1500 word Statement of Purpose, describing the thesis project, its current status, and including a plan for work to be done in fellowship period. This should be submitted as a PDF file with name ‘yourname_hsf_statement.pdf’ to the Ctools site below.

All student material can be submitted by going to the Ctools siteand using the ‘dropbox’ created for you.

• An Endorsement Form from an appropriate faculty member. Depending on the concentration, this may be a thesis supervisor or the faculty chair of your departmental Honors concentration. This may be submitted by your instructor as hard copy to the Honors Program in 1330 Mason Hall, or via email to hsfapps2012@umich.edu.

Applications are due by 5 pm Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

Decisions about awards will be made and announced by 5 pm Wednesday, February 22, 2012.