The SURF seeks to support academically talented students (especially but not limited to students majoring or minoring in African and Black Diaspora Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, or Global Asian Studies) to prepare to enter graduate school and the academy by introducing them to key research tools and experiential learning activities. The fellowship is designed to foster the connections that studies have repeatedly shown lead to success in college and beyond: a strong network of faculty and staff advisors and mentors, friends and peer mentors, and an intellectual community.
Individual LAS faculty may nominate up to two outstanding rising juniors and/or seniors who have demonstrated interest in doing research. We are looking for mature students who have a genuine passion for interdisciplinary academic work and who are open to the experience of delving more deeply into a given field. Students need to have capacity for sustained independent academic work.
Students should have a topic or general area of interest that they hope to explore and turn into a research project, but they do not have to have an already fully-developed project, since the research methods course is designed to help them articulate and narrow their research questions and devise a practical work plan that can be accomplished during the summer.
Each faculty member should nominate no more than two students. Please speak directly with students whom you wish to nominate to ensure they are willing to take the summer course and complete the research project.
Faculty may nominate a student by submitting a letter that addresses the following prompts:
- Please describe, as specifically as possible, what you know about the student’s academic work, enthusiasm for research, and promise as a scholar.
- Please describe the student’s potential research interests.
- Please describe this student’s ability to complete written assignments on time and their capacity for independent work.
- Please describe how this student will contribute to diversifying the academy.
- Please describe why you support awarding this individual.
- Please end your letter with your full contact information, including your name, rank and academic unit at DePaul, email address, and phone number.
Faculty may submit their letters of nominations between February 12 and March 4 to the STRC at strc@depaul.edu.
Once nominations have been received, the STRC will contact students individually and ask them to submit a brief application describing their potential research topics and interests.
Please note: Faculty who nominate an undergraduate for participation in the program are
not making a commitment to mentor the student directly throughout the summer. The research methods course will provide students with guidance and mentorship throughout the summer as they do their research and writing. Nominating faculty may of course continue to mentor students if they wish, and this is quite welcome, but they are not responsible for ensuring that students complete the research project.
Nomination and Application Timeline
The nomination and application timeline is outlined below. Please direct questions to the directors of the STRC, Julie Moody-Freeman (jmoodyfr@depaul.edu) and Bill Johnson González (bjohns58@depaul.edu).
| Stage |
Date |
Call for Nominations Guidelines posted
|
February 1, 2024
|
| Nomination cycle opens |
February 12, 2024
|
| Nomination cycle closes |
March 4, 2024
|
Online Application opens for invited students
|
March 11, 2024
|
Online Application closes
|
April 2, 2024
|
Award notifications
|
April 19, 2024
|
Nomination Preparation
Nominators for the Undergraduate Research Fellowship should review the Call for Nominations packet, which provides complete details of what to include in the Letter for Nomination.
Guidelines & Preparation
Download the Call for Nominations for easy offline review.
Download Packet
Have questions?
Contact us for more information regarding the nomination process.
Email STRC