Academic Enhancement Research Fellowship

 

Applications for Summer and Fall 2024 Projects:

Priority Deadline: March 1st

Final Deadline: March 15th

 

The Academic Enhancement Research Fellowship provides funding to allow students to pursue activities that will enhance their undergraduate experience outside of a traditional classroom setting. Through this award, the Office of Academic Enhancement encourages students to take intellectual risks, pursue creative and innovative projects and ideas, and engage in opportunities that take them outside of their normal course of on-campus study. These opportunities may include but are not limited to, research, community engagement, or social impact projects or initiatives, creative projects, and other opportunities.

Regardless of the opportunity, awardees must complete a research element as part of their fellowship. This research can align with their internship or fellowship work, or it can be a separate self-designed component. If conducting research as part of a lab, applicants must demonstrate their individual contributions to the research project in their application. Successful applications will detail research plans and propose projects that are feasibly completed during the fellowship period. Fellows are required to submit a final project report and a copy of their completed project (website, paper, film, book, etc.). With projects that are a part of a larger work, awardees can provide a draft of a substantial excerpt from a larger, ongoing work. 

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this award, a student must:

  • Be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student at UM
  • Have at least one semester left after the completion of the award term
  • Possess a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
  • At minimum, be a second semester first-year during the time of application

Application

The application form is available here.

Students may apply for fall, spring, or summer funding. A student may only apply for one funding period at a time. (For example, you may apply for fall funding with one application, but may not apply for fall and spring funding with one application. A separate application must be filed for each grant term.)  

Previous awardees who choose to reapply for funding must submit a proposal for a new project. Priority will be given to students who have not previously received funding.

Students are to submit the following items to the Office of Prestigious Awards via email at prestigiousawards@miami.edu:

  1. The completed and signed application as the cover sheet. 
  2. 1-3 page project proposal
  3. Project Contingency Plan 
  4. Basic project budget
  5. Resume
  6. Copy of unofficial transcript
  7. 2 letters of recommendation (Instruct recommenders to email letters directly to prestigiousawards@miami.edu)

Items 1-6 should be submitted via email as ONE PDF DOCUMENT. 

NOTE: If you would like to receive feedback on your application, you must send your materials to the Office of Prestigious Awards and Fellowships (prestigiousawards@miami.edu) at least two weeks prior to the application deadline.

Timeline

For Summer/Fall Projects: 
  • Application Opens: January 15
  • Deadline: Priority Deadline- March 1st at 11:59 p.m. Final Deadline- March 15th, at 11:59 p.m.

For Spring Projects: 

  • Application Opens: August 15
  • Deadline: Priority Deadline- October 1st at 11:59 p.m. Final Deadline- October 15th, at 11:59 p.m.

Incomplete applications and applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. A committee consisting of select UM professinoal staff and/or faculty will review applications and decide which students will receive funding.