What types of projects are suitable for this program?

  • Creative work - examples include studio art, directing a theatre production, and creative writing.
  • Scholarship - examples include archival research and document- or text-based analysis.
  • Field-based studies - examples include case studies, participant-observation, and action research.
  • Research projects - examples include developing and implementing surveys and conducting statistical analysis of data.

Professionally-focused internships are not generally supported through this program. Other types of projects may be considered.

What are the characteristics of appropriate projects?

Typically, projects in these fields are designed by students themselves, in which you:

  • Pursue an original project in which the outcome or answer is unknown.
  • Generate direction for the project in collaboration with a faculty mentor.
  • Take “ownership” of/are responsible for a significant part of the work.
  • Strive to meet professional standards appropriate to the discipline.
  • Engage and/or share outcomes with the wider disciplinary or local community
  • Practice structured reflection throughout the project with guidance from your faculty mentor
  • Are guided by consistent and active faculty mentoring.

The Faculty Review Committee will also consider projects in which the faculty member has designed the scope of the project, as long as the collaboration includes a significant component of independent work by the Scholar.

Projects that take place away from Ithaca during the summer will be considered, but only if the project itself requires you to physically be at another location in order to complete it (e.g., conducting research in archives located in another city). In this case, your application must explain how you and your Faculty Mentor will stay in regular contact in order to meet the goals both of your project and of the Summer Scholar program.

How are projects selected for an award?

Criteria for selection by the Review Committee include:

  • Effective research/scholarship design.
  • A combination of well-defined project goals with feasible implementation plans.
  • Evidence that you have sufficient preparation (through coursework or previous experience) to engage in and be successful in the project.
  • A clear plan for active mentoring by the faculty mentor as part of the collaboration.
  • Proposals that are professionally written, that clearly express your voice, and that persuasively describe your ownership of/leadership role in the project.

In addition to these criteria, the Program also endeavors to have a variety of disciplines represented by the Scholars' projects.

The positions available through the H&S Summer Scholars Program are funded by:

  • The School of Humanities and Sciences.
  • The Ithaca College Annual Fund for H&S.
  • The Emerson Foundation, through the Emerson Humanities Collaboration Award (for financial aid eligible students).
  • The Ithaca College Dana Internship Program (for financial aid eligible students).

No additional application materials are required to be considered for any of these summer research positions. In order to receive consideration for a Dana Internship or Emerson Collaboration Award, you must have your FAFSA on file with Student Financial Services by February 1.

Faculty mentors for these projects should be based in the departments/programs listed below. Occasionally a faculty member will have a project and be looking for a student collaborator, but for the most part, these are projects that students design. It is up to you to reach out to faculty members to identify a mentor for your project.

Anthropology (focus on student-designed projects in applied or cultural anthropology)
Art
Art History
Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity
Communication Studies
Economics
English
Environmental Studies and Sciences (focus on independent projects in the humanities or social sciences)
Gerontology
History
Jewish Studies
Modern Languages and Literatures
Philosophy and Religion
Politics
Psychology (focus on independent, student-designed projects)
Sociology
Theatre Arts

NOTE: Faculty mentors of independent projects must complete a Faculty Mentor Application that will be combined with the Scholar Application for evaluation by the Review Committee.

Please consult the Guidelines for Faculty Mentors before submitting your application.