Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism Program
Application Deadline: March 29, 2013
The Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism will award up to 10 undergraduate research fellowships for projects to be begun in the summer of 2013 and completed during the 2013-2014 academic year.
Students may receive grants of up to $2500. Each student application must be endorsed by a School of Arts and Sciences Faculty Research Advisor who will supervise the project throughout the 2013-2014 academic year. Funds have been provided through the generous support of the Mellon Foundation.
All full-time Penn undergraduate students enrolled in any school who wish to undertake research pertinent to the themes of “Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism” are eligible to apply. Political, sociological, historical, philosophical, anthropological, and literary projects exploring empirical and normative issues of democracy, citizenship, or constitutionalism in any part of the world are eligible. Students with projects on Latin America and/or Latino politics will receive advisory support from the Latin American and Latino Studies program. Applicants are expected but not required to conduct research that will contribute to the writing of a Senior Essay or the completion of an SAS independent study course during the 2013-2014 academic year. Work may involve travel to libraries, archives, field or interview sites, government agencies, NGOs, or other institutions.
All grant recipients are required to participate in monthly seminars during the academic year, which will include discussions of research issues and strategies as well as scholarly presentations on the program’s themes. They will be eligible to attend the Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism’s faculty workshop and conference sessions featuring leading scholars from around the world. All grant recipients are also required to give an oral presentation on their completed research by the end of the 2013-2014 academic year.
Application Process
Please prepare the following in one .pdf document, named “your pennkey”. Please submit one .pdf file. Docx, doc, png, jpg, htm, html, or any other non-.pdf format will be grounds for non-consideration of your application. Name your file with your PennKey name only (the alpha characters, not your PennID Number). Transcripts must be non-secured versions; secured versions prevent us from reading your application and thus will cause your application to be refused.
- Please attach a statement not exceeding 1000 words describing the aims and rationale for the research project related to some dimension of “Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism” that you wish to undertake. Indicate as concretely as possible your preliminary research plans.
- Please provide a preliminary budget of your research expenses. Appropriate items include research travel, housing, food, and phone costs, book and document costs, fees to use archives, survey costs, etc.
- Please provide a copy of your PennInTouch transcript and CV or resume.
Click hereto go to the web-based application, where you will be asked to fill out a form and upload the above prepared document. Applications are due no later than March 29, 2013.
In addition, your faculty research advisor must separately submit a supporting letter of recommendation on your behalf indicating the role the Advisor will play in supervising your research in the summer of 2013 and the 2013-2014 academic year. The letter should make clear the nature and extent of your contribution in formulating and carrying out the project. Please ask your faculty research advisor to submit the completed letter in .pdf format via the Advisor’s Recommendation Form, and inform your faculty research advisor whether you have chosen to keep their letter confidential and waive your right of access to it. Letters are due no later than March 29, 2013.
Contact
Dr. Wallace Genser
Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships
The ARCH, 3601 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6244
215-746-6488
Questions concerning the DCC Undergraduate Research Grants should be directed to Professor Rogers M. Smith, Chair of the Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism, e-mail , phone 215 898-7662, or the DCC Program Administrative Assistant, Chelsea Schafer, e-mail .