Each year the College awards up to five Summer Research Apprenticeships for Bates students to participate in research projects under the direction of College Faculty working in all disciplines. Each grant provides a stipend for the student and support to cover room-and-board expenses.

Faculty members may apply for their research projects to be supported through summer grants to qualified student participants. Preference is given to projects that would otherwise have no student involvement. Normally no more than one grant may be awarded to a single project. These grants are competitive; Faculty members in all academic departments are encouraged to apply.

Application:

1. Faculty members who wish to sponsor a student research apprentice for an eight- to ten-week period during the summer may submit a proposal for such sponsorship to the Dean of the Faculty by January 15. The proposal must include an abstract and a statement describing the research goals and methodologies, the project timetable with the begin and end dates of the project (these dates will be used as the basis for the payroll contract) as well as the specific involvement of the student research apprentice.  PLEASE submit your ORIGINAL PAPERWORK AND 4 COPIES of the ENTIRE PROPOSAL for a TOTAL OF 5 COMPLETE PACKETS.

2. A committee of Faculty members will review proposals to determine their appropriateness for student participation. Such determination will be based upon the degree of Faculty commitment to providing students with genuine research opportunities, on the degree of enhancement given to the research experiences to student college careers.

3. Following the selection of Faculty proposals for funding, all first-year students, sophomores, and juniors will be informed of those research positions for which the Faculty member has not yet chosen a student collaborator. Interested students may apply to the Dean of the Faculty by March 3.  Each sponsoring Faculty member will select the student for the award. Students may receive application information through the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.

4. Students awarded Research Apprenticeships must meet with sponsoring Faculty members as soon as they receive notification of their awards. Faculty and students should discuss the scope of the project, the schedule and other details of the work before the student agrees to participate.

Conditions:

1. Students who have Summer Research Apprenticeships are ineligible for funding from other grants.

2. Research Apprenticeships are intended to give students an opportunity to engage in long-term, intensive research. Students are expected to work eight to ten weeks full time during the summer (up to forty hours per week or the equivalent).

3. Each Faculty sponsor must also submit a one-page written evaluation of the student's work, and comment on the overall success of the project within two weeks of the completion of the project.  For reporting requirements see below.

4.  Each student participant also must submit a written report (see below) and to present his/her project during the Parents Weekend Poster Session unless they are studying off campus in the fall.

5.  All future grants are contingent upon receiving these reports.

Information on the Written Application Process for Students

If the position in which you are interested requires a WRITTEN APPLICATION, please use the summer research grant common application form http://www.bates.edu/Prebuilt/General-Grant-Application.pdf.

Please complete the form.

You do NOT need a faculty signature or a letter of support unless the faculty researcher asks for one, but please provide the NAME of a faculty member who can attest to your qualifications should the faculty researcher need for information on you.

Attach to the completed form a two-page essay in which you:

--explain why you want to work on the research project

--explain how this work relates to your academic interests

--describe courses you have taken which may qualify you fore the project

--describe any prior research experience you may have (if applicable)

--explain what you hope to get out of the summer research experience and how it might inform future work

More Important Information for Students:

• All summer funding is contingent upon a student maintaining a GPA of at least 2.5.
• You can not use research grant funding to participate in a credit-earning summer academic program or receive academic credit for summer research.
• This is a research project that involves a full-time (up to 40 hours per week) commitment for eight to ten weeks; therefore you cannot earn additional funds at the College.
• Summer Research Apprenctices are expected to submit a brief progress report on their work to the Dean of the Faculty's Office within two weeks of the completion of the project and to present their research during the Parents Weekend Poster Session unless they are studying off campus in the fall.

Please submit two entire copies of your application and all attachments to the Dean of the Faculty's Office (121 Lane Hall) by 5:00 PM on March 3. Students applying from off campus may fax their applications (207-786-8393) or email them (dbegin@bates.edu) to the Dean's Office. The Dean of the Faculty's Office staff will turn all applications over to the faculty researcher, who will select the summer researcher.

#   #   #   #   #   #   #   #   #

RESEARCHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Summer Research Apprenticeships
Hughes/INBRE Student-Faculty Research Grants

In order to assess the value of our summer research programs, make improvements to them and secure further funding to support them, it is critical that the Dean of the Faculty's Office secure specific feedback on each summer research project from each participant. We excerpt the reports for our own reporting to HHMI and INBRE.

What Do We Need from You?  For student-faculty research projects funded through the Dean of the Faculty's Office, we need a report from both the student researcher(s) and the faculty researcher. In addition, we need an abstract of the work completed.

When Do We Need the Information?  We need all abstracts and reports submitted within 2 weeks of the completion of the project (i.e., the last day of the student's payroll contract). We recommend that you spend time during the last week of the project to compile the report. We require timely submission of the reports because of our own reporting requirements to our funding agencies.

Abstract. The student or students in the research team should prepare a 100- to 150-word abstract summarizing the research question, the methodology, and the results of the research. The abstract must be reviewed by the faculty research director and approved before submission to the Dean of the Faculty. The faculty should add a statement to the end of the abstract stating his or her approval. Do not use the abstract originally submitted by the faculty researcher in his or her proposal; report on what you actually did.

Student Report. Each student on the project should submit a separate report of 500 words or less addressing the following questions:

 1) What were the significant findings of the research?
 
 2) Did you actually conduct original research? Do you now know more about your research topic that you knew before?

 3) Did your understanding of the material under investigation change as a result of this research experience?

 4)  How did your summer research experience compare to your previous academic experience in the discipline under study?

 5) Are you continuing the research following the summer experience (e.g., thesis, independent study, paid assistantship, following summer)?

Faculty Report. The faculty research director should submit one report assessing the work of the student or students on the project, addressing these questions:

 1) Was progress made on your research?

 2) Please assess the contribution of each student to the project.

 3) Do you anticipate that you and/or the student(s) will present the research at a scholarly meeting or publish the work?

Submission of Approved Abstract and Reports. Please submit the abstract and all reports ELECTRONICALLY by sending Word attachments or pdf files to Denise Begin (dbegin@bates.edu) in the Dean of the Faculty's Office. Any future grants are contingent upon these reports.

1/2008