Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Scholar Program Proposal Guidelines
2022-2023
This program will be available for work in summers of 2019-2022 thanks to the generous support of the Henry Luce Foundation.
Eligible applicants are female U.S. citizens or permanent residents (i.e., green card holders) who are physical science majors with strong academic performance (GPA of 3.0 or higher). Eligible research projects will take place on campus and be in the disciplines of the physical sciences. See separate page for details about eligible and ineligible disciplines for research projects and majors.
Guidelines for the proposal content are given below.
Your proposal should include the listed components, organized in the order described below:
I. Title
II. Body of Proposal: not to exceed three pages excluding any figures and tables. Text should be written in a 12-point font and double spaced.
III. Appendices A-F, described below.
Components of part II. the Body of the Proposal:
Listed below are some general guidelines and questions that the committee will be evaluating. The specific structure of the body of the proposal may vary significantly among academic disciplines, and it is therefore critical that the applicant consult closely with her/his mentor to format the proposal in a manner best suited for conveying specialized content to a non-specialized audience. Be advised that badly organized, poorly written, unclear or incomplete proposals will not receive funding.
IIa. Introduction:
In this section, please address all of the questions below. The questions do not need to be addressed in any particular order, but should be integrated into a thoughtful, cohesive and clear narrative.
-Broadly stated, describe the goal(s) of your project. For example, what scholarship do you plan to perform, what specific questions do you plan to answer, or what hypotheses do you want to test? Important note: the committee will pay particular attention to whether or not the completion of stated goals of the project are feasible within the 6-8 week period of the fellowship.
- Briefly describe the inspiration for your project. For example, you could describe relevant existing literature related to your project or discuss works of arts relevant to your project.
- Why is the topic/project of personal interest to you? How will you benefit personally, academically, and/or professionally from this scholarship?
-What will the final product(s) of your project be? Examples of final products could include musical compositions, works of art, essays, and research papers/reports.
IIb. Project Approach/Design/Methodology
In this section of your proposal you will describe how you will accomplish the goals you delineated in the introduction. As above, the questions below do not need to be addressed in any particular order, but should be integrated into a thoughtful, cohesive and clear narrative.
-Using terms that a general audience can understand, describe the approach, design, or methods you will use to complete the project.
-Are there any foreseeable obstacles that you might encounter while working on this project? If so, how will you address these?
--What resources are needed for the project to be completed successfully? Comment on the availability of these items at SLU. If any items need to be purchased, be sure to itemize these in an Appendix at the end of the proposal.
-If you plan to work with human participants, please include your IRB approval letter OR address where you are in the submission/approval process. If you plan to work with human participants but don’t need IRB approval, please explain.
III. Appendices:
- Appendix A Literature or Resources Cited: Complete references to any scholarship cited in your proposal should appear here.
- Appendix B Project Timeline: Using a narrative or tabular format, briefly outline your weekly goals for progress on your project. It is expected that you will work 40 hours per week on your project, and your timeline should reflect this. Please explain whether and why you plan to deviate from this requirement.
-Appendix C Level of Preparation for the research proposed. List: Skills/technique/knowledge needed to complete the project. Describe any relevant classes and grades received; other experience (laboratory work, internship, etc.)
-Appendix D Itemized Budget. Each Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholar will receive funds for supplies ($300) and travel ($600). You must submit a detailed rationale and detailed budget for these funds.
For further information or questions, please call or email Carol Smith in the Corporate and Foundation Relations/Sponsored Research Office at csmith@stlawu.edu or 315-229-5574.