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Undergraduate Summer Research and Artistry Fellowship Program

The Bradley University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) is strongly committed to students’ experiential learning and their intellectual and personal growth. Meritorious summer research and artistry substantially advances these goals.

The purpose of the Undergraduate Summer Research and Artistry Fellowship Program is to provide outstanding LAS undergraduate students with the time, financial support, and intensive faculty mentorship to pursue an in-depth, meaningful research or artistic project related to a senior thesis or capstone project.

Application Process FAQs Evaluation Rubric for Proposals

Eligibility

Any degree-seeking undergraduate currently enrolled full-time (12 or more credit hours) at Bradley University who is:

  • majoring in one of the programs housed in LAS,
  • in their junior year (60+ credit hours), and
  • able to devote significant time to research or artistic activity for at least 9 weeks during the summer.

Students with senior status (90+ hours) are eligible if they are enrolled as a full-time degree- seeking undergraduate at Bradley University during the Fall 2025 semester and commit to come back to present their work at the Student Scholarship Expo and the LAS Student Awards Ceremony in Spring 2026.

There is no definitive model for summer research and artistry. A sampling of activities includes scientific laboratory work, field research, software design and/or application, survey research, mathematical work, archival research, literary or philosophical analysis, cultural studies, interviews, media studies, creative writing and poetry, and translation work.

Award

Awardees of the LAS Undergraduate Summer Research and Artistry Fellowship are eligible for a $4,500 stipend to cover basic living expenses during the summer. Students receiving compensation will be required to fill out time forms at appropriate intervals as requested by the University.

Each faculty mentor will receive $500 as an expression of gratitude for devoted summer mentorship

Commitments

Recipients of the LAS Undergraduate Summer Research and Artistry Fellowship ($4,500) are expected to work full-time (at least 30 hours a week) on their research or artistic project for at least 9 weeks out of the 13 weeks that span the Bradley 2025 summer sessions (May 19 through August 20). Thus, the minimum commitment is 270 hours (30 per week for 9 weeks). The minimum 9-week commitment can be spread out within the 13-week summer session (allowing for vacation time, etc.).

Awardees are expected to be in constant communication with their faculty mentor and participate in a midterm evaluation sent by the LAS Dean’s office. At the conclusion of the summer (August 20, 2025) the awardees will submit a Project Summary that describes the outcomes of their summer work. The summary will be a five-page double-spaced report that reflects thoughtfully on the research or artistic experience and clearly details what was accomplished during the summer period of work. The summary will be submitted electronically to Dr. Aurea Toxqui, LAS Associate Dean of Diversity and Innovation, atoxqui@bradley.edu. The faculty mentor should also receive the project summary and approve it.

TThe awardee will present their final work at a professional conference and/or at the Bradley Student Scholarship Expo held in Spring 2026. A copy of the presentation abstract should be submitted to Dr. Aurea Toxqui (email address above). The awardee is also expected to showcase their poster at the LAS Student Awards Ceremony in April 2026.

The awardees agree to have their name, photograph, and project information appear on Bradley University websites and printed materials.

Selection Criteria

The three principal criteria for making award decisions are:

  1. the quality of the student’s proposal,
  2. a fit between the research or artistic plan and the proposed timeline for completion,
  3. clear evidence of the faculty mentor’s support for the project.

As a secondary consideration, the disciplinary diversity of the awards may be taken into account in cases where multiple awards are both possible and warranted. Preference will be given to applicants who have not received other summer fellowships such as the Interdisciplinary Summer Research Fellowship.

Faculty Mentor

The faculty mentor commits to meet with the student routinely during the summer to discuss the project’s progress. If necessary, these meetings may occur via Zoom, Google Meet, or some other electronic form. The mentor or co-mentor needs to be a full-time faculty member in a department within LAS.

The mentor will review and approve (a) the project summary at the conclusion of the summer period and (b) the final written work.