Scholarships

Charles Phelps Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellowship

This fellowship, worth $3500, will be awarded annually to a single student interested in undertaking significant, publishable research on a subject related to Romance languages and literatures.

Applications for the Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellowship in Romance Languages will be accepted every spring quarter from interested students who are projected to graduate by the end of the following spring quarter.

Interested students should formulate a topic, proposal, and budget and to refine their ideas in consultation with a potential faculty director and a second faculty reader. The project may be related to previous coursework but should go substantially beyond what the student has already accomplished. The final proposal (three pages double-spaced, including the student's name, student number, and email address) should describe the project and its scholarly significance and offer a schedule and budget for completion. In addition, candidates for the Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellowship should request a letter of recommendation from their faculty director indicating support for the project, willingness to direct it, and confidence in the student's ability to complete it. The letter and three copies of the proposal must be received by the Director of Undergraduate Studies by May 15.

The Research Committee in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures will examine applications and choose the Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellow within ten days after the deadline. If there is an "extra" Fellowship (one not awarded the previous year), they will choose two Fellows. Criteria for selection will be the significance and feasibility of the project, the student's preparation (including GPA; a transcript will be supplied by the Director of Undergraduate Studies), and the strength of the recommendation of the faculty director. Announcement of the award will be made to the candidate immediately and then publicly at the departmental reception at the end of the quarter.

The Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellow will begin research during the summer and then enroll in FREN/SPAN 591 (Independent Study, 3 credits) and 592 (Independent Study, 3 credits) in fall and winter in order to finish the research and write up the results. Both of these Independent Studies will count toward the French and Spanish majors; together, they will count as equivalent to the Capstone, but the Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellow may choose to complete the normal Capstone if he or she wishes to. Grades will be assigned by the faculty director in consultation with the second reader.

The research is expected to result in a 30- to 50-page paper of scholarly merit in English, French, or Spanish, to include a bibliography. The department will arrange a presentation by the Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellow to fellow undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty members in spring of the following year, that is, in the quarter in which the project is completed.

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