Undergraduate 2016-2017 Academic Year Scholarship
Office of the Dean
We invite all College of Arts & Sciences majors to submit a proposal for the Undergraduate
Academic Year Scholarship. The primary goal of the award is to provide students with the
opportunity to cultivate skills by working collaboratively with faculty on a scholarly or creative
project. Awards are given during the academic year and may begin at the start of fall or spring
semesters. The award carries a $1,500 stipend per semester for the student, up to $500 for
research related expenses (e.g., materials, transportation, field work) needed by the student for the
completion of the project.
The scholarship supports scholarly and artistic training related to a specific project during the
academic year that falls outside of AU credit hours. Students may not receive independent study,
independent reading, or internship credit for participating in this activity funded by this award.
However the scholarly activity might become part of a senior capstone project. The work to be
completed during this grant may be spread over one or two semesters.
The faculty mentor will be awarded $250 per semester; funds may be paid directly or added to
their CAS research expense account. Please note all faculty mentors must be a full-time faculty
during the time of the award and may only supervise one award-winning student per year.
Application Requirements
• Applicants must have a primary CAS major with a minimum major GPA of 3.3 and a
minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
• Awardees must be enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at American University
during the period of the award.
• Preference will be given to students with demonstrated economic need as determined by the
Financial Aid Office. Students do not provide this documentation.
• All applications must include:
o a cover page with the name of the project, the names and email addresses of the
student and faculty mentor, and the student’s primary major; if applicable include
secondary majors and minors.
o an abstract (300 word maximum) and a short list of key words.
o the proposal itself, limited to 1,000 words (not including references). Describe the
project (exactly what you will do), explain the project’s significance in terms of your
field, and provide information regarding the academic or artistic training that will
enable you to undertake this proposed activity.
o a timeline for completion.
•
o a letter of support from the intended faculty mentor.
Awardees are required to file a final report, co-signed by their faculty sponsor, within 30 days
of completing their scholarly or creative activity.
The scholarship is competitive. The College will make up to 12 awards distributed across the
Clusters: Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. The application review
committee will be composed of the CAS Associate Dean of Research, Associate Dean for
Undergraduate Studies, the CAS Research Committee and possibly faculty representatives drawn
from the academic units.
Award winners will be expected to publicly present their completed work. For instance, they
might present, display or perform their work at a conference at AU or at an event off campus.
They also may be asked to speak to prospective students during Preview Days about their
scholarship. Awards are made for the academic year (August 2016 – April 2017). All work
should be completed by and all funding must be expended by April 30, 2017.
Applications should be submitted to the Associate Dean of Research of the College of Arts
and Sciences at casresearch@american.edu by April 1, 2016.