The Hampden-Sydney Research Fellows program is designed for accepted students who show a strong academic aptitude and potential for success with independent research work at the College.  Hampden-Sydney Research Fellows will receive guaranteed access to one-on-one mentored work with a professor in a discipline of interest and the opportunity to explore scholarly work as part of his Hampden-Sydney education. 

Eligibility and Application

Accepted students with an academic record of at least a 4.0+ grade point average and an SAT of 1400, or ACT of 30, are invited to apply for a Research Fellowship.  The application will consist of a letter of interest in the program, as well as an essay describing the applicant’s scholarly interests.  The letter and essay can be sent by e-mail to the Senior Associate Dean of Admission Mark G. Meitz ‘95 at MMeitz@hsc.edu. The applicant will review the Faculty Mentors for Research Fellows list and indicate 1-3 faculty members with whom he would like to work. 

Applications will be evaluated with respect to the applicant’s quality of response, potential for success in his first year as a budding research scholar, and availability of a faculty mentor in the applicant’s field of interest.  The review of applications is on a rolling basis.

Programmatic Opportunities for the Research Fellow 

During the freshman year, Research Fellows will attend a weekly one-hour session led by the Director of Undergraduate Research and Faculty Mentors.  This session will serve as an opportunity for Fellows to talk about their work and the plans for their summer research project. 

During the summer following their first year at the College, Fellows will work on an 8-week research project—jointly created by the student and his Faculty Mentor—for ~20 hours per week.  Since Fellows may be new to the research process, this project will be designed to be accessible to a novice scholar and to introduce the Fellow to assembling the “toolbox” necessary for success in scholarly work.

At the beginning of his sophomore year, the Fellow will present his work in poster or oral form at an on-campus Research Showcase organized by the Director of Undergraduate Research.

Research Fellows will have the opportunity to present their work at a regional or national academic conference.  They will, also, be invited to work with the Office of Undergraduate Research to select new cohorts of Research Fellows and to select and organize scholarly events on campus.

Benefits

  • $300 per week stipend for 8 weeks ($2,400 total for the summer) for the Summer Research Project with on-campus accommodations provided free of charge.
  • Invitations to scholarly and cultural events not open to the general student population.