Straetz Scholars Eligibility

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants must be rising 3^rd- or 4^th-year undergraduate students at the University of Chicago.
• Applicants must be students in good standing and registered full-time during the spring quarter before the summer award period and the autumn quarter following it.
• Open to applicants of any citizenship, nationality, or documentation status.
• Open to all majors.
• Applicants’ academic performance should be indicative of sufficient preparation to carry out advanced research as detailed in the proposal.

PROJECT ELIGIBILITY

All projects must comply with University travel policies and guidelines.

Faculty-Driven Research Projects and BA Thesis Research Projects:

• Projects must be conducted under the supervision of a faculty member at the University of Chicago, or another academic research professional at an international academic institution. 
• Projects should involve a time commitment approximately equivalent to full-time work (37.5 hours per week) over a 10-week period. Applications for projects of less than 8 weeks in duration or less than 25 hours per week will not be considered.
• Students engaging in research that involves human subjects must address their projects’ Internal Review Board (IRB) status. Specifically, they must provide documentation of IRB approval or exemption. If it requires IRB approval, they must also show how the project is covered by an analogous process at their international institution.
• Students who intend to carry out ethnographic research must demonstrate that they have the appropriate methodological training to do so safely and ethically.
• Projects must occur during the summer only. 

Advanced Language Training for Research Purposes:

• Proposals must be for advanced language training directly related to enhancing the applicant’s ability to carry out advanced, BA thesis research. (This is not for beginning language study, but rather for language acquisition at a level necessary for advanced research. Students who wish to pursue language study for other purposes should consider the Foreign Language Acquisition Grant.)
• Proposals must explain how this language expertise is necessary for their research.
• Proof of admission to an advanced language training program will be required. 

NOT ELIGIBLE

• Recent graduates; projects to be carried out the summer following graduation.
• Independent or exclusively student-driven projects with no faculty oversight. 
• Summer school programs; courses or practicums (except advanced language training programs).
• Independent study courses or “reading” courses.
• Professional internships, externships, job shadowing, career treks.
• Research undertaken in a non-academic environment, including private industry research.
• Research conducted at UChicago or other US institutions.
  • Students who are seeking financial support for full-time summer research opportunities at UChicago or another US institution of higher education should apply for the Quad Summer Research grant.
• Students on a Leave of Absence from the University. 
• Students may not receive any funding for undergraduate research if they are also earning academic credit for the experience. This is a university-wide policy.
• Students may not receive Straetz funding if they are being paid for the research through other means (e.g., Study Abroad grants, Metcalf, a faculty research budget, departmental sources). Applicants will be asked to disclose all sources of funding and any other applications made for funding as a part of their Straetz application.

What is scholarly undergraduate research? Undergraduate research is a faculty-mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge; it is a meaningful scholarly activity that aids in the development of research tools, and enriches the student's academic experience by helping them develop a greater understanding of their chosen discipline(s) and its research methodologies.