Sophomore Research Fellowship
The Sophomore Research Fellowships support undergraduate research done in collaboration with UW-Madison faculty or research/instructional academic staff.
Eligibility Criteria
A second year undergraduate
A first year undergraduate who will have more than 24 credits after May of the current academic year
A transfer student in their first year of attendance at UW-Madison
Cumulative GPA of 2.3 or above
Must be in good academic and disciplinary standing to apply
Other Restrictions
Faculty/staff members may submit no more than two student projects/year across all divisions (biological sciences, humanities, physical sciences, social sciences and interdisciplinary).
Students may not apply for the Hilldale/Holstrom and the Sophomore Research Fellowship in the same year.
Previous student recipients of a Sophomore award may not apply again.
Students who accept a Sophomore Research Fellowship (SRF) may not accept funding from other sources for the same research project during the same time period. (For example, if you plan to apply for summer funding from another source you may want to apply for the SRF for the fall and/or spring term.)
How to Apply
Applications include a 3 -5 page proposal and a letter of recommendation.
Selection Criteria
Evidence of the student’s intellectual contribution to the research; degree of meaningful collaboration with a faculty research mentor; extent to which the research objective is achievable within the proposed timeline.
Award Information
The student researcher receives a stipend, and faculty/staff research advisor receives a stipend for costs associated with the research (e.g., supplies, student travel related to the project). Approximately 25 Sophomore Research Fellowships will be awarded this year.
Conditions of Award
Award recipients must register for three credits of supervised research or directed study during the summer or academic year following the receipt of the award in May. The recipients must also have proposals approved by the Human Subjects and/or Animal Care and Use Committee(s) if they propose to use human or animal subjects. The recipients must also present findings at the Undergraduate Symposium and submit a research report of approximately 500 to 1000 words upon completion of research.
Visit program site
For questions please contact the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office: awards@provost.wisc.edu, (608) 265-2428.
- Award
- $2,500
- Organizations
- Undergraduate Academic Awards
- Deadline
- 03/01/2021
- Supplemental Questions
- Please indicate which of the following describes your academic level and establishes your eligibility for a Sophomore Research Fellowship:
- Have you applied for a Hilldale Research Fellowship/Holstrom Environmental Research Fellowship this year? (You may not apply for both the Sophomore Research Fellowship and the Hilldale Research Fellowship/Holstrom Environmental Scholarship in the same year.)
- Academic field of proposed research:
- Title of proposed research project:
- Project Advisor
- a. Project advisor's name:
- b. Project advisor's UW-Madison email address:
- c. Project advisor's title (Professor, Research Scientist, etc...):
- d. Project advisor's department (Sociology, Botany, etc...)
- e. REQUEST REFERENCE: To request a letter of reference from your project advisor click on "Add a New Reference," and (re)enter their name and email address below. The WiSH system will send an email to your project advisor with a link to upload their letter. You are responsible for ensuring your project advisor completes this reference request.
- When do you plan to start the research outlined in this Sophomore Research Fellowship proposal?
- Are you applying for, or have you received, other undergraduate scholarships/fellowships to complete the research proposed in this application? (If you are awarded and accept a Sophomore Research Fellowship (SRF) you may not accept funding from other sources for the same research project during the same time period. For example, if you plan to apply for summer funding from another source you may want to apply for the SRF for the academic year.)
- If yes, please describe. (For example, 'Applied for summer research grant from the Biochemistry Department.')
- Project Proposal
Please upload your project proposal in pdf format, and name the file like this: last name+first name (EX: Badger+Bucky).
Your proposal should be three to five double-spaced pages (including abstract and references), and should follow disciplinary guidelines. Please use at least 1 inch margins and a font size no smaller than 11pt. If you are uncertain about how to format your proposal, talk to your project advisor.
All proposals should contain the following:
* An abstract of the proposed research (200 words or less, may be single-spaced)
* Introduction and literature review, detailing the originality and significance of the proposed project
* Methods section, describing plans for data collection and analysis
* Timeline for completion of project
* Conclusion/future directions
* References (may be single-spaced)
Sample successful proposals are available for review here. (These sample proposals are for view only. No reproductions allowed.) - Talk with your project advisor about what you will do if pandemic conditions necessitate restrictions on in-person research activities during summer 2021 and/or the 2021-2022 academic year. Briefly describe how you might modify your proposed research so you can work remotely if needed. (Enter N/A if your proposal would require no modifications.)
- Please upload your most up-to-date unofficial transcript. For instructions on how to do this, go to
- Conditions of the Sophomore Research Fellowship: Students must
1) Register and complete three credits of supervised research or directed study during the summer or academic year following the receipt of the award in May.
2) Apply for and receive approval from the Human Subjects and/or Animal Care and Use Committee(s) if research uses human or animal subjects. This must be done prior to the start of research.
3) Present findings at the Undergraduate Symposium in April 2022.
4) Submit a research report of approximately 500 to 1000 words upon completion of research.I have read and accept these conditions (Y/N).
- Academic Standing: I understand that to apply for and receive the Sophomore Research Fellowship I must be a student in good academic and disciplinary standing. I further understand that to be eligible for these awards, I must disclose to the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office past university disciplinary action for academic or non-academic misconduct. Records may be requested to verify the circumstances of any disciplinary infraction.
- If awarded a fellowship, I give consent to the Office of Undergraduate Academic Awards to have a copy of my research proposal (with name removed) retained and made available to future applicants for them to review (but not copy or reproduce) as they prepare their own applications.
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