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Student research & creative inquiry opportunities
Student Travel Awards
Students involved in research and creative endeavors may apply for funding to attend and present at conferences, which helps them stand out when applying for jobs or graduate/professional school. Learn more about travel scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students.
Undergraduate Research Awards
Undergraduate students enrolled full-time in any major in the College of Arts and Sciences are invited to apply for research awards to conduct projects with faculty members in the college. Faculty in other colleges of K-State may serve as co-mentors, but the primary mentor must have a faculty appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences. Projects must be one summer or one semester in length.
Each awardee receives a $1,000 scholarship. It is applied to the student’s financial aid package. If the research project is not successfully completed, the award must be refunded.
Student Application Deadlines |
Mentor Letter of Support Deadlines |
Application for Undergraduate Research Scholarship
For questions, please email artsciugo@ksu.edu.
Tips for Completing Application
- Ask mentors for a letter of support early. Mentors should email their letter to artsciugo@ksu.edu by the Letter of Support deadline. Letters may be on attached to an email or we will also accept an email of support.
- Application can be viewed in its entirety by clicking the applicaiton link above.
- Two short essay prompts are limited to 2,750 characters (with spaces) which is the approximate equivalent of between 425 and 550 words. It is recommended that you type your responses to the essay questions in MS Word or Google Docs or similar software and then copy and paste your essay into the Qualtrics form. In Word, you can check character count by choosing Review and then Word Count. The characters (with spaces) count should be less than 2,750 to fit into the application form. In Google Docs, you can check character count by choosing Tools and then Word Count.
- Transcripts are no longer required.
For questions, please email artsciugo@ksu.edu.
Scholarship Requirements
Award recipients may enroll in DAS 400, Undergraduate Research in Arts and Sciences, for zero to three credit hours. A typical research project will include at least 100 hours working on the project. This works out to be approximately ten hours of research per week for ten weeks in the summer, or six to eight hours of research per week for fifteen weeks in the spring or fall. These projects will be direct hands-on research, scholarly or discovery experiences — not lab support or readings. Students selected for the internships will be required to submit a final report.
Research awards can be renewed once; however, preference will be given in the review process to proposals from students who have not previously had awards. Preference also will be given to students who will not receive concurrent funding for the same project from other sources such as Developing Scholars, Johnson Cancer Research Center, K-INBRE, OURCI and McNair Scholars. Students are encouraged to seek funding from these other sources to continue projects they initiated with ArtSci Undergraduate Research Awards.
Instructions for Confirming Completion of Projects
Mentors will be contacted toward the end of the semester for which the project was funded. They will be asked to confirm that the student met the expectations for the award. If your mentor confirms that expectations were met, nothing more is required. If the student enrolled in DAS 400, the mentor’s confirmation will be used to give student credit for the course. If the mentor reports issues at any time during the semester that the student is not meeting expectations, the scholarship could be at risk.
Confirmation Due Dates:
Confirmations are due by 5 p.m. on the Friday of Finals week.
Award Recipients
Summer 2024
- August Barrett-Fox, history & political science; mentored by Eric Brandom, history
- Kutina Cabrera, psychology & French; mentored by Kathleen Antonioli, modern languages
- Ethan Chapman, political science & pre-law, mentored by Benjamin McCloskey, modern languages & history
- Tabitha Ellwood, music & English literature; mentored by Slawomir Dobrzanski, music, theatre, & dance
- Jiwoo Jung, fisheries, wildlife, conservation, and environmental biology; mentored by Susan Brown, biology
- Joseph Pondillo, political science & social transformation studies; mentored by Lisa Tatonetti, English
- Darius Skillen, mathematics & Spanish; mentored by Rebecca Bender, modern languages
- Steven Walsh, history; mentored by Mary Kohn, English
- Jonathan Williams, anthropology; mentored by Benjamin McCloskey, modern languages & history
- Taz Zeigler, medical microbiology; mentored by Vanessa Ante, biology
Spring 2024
- Emily Ashmore, open option; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Ivy Auletti, psychology; mentored by Maria Diehl, psychological sciences
- Thaddaeus Blakley, fisheries, wildlife, conservation, and environmental biology; mentored by Valerie Padilla Carroll, social transformation studies
- Tyler Bolz, integrated computer science; advised by Elli Archer, integrated computer science
- Abbie Bryan, biology; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Olivia Buddy, advertising and public relations; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Trinity Cambron, dance; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Lindsey Edwards, theatre; mentored by Jerry Jay Cranford, theatre
- Megan Freeman, biology; mentored by Katsura Asano, biology
- Sylvia Fritz, biology; mentored by Ben McCloskey, modern languages and history
- Gloria Gibler, biology; mentored by Alice Boyle, biology
- Ginger Harris, theatre; mentored by Ben Starck, theatre
- Capri Hellwig, psychology; mentored by Maria Diehl, psychological sciences
- Micah Hensley, dance; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Chase Keesling, music education; mentored by Steven Maxwell, music
- Rachel Kuenzi, theatre; mentored by Ben Stark, theatre
- Parris Martin, psychology; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Natalie McPherson, social transformation studies; mentored by Valerie Padilla Carroll, social transformation studies
- Anastasia Meyer, biology; mentored by Katsura Asano, biology
- Jacob Morgan, music performance; mentored by Kurt Gartner, music
- McKenna Moten, theatre; mentored by David Mackay, theatre
- Cole Mueller, computer engineering; mentored by Ben McCloskey, modern languages and history
- Halle Ness, psychology; mentored by Maria Diehl, psychological sciences
- Zanri Pieterse, biology; mentored by Ruth Welti, biology
- Nada Raef, microbiology; mentored by Vanessa Ante, biology
- Emily Reed, music education; mentored by Julie Pentz, dance
- Tyler Schmalzried, communication studies and social transformation studies; mentored by Valerie Padilla Carroll, social transformation studies
- Austin Schultz, sports news and journalism; mentored by Valerie Padilla Carroll, social transformation studies
- Jayci Shepard, mathematics; mentored by Dinh-Liem Nguyen, mathematics
- Alli Stanton, fisheries, wildlife, conservation, and environmental biology; mentored by Alice Boyle, biology
- Vinny Sun, mathematics; mentored by Pietro Poggi-Corradini, mathematics
- Jonathan Ulmer, biochemistry; mentored by Katsura Asano, biology
- Samuel Wasmer, English; mentored by Greg Eiselein, English
- Annika Wiebers, dance; mentored by Kate Digby, dance
- Lindsey Wilson, psychology; mentored by Lester Loschky, psychological sciences
- America Zarate, biology; mentored by Ruth Welti, biology
Fall 2023
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- Michael Bartkoski, Biochemistry & Biology; mentored by Pankaj Baral, Biology
- Hailey Casey, Biology; mentored by Katsura Asano, Biology
- Wilbur Dodderidge, History; mentored by Lauren Ritterbush, Anthropology
- Brooke Erdley, Psychology; mentored by Charles Pickens, Psychological Sciences
- Kian Fogarty, Biology; mentored by Loretta Johnson, Biology
- Megan Freeman, Biology; mentored by Katsura Asano, Biology
- Cassidy Hartig, English; mentored by Mary Kohn, Chapman Center, and Lisa Tatonetti, English
- Rachelle Jackson, Dance; mentored by Julie Pentz, Dance
- Kade Kaufman, Biology; mentored by Katsura Asano, Biology
- Prabhleen Kaur, Chemistry & Biochemistry; mentored by Dan Higgins, Chemistry
- Payton Keiss, Life Science; mentored by Katsura Asano, Biology
- Aidia Kite, English; mentored by Michele Janette, English
- Trase McQueen, Biology; mentored by Heather Bailey, Psychological Sciences
- Lydia Micek, Biology; mentored by Charles Pickens, Psychological Sciences
- Elijah Nichols, Psychology & Biology; mentored by Bethany Plakke, Psychological Sciences
- Anna Poggi-Corradini, Mathematics & English; mentored by Lauren Ritterbush, Anthropology, and Mary Kohn, English
- Marrissa Raynesford, Chemistry; mentored by Christer Aakeroy, Chemistry
- Sara Redger, Art; mentored by Jason Scuilla, Art
- Katarina Rieke, Anthropology; mentored by Lauren Ritterbush, Anthropology
- Grace Sakai, Psychology; mentored by Katsura Asano, Biology
- Sarah Sanders, Psychology; mentored by Heather Bailey, Psychological Sciences
- Olivia Schwantner, Psychology and Dance; mentored by Julie Pentz, Dance
- Jayci Shepard, Mathematics; mentored by Dinh-Liem Nguyen, Mathematics
- Caitlin Solis, Physics & Mathematics; mentored by J.T. Laverty, Physics
- Emmett Spaw, Theatre; mentored by Shannon Skelton, Theatre
- Jack Swearingen, Art; mentored by Shreepad Joglekar, Art
- Josie Swinford, Art; mentored by Jason Scuilla, Art
- Olivia Tewell, Psychology; mentored by Mary Cain, Psychological Sciences
- Donovan Khalil Tucker, English; mentored by Julie Pentz, Dance
- Ryan Tucker, Chemistry; mentored by Chris Culbertson, Chemistry
- Brinna Wellington, History & Anthropology; mentored by Lauren Ritterbush, Anthropology
- Helen Winters, Biology; mentored by Loretta Johnson, Biology
- Aja Wong, Art; mentored by Shreepad Joglekar, Art
Tips for Finding a Faculty Mentor
How to pursue individual research, scholarly and creative training:
- Explore department websites. Most faculty list their research, scholarly and creative interests on their webistes.
- Email faculty and ask to set up an appointment to discuss their research/scholarly/creative interests. Briefly explain your interests and start a conversation about possible future interactions and opportunities to learn.
- Are you taking a class that inspires you and would like to learn more? Talk with your professor after class, during office hours, or schedule an appointment to discuss opportunities to research, explore or create.
- The College of Arts and Sciences offers Undergraduate Research Scholarship opportunities (see above for more details).
- Talk with your academic advisor about your research, scholarly and creative interests and how to connect with faculty.
- Research centers within the College of Arts and Sciences have opportunities listed on their websites.
- Explore universitywide research opportunities.