Junior Fellows

The Junior Fellows Program was begun in 1959 by Harry Ransom as a means of encouraging academic excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences.  At that time it was essentially an honor society to which students were elected at the end of their freshman year.  Over the years, the Junior Fellows has evolved into a society of juniors and seniors from the University at large who are engaged in independent research projects under the direction of members of the faculty.

Fellows are required to attend meetings of the group, held every other week in both the fall and spring semesters. Besides project presentations, meetings feature discussions led by eminent scholars from on and off campus. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in field trips, seminars, and other academic activities. It is possible to earn academic credit for work done as a Junior Fellow, by enrolling in the appropriate conference course with the supervising professor. For example, Humanities and Plan II majors usually use their senior theses as their Junior Fellows projects. Students pursuing Special Honors in their major use the honors thesis number. Other non-honors courses are also available, for example ARH 376, E 367C, CH 475K, RTF 336.  Fellows should register for the course that is approved by their advisers, fits into their degree plans, and has the right format for the chosen topic. Funds are available to assist Fellows with expenses involved in their research. There is also money available for Fellows who can demonstrate financial need.

Application Procedure

Application is open to any qualified student from any program on campus who will have completed 60 hours prior to the Fall semester.  Junior Fellows normally have a GPA of at least 3.75, but outstanding students whose abilities are manifested in other ways should not hesitate to apply. Although administered by the College of Liberal Arts, the program is open to all qualified students on campus. Many students from outside Liberal Arts are presently members.

For more information contact Dr. Larry Carver (carver@austin.utexas.edu) in the Liberal Arts Honors Office by email or phone at 471-3458.

Applications are due Friday, March 21, 2014 for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Membership in Junior Fellows begins the fall semester following the spring recruitment period.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory is calling all UT-Austin students from any background and disciplines to participate in the 2014 Space Mission Design Challenge. Submit a one-page summary of your idea to fly in space by March 31^st to Payam.Banazadeh@jpl.nasa.gov and include “UTSMDC2014” in your email subject line. Only requirement for your concept is to either be science driven or have a technology demonstration objective. Include science or technical objectives and how they are achieved, mission destination, architecture, and why the concept is novel and innovative.

If chosen, you will have the opportunity to first work with UT Aerospace Engineering students to develop your concept, then with JPL/NASA engineers and scientists to further mature your concept and possibly propose to NASA. The top two teams will fly out to JPL/NASA in Pasadena, CA for a two-day design session with JPL engineers and scientists.

To learn more about the 2014 JPL Space Mission Design Challenge, attend the JPL info session on Monday February 17^th, 2014 in WRW 102 from 5:00-6:30pm.