2014-15 Next Generation Scholars Program: 

Call for Applications

The Next Generation Scholars program was launched in 2010 with the goal of providing new research and mentorship opportunities for promising UT undergraduate students. Involving undergraduates in international affairs early in their career is an important part of the Strauss Center’s mission to prepare the next generation of leaders to help develop solutions to the most pressing global problems.

Program Components

This one-year program includes two key components: First, students will take a 1-credit research training and professional development course, taught in the Fall of 2014. This course is designed to introduce students to policy work, including basic skills in policy research, analysis, and writing. Students will be coached on designing research strategies and proposals, conducting policy analysis, writing resumes and statements of purpose, crafting op-eds and blog posts, and planning for the steps in their career development. Students selected for the program are required to enroll in PA158S, which will meet every other Friday from 10am-12:00pm at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Sid Richardson Hall. This course will be led by Dr. Kate Weaver, Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar.

Second, the program also matches each selected student with a research agenda underway by a Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar to provide opportunities to directly engage in policy-relevant research and practice skills taught in PA158S. Students will apprentice in their assigned research program for the Fall 2014 semester. Students who perform well in their research apprenticeship will be eligible to then continue as a paid research intern for their respective faculty members at the Strauss Center in the Spring 2015. Students promoted to full intern positions will be expected to commit approximately ten hours per week during the spring semester and will earn a stipend of $500 for the spring semester. Students may use this stipend for independent research, travel to a study abroad program or summer internship, travel to a professional conference, or other experiential and scholarly pursuits approved by Dr. Weaver. Funding permitting, and contingent on positive performance evaluations, students may continue as research interns at the Strauss Center after the year-long Next Generation Scholars program concludes.

Biographies of the 2013-14 class of Next Generation Scholars are available at www.strausscenter.org/fellows-and-students.

Application Guidelines

Applications for the 2014-2015 academic year will be accepted from March 6, 2014 to April 1, 2014. Please send your application materials, as detailed below, to Dominique Thuot at dominique.t@austin.utexas.edu.

Requirements:

1. Students must plan to be registered UT undergraduate students during the fall and spring semesters of the 2014-15 academic year. Because this program provides the foundation for a potentially multi-year mentorship, preference will be given to students entering their sophomore or junior years.
2. Students should have a GPA of at least 3.50.

Applications should include:

1. A detailed cover letter that explains your academic and professional interests and why you are interested in participating in the intellectual life of the Strauss Center—an interdisciplinary center devoted to policy-relevant research on issues related to national and international security, law, and diplomacy. The Strauss Center’s research focuses on factors contributing to the destabilization of nation states, diplomatic and military history and strategy, new approaches to diplomacy, intelligence and surveillance, the impact of science and technology on national security, evolving legal architectures to account for new threats in the 21st century, climate security and complex emergencies, and international development and security. Where possible, please identify which Strauss Center research programs or faculty cover your fields of interest.
2. Resume with your complete contact information (including email address and phone number) and the names and contact information of two references. One of these references should be a faculty member who can speak to your academic abilities and potential.
3. One unofficial college transcript.

For questions about the program, please contact Dominique Thuot at dominique.t@austin.utexas.edu.

The Center for European Studies/EU Center of Excellence is pleased to offer travel grants for three UT undergraduate students and two Texas high school teachers to participate in the EUCE Brussels Program.

The program is an organized trip to Brussels June 15-20, 2014. During the trip, you will be given tours of EU and international offices and the opportunity to meet with EU officials. Past trips have included tours and meetings at the European Parliament, European Council, and NATO headquarters.

The grant covers round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, and some meals. ALL UT undergraduates and Texas high school teachers are eligible.

The application deadline, including supporting materials, in March 21, 2014.

For more information and a link to the application, please visit http://tinyurl.com/EUCEBrussels

*Note from Linda: I went to Brussels over winter break and the city is beautiful! I highly recommend applying for this grant.

The College of Liberal Arts is now accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research Poster Presentation Session as a part of Undergraduate Research Week, April 14 – 18. Presenters will have their posters professionally printed, courtesy of the College, and present their posters at the Liberal Arts Honors Day reception on Saturday, April 12. Students will also have the chance to request to present their research at the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Reception, hosted by Dean Diehl, on Tuesday, April 15.

Students may apply to participate regardless of what stage their research is in. For more details on these events, or to apply, please visit our website. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 7.

The UT McNair Scholars Program is currently recruiting new students for the Fall 2014 semester. McNair Scholars is a federally funded program under the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement with the goal of increasing the number of students earning doctoral degrees who are both low-income and first-generation and/or traditionally underrepresented in graduate education.

All McNair Scholars obtain a faculty mentor who will help them identify a research topic and develop a research project, while at the same time actively engaging in program workshops, GRE prep, seminars, research conferences, and individual and academic advising. Students will also be eligible for a $1,000 scholarship each semester they are active in the program and a stipend of up to $2,600 when they participate in the Summer Research Institute.

Our application deadline is Friday, April 4^th, 2014. Information sessions will be taking place on Tuesday, February 25th from 6:00–7:00 pm in SSB 3.406 and March 18^th from 6:00-7:00 pm in the SSB-Glenn Maloney Room. More information and the application can be found at www.utmcnairscholars.com.

The College of Liberal Arts is now accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research Poster Presentation Session as a part of Undergraduate Research Week, April 14 – 18. Presenters will have their posters professionally printed, courtesy of the College, and present their posters at the Liberal Arts Honors Day reception on Saturday, April 12. Students will also have the chance to request to present their research at the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Reception, hosted by Dean Diehl, on Tuesday, April 15.

Students may apply to participate regardless of what stage their research is in.  For more details on these events, or to apply, please visit our website. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 7.

Questions about Research Week or the application can be directed to Maggie Wilhite at maggie.wilhite@austin.utexas.edu.

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.

Doing some writing or photography over winter break?  Remember that Echo, the LAH literary journal, is accepting submissions for the 2014 edition!

Submit your prose, poetry, and photography to echolitmag@gmail.com.  Feel free to submit any number of pieces in any or all of the categories. The deadline this year is Monday, January 27th, 2014.

To receive Facebook notifications about Echo, “like” the Echo Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/EchoLitMag).

Undergraduate Research in Race, Ethnicity, and the Demography of Crime and Punishment

Population Research Center and Department of Sociology, UT-Austin

The Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with the Department of Sociology, is hosting the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in Race, Ethnicity, and the Demography of Crime and Punishment for the summer of 2014. This eight-week summer program, which is held during June and July and is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (but also with significant contributions from the UT Population Research Center, Department of Sociology, and College of Liberal Arts), offers eight very selective upper-division undergraduate students from both UT-Austin and from around the country the opportunity to study social demography through course work and a mentored research experience with senior PRC graduate students. The program pays for tuition, room and board, and computer expenses. REU students also receive a $4,000 stipend for participation in the program, which allows the selected students to fully concentrate on their REU experience over the 2-month program. Students participate in a 3-hour summer course during the first half of the program, then dedicate the second half of the program to their own projects in collaboration with their graduate student mentor and under the overall guidance of the faculty co-directors, David Kirk and Keith Robinson. Student papers are then presented in the fall at a specified professional conference.  Former students from the REU program are now on the faculties of Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, Pennsylvania State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Pennsylvania, and more, and currently in social science graduate programs at the Universities of Wisconsin, Chicago, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and California at Los Angeles, as well as Harvard University, Stanford University, Princeton University, Northwestern University, Duke University, and more.  This program is specifically geared toward students with junior standing who are seriously thinking about attending graduate school in the social sciences and, particularly, in sociology or demography.

The 2014 summer REU Program application deadline is FEBRUARY 16, 2014. See http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/prc/training/undergraduate.php for details about the REU program and the program application, as well as information about other research and training programs of the UT Population Research Center.

WRITERS AND ARTISTS: Looking to share your work? Want to see your name in print? Get published by Analecta, the official literary and arts journal of UT. We are now accepting writing and artwork submissions for our next publication. Poetry, fiction, nonfiction: there’s a $75.00 prize per category! Visit www.analectajournal.com for information and guidelines. Submissions are due by Friday, December 18^th, 2013.