The following is an excerpt from a letter inviting underrepresented students to participate in the University of Michigan’s Summer Research Opportunity Program. If you are interested, please let Dr. Goebel know ASAP.
I’m writing to ask if you know of a student interested in and eligible to work with me this summer, doing research on a topic related to medieval literature as part of the University of Michigan’s Summer Research Opportunity Program. The goal of SROP is to recruit talented underrepresented undergraduate students (rising juniors and seniors) for a summer of research with a faculty member, with the hope that the University of Michigan might subsequently recruit these students to graduate study.
Aside from the excellent academic opportunity the program offers students, it provides a good deal of support, including a stipend of $4,000 for the summer, campus residential housing and meals, round-trip transportation to and from the University of Michigan, and participation in a GRE prep course. SROP will run from May 31-July28, 2011. For more particulars, you can visit this link: http://www.rackham.umich.edu/student_life/diversity/community/srop/
I’m hoping you know a talented underrepresented student whom you think might be interested in coming to spend two months working with me on a research project in medieval studies. “Underrepresented” can, of course, mean a number of different things; my SROP students last summer fit this description in a number of ways–because of their socio-economic status, because they were 1st generation college students, because they were minorities, and because they were immigrants–but it seems any one of these could do. If it helps to know a bit about my research: this summer, I will be working intensively on a project exploring pedagogical approaches to non-canonical works written in Middle English, but I would be eager to work with a student to design a research project that would suit his or her interests.
If you have a student who might be interested, I’d be very eager to hear about him or her. Especially because of my own background as a first-generation college student and first-generation American, I am very excited about this program and eager to do what I can to bring some diversity to medieval studies and academia overall. The deadline for the application is Feb 14, 2011; if you have a student in mind, please send word.