Ester H. Howard Student Research Fellows Program

The Howard Student Research Fellows Program

Initiative 1.4 of Campbell University’s Strategic Plan is to establish a student research program for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, a facet of the larger aim of securing gains in academic quality. We are pleased to continue the summer Howard Student Research Fellows program for undergraduate students, as we work to build a campus-wide student research program. 

The summer program offers financial and research support for student-driven projects that emphasize collaboration between undergraduate students and faculty mentors. The program will provide value beyond existing summer student research projects by bookending the summer research experience with unique learning and presentation opportunities.  A stipend will be awarded to participating students and faculty members. 

Program Overview

Program Dates 

Submission Deadline: Monday, February 3, 2025
An information session will be held in mid-January for interested students and/or faculty mentors to answer questions about the application process. A recording of last year’s information session is available here. 

Awards Announced: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Award recipients will be  notified by email and are recognized at the Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium Closing Awards Ceremony.

Welcome & Workshops: Monday, May 19, 2025
Welcome and review of program requirements and deadlines; workshop on research basics. 

Student Progress Meetings: Fridays, May 30 & June 20, 2025
One-hour interdisciplinary discussions among students; share project updates. 

Student & Faculty Progress Meetings: Friday, June 6 & Thursday, June 26, 2025
One-hour interdisciplinary discussions among students and faculty mentors; share project updates.  

Program End: Friday, July 11, 2025

Presentation Day: Early Fall 2025
Program conclusion with student presentations of research, tentatively scheduled as part of the First 50 Days Initiative in the fall. 

*An IRB workshop may be held shortly after awards are announced in March, depending on need and interest.

Student Eligibility

The program is limited to Campbell University undergraduate students, with funding prioritized to full-time students (registered for 12.0 credit hours or more) who have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Program Expectations

Student Expectations 

  • Commit 20-40 hours a week to research during the duration of the program. The exact time commitment can be discussed with your faculty mentor.
  • Attend relevant program events (Welcome & Workshop; Student & Faculty Progress Meetings, and Presentation Day). 
  • Produce a discipline-appropriate research output (e.g., research paper, design project, creative work, technical report). 
  • Write a short reflection essay on the program experience. 
  • Present at the 2026 Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium, or another venue during the 2025-26 academic year. 

Faculty Expectations 

  • Attend relevant program events (Welcome & Workshop; two Student & Faculty Progress Meetings, and Presentation Day). 
  • Get approval for research materials purchased from Department Chair. Academic departments are encouraged to use departmental funds to cover research materials and travel expenses. Mentors should consult with their Department Chair to provide a budget of project expenses prior to nominating a student. 
  • Mentoring and supporting student research as appropriate within the program timeline (It is highly recommended that lengthier processes like obtaining IRB approval begin as soon as possible after award notification, or even prior to award notification).
  • Faculty may be asked to facilitate discussion at Student & Faculty Progress Meetings, or lead opening workshop. 

Awards

  • Student Awards: $2,500 will be awarded to participating students, to be given in May.  
    • On campus housing during the summer program will also be available to fellows, for those who are interested.
  • Faculty Awards: $2,000 will be awarded to participating mentors, to be given in May. 

Submissions

Students will complete the submission form below, uploading a Cover Sheet and Project Proposal, outlined below, as PDF attachments. To complete the submission form, please first log in to your Campbell University Gmail account.

Submission Form

Cover Page

Students will complete and submit the following Cover Page, which states their intention of fulfilling the program requirements, if accepted, and provides a 150-word proposal abstract.  Note: The Cover Page requires the signature of the faculty mentor and department chair.

The Cover Page should be saved as a PDF and submitted as an attachment with the submission form above.

Download Cover Page

Project Proposal 

Students will draft a project proposal organized using the following sections. Proposals should be 11-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced and no longer than 5 pages.  Project proposals should be saved as a PDF and submitted as an attachment on the submission form above. 

  1. Purpose
    1. Indicate the purpose of your project/research study
  2. Project Narrative
    1. Provide a well-written project narrative, which includes:
      1. A brief background of your project and/or topic
      2. Plans or methods to carry out the project
      3. A timeline for completion of the project. (Be sure to consider steps such as soliciting IRB approval, collecting and analyzing information/data, synthesizing information, and presenting findings, as appropriate). The project does not need to be finished during the program, but the timeline should demonstrate that reasonable progress will be made over the course of the eight-week summer program period. 
  3. Budget
    1. Provide a budget for this project, considering materials, equipment, and/or travel expenses. 
    2. Academic departments are encouraged to use departmental funds to cover research materials and travel expenses. Mentors nominating students are expected to consult with their Department Chair to provide a budget of project expenses.

Example Proposals

The Howard Research Fellows Program values participation from diverse disciplines. The proposal guidelines are intentionally broad to accommodate different disciplinary styles. To assist you in preparing your application, several examples of funded proposals from different research areas are provided below. We have historically funded a similar percentage of STEM and Social Sciences/Humanities proposals based on the number of applications from each of those areas. 

Example Proposal 1 – English

Example Proposal 2 – Psychology

Example Proposal 3 – Biology

Projects will be evaluated according to the following rubric:

View Scoring Rubric