Independent Scholarship

EXPLORATION SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Program Intent:

The SCHC Exploration Scholars program is designed to allow SCHC students to work with a mentor on a project in the mentor's discipline area. Ideally, the student and mentor jointly conceive the project idea, but for students in the early stages of their development as scholars, it is completely appropriate for the student's work to directly facilitate the mentor's research program. The purpose of the Exploration Scholars Program is to encourage and facilitate scholarship in the arts, music, humanities, journalism, or other fields dealing with more qualitative or exploratory scholarship methods as well as business, law, public health, social work, education and other currently under-represented fields for undergraduate scholarship. This program is intended in the spirit of Lewis and Clark, who made valuable contributions to our early understanding of western North America, despite never fulfilling their original intended purpose of finding a water-based route to the western coast. Similarly, this program finds value in students engaging in inquiry and gaining research skills and an understanding of the realities of scholarship in the field, even if the process does not result in immediate discovery or the intended discovery. Exploration Scholar projects may therefore take a number of forms depending on the discipline and students and faculty are encouraged to consider high-risk, but potentially high-payoff, exploratory projects. Two levels of Exploration Scholars funding are available and students may apply for a combination of awards not to exceed a lifetime maximum of $4,500 per student.

• Apprentice Exploration Scholars are students just beginning to develop scholarship skills in a discipline. Examples of the range of projects possible include preparation of research materials for use by the faculty member, search and identification of appropriate venues for exhibiting artistic work, compilation of primary sources into an annotated bibliography, etc. Student participation is capped at $1,500 per student for this level.

• Journeyman Exploration Scholars are students who are more experienced and/or possess more research skills. Examples of Journeyman Scholar activities include pursuing more open-ended research questions or investigations where the source, type, nature or location of the data or resources are more ambiguous and require significant intellectual creativity and/or tenacity as well as more independence on the part of the student. Experienced students funded at the Journeyman level may mentor students at the Apprentice level if collaborative projects are funded. Student participation is capped at $3,000 per student for this level.

Example Proposals:

"History Proposal example" (Johnson)

"Arts Proposal example" (Kissel)

"Advanced Journeyman example" (Lekan)

For more details or contact Briana Crotwell Timmerman (timmerman@schc.sc.edu) to discuss potential ideas.

Faculty mentors are expected to be permanent full-time faculty on the Columbia campus of USC or the Medical School. If you wish to be mentored by an appropriately credentialed person who is not a USC faculty member, please contact Briana Timmerman to discuss the feasibility of this option. If a student wishes to change mentors once an award has been made, petition must be made to the SCHC directly and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In general, requests for change after a project has been started are not approved.

Collaborative and interdisciplinary projects involving several students are encouraged. Please clearly indicate and delineate such connections among individual applications when applying. Funding limits are per student not per project.

While the Scholars' project usually is a part of the mentor's program and may contribute directly towards the faculty member's scholarship, the student should have a clear sense of involvement and ownership of the project, and not be seen in the role of a work-study student.

We encourage the viewpoint that high-quality methodologies produce valid scholarship regardless of whether or not the outcome meets the investigator's initial expectations. Therefore all Exploration Scholars are required to present the results of their work to date at the next USC's Discovery Day research fair (http://www.sc.edu/our/discovery.shtml) that occurs following 1 semester of funding. Students applying for subsequent grants must demonstrate participation in any applicable prior Discovery Days. Students may use a portion of their Exploration Scholars funding to be reimbursed for presentation materials.

Funding Details:

This scholarship may be used to pay a stipend to the student for the time they work on the project (at a rate of $10/hour) and/or for materials, research expenses, etc. up to a total of $3,000 per year and $4,500 per student cumulative over a maximum of four years. Please note that travel expenses may be covered under the separate travel grant program. A budget must be submitted as part of the application. If funds are requested for anything other than student stipend, a detailed budget must be supplied (list of items/expenditures with accurate costs and explanations). If during the course of a project, unanticipated needs are discovered, a student can submit a revised budget in order to receive approval for materials or expenses not included in the original budget. The work schedule is flexible: students can begin work as early as July 1 of each year and go as late as June 30 of the same academic/fiscal year. The number of hours worked per week as well as exact nature of the tasks is determined by mutual agreement between the faculty member and student. Any unused monies simply stay in the SCHC.

Other conditions:

1. A student may apply for funding for a single term or a full year at a time. Funding is capped at $1,500 per major semester or $3,000 for the summer with a maximum of 35 hrs/week during the summer. Faculty mentors must be available to meet with the student at least once during each two-week pay period, especially in the summer.

2. Students will be required to report their time through ITAMS and provide a matching written time card signed by their faculty advisor to the SCHC each pay period. Written verification of the hours must be provided before the hours will be approved on ITAMS and a paycheck generated. It is incumbent upon the mentors to let the SCHC know immediately if there is a problem with the student's work or time. Please note that hours not reported in a timely manner cannot be reported and paid later. Hours may be reported up to a maximum of one month after the hours were worked. Hours reported later than one month will not be paid.

3. Funds for materials or expenses must be approved in advance as part of the original application process or a subsequent application for revised budget. When submitting original receipts for reimbursement, please include a copy of your approved budget as well indicating which items are being paid.

4. All research involving human subjects must be approved by the USC Institutional Review Board and the student's name must be on the relevant protocol. All research involving vertebrate animals must have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol and the student's name must be on the protocol.

5. The mentor is responsible for making sure that the student is appropriately informed, trained, and supervised for all work with hazardous material, and that all relevant tutorials and permissions are completed (e.g., for Radiation Safety) and that students are sufficiently trained or supervised to provide a safe working environment.

6. Any work supported by the SCHC Scholars Program subsequently presented or published should cite the support as: "This work was supported in part by the South Carolina Honors College Exploration Scholars Program (include initials of student)."

Application Details:

Faculty and student should jointly fill out the Exploration Scholars Program Application Form. All applications must include a detailed budget indicating how the funds will be spent (stipend, materials, etc.). Budget revisions may be submitted later to cover initially unanticipated expenses or opportunities.

Applications are available at http://schc.sc.edu/Academics/Forms.html.

For the Summer and Fall of 2008, review of applications will begin April 15, 2008 with notification by May 15th.

Additional applications for Summer and Fall will be accepted after May 15th on a rolling basis pending the availability of funds.

No funds will be awarded retroactively for work already performed or materials purchased without prior approval.

Notification of awards made on a rolling basis will occur within 30 days of the application being submitted.

Spring 2009 applications will be due Nov. 1, 2008.

Please direct all questions to Assistant. Dean, Briana Crotwell Timmerman, timmerman@schc.sc.edu (803) 777-0822, Harper College Room 224.

Example Applications:

"History Proposal example" (Johnson)

"Arts Proposal example" (Kissel)

"Advanced Journeyman example" (Lekan)