Student Fellowships

Eligibility

At the beginning of each spring semester the director of the institute invites members of the sophomore and junior classes to apply for student fellowships for long-term projects during the next academic year.

Students who will be on campus as juniors or seniors during the academic year are eligible to apply.

Developing a Research Question

Kahn student fellowships require a commitment to scholarship, and that means developing a research question closely related to the theme of the long-term project and spending the fellowship doing actual research on that question.

Kahn student fellows participate with faculty fellows in weekly research colloquium meetings, meals and special events throughout the project. Students will be expected to participate in all of the institute functions associated with their project.

Research Orientation Program

Most students will not have had much previous experience defining a research topic or doing original research, so the institute established a research orientation program for student fellows. It is critical that student fellows participate in the orientation activities in the spring and return to campus a few days early in the fall to attend an orientation workshop that takes place before classes resume.

Stipends

Kahn student fellows are given a stipend the summer before their project begins. In addition, they are paid biweekly throughout the project (following the student payroll schedule).

Stipends and Financial Aid

If you are accepted as a student fellow and you are receiving financial aid, the fellowship stipend must be integrated into your total aid package. If you already have a campus job, please contact Student Employment and Student Financial Services as soon as possible after your acceptance to discuss what arrangements you will need to make in order to be able to accept your Kahn fellowship.

If you are interested in applying to become a student fellow in a project, please carefully read the project descriptions on the Projects page.

Students will be invited to apply for project fellowships in December. At that time, you may contact the faculty organizers of the project for more information, or contact the Kahn Institute with any questions.

Submit Application

Submit an online application for the project of your choice. You will be asked to:

• Write a paragraph or two explaining why you are interested in joining the project and examples of the questions you would like to explore.
• Provide your current résumé, including your mail and preferred email addresses, which we will use to contact you with further information.
• List three Smith faculty members with whom you have taken courses in the past two years, as potential references.
• Order an unofficial copy of your transcript through Workday.