The Richter Scholar awards are the largest single awards on campus for the purpose of independent study. Students are encouraged to pursue enriching, broadening projects that have the promise of being life-changing. To enrich the independent study experience, each student is required to have a faculty mentor for his or her project. Copies of research reports and papers developed under the auspices of the Richter Scholars Program shall upon request be forwarded to the Trustee for the Richter Funds. All publications resulting from the Richter Scholar Program shall acknowledge the sponsorship of the Richter Memorial Funds.
Scholarship recipients are eligible to apply for additional funds to cover extraordinary expenses of their research as well as to travel to present their results at scholarly meetings. Scholarship recipients may apply for this support, as needed, in a memorandum to the Senior Associate Dean of Faculty.
If awarded, a Richter Scholarship:
- Provides up to $6,000 to cover travel and living expenses. Students must develop a budget as part of their application.
Important details to consider:
- Due to the number of eligible applicants and limited scholarship funding, students may only receive the Richter Scholars award once.
- Although there is no absolute grade point criterion, successful applicants generally have a cummulative GPA of 3.0. Students must be in good standing with the University.
- Applications require mentorship from a Wake Forest University faculty mentor during the development and completion of the project.
- The Scholarship program is NOT meant to support classic “study abroad” programs. No tuitions or fees to other institutions may be made with Richter funds. Neither does the mechanism support equipment costs.
- Applications are due February 21, 2020 at 5:00 pm.
Students should complete the Richter Application found here: 2020 Richter Application. (for a preview of what to expect, click here to see an example from the 2019 application) Please note that your proposal description should be single-spaced, font size 12, Times New Roman (preferred), one inch margins and not exceed 2,000 words. The committee expects that the student and mentor will have thoroughly discussed the completed application before it is submitted.
A Letter of Recommendation from your Wake Forest University faculty mentor must be emailed directly to Dr. Eric Stottlemyer (stottlem@nullwfu.edu).
Note: When preparing your application, consider carefully the safety of your destination! Consult the list of countries for which the US State Department has issued travel advisories. If your country is on this list, you must petition the Overseas Crisis Management Team to travel to this country, and you might want to have a backup plan! You also must check to see if there are any visa requirements for travel to your destination.
Criteria for Selection
A committee of faculty and administrators will review applications and select the scholarship recipients. Scholars will be selected based on the following criteria: feasibility of the project, contribution of the project to the overall education and enrichment of the student, commitment of the student and faculty advisor to the project, and the student’s demonstrated ability to initiate and sustain creative activities and research. While there is no absolute grade point criterion, successful applicants must have a minimum cummulative GPA of 3.0. Students must be in good standing with the University. Both the project and the final report must be completed by mid-October 2020.
While the Richter Program encourages student to pursue international projects, proposals that focus on “touring”, rather than exploring a topic in-depth, will receive lower priority as will enrollment in a standard course of program. Individually conceived and executed projects are encouraged. Richter Scholars may receive credit toward honors projects and/or individual study projects supported by their Richter grant but Richter funding shall not be applied toward course tuition or course fees for which a student receives credit. The duration of your project normally ranges from 3-6 weeks.
Please avoid making surveys or using human subjects a centerpiece for your proposal. Most applicants do not have the necessary experience or linguistic tools to carry out such projects. If you want an exception to this policy, please contact Pam Moser at irb@nullwfu.edu, in advance of your submission, to determine if you need Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Students who conduct human subjects research must have a faculty mentor who has completed the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI training) for human research.
Final Project Report and Undergraduate Research Day participation. Both the project and final report must be completed by mid-October. Each Richter Fellow will be required to submit to the Committee a final report and project-ending piece of work that has been discussed with and approved by your faculty mentor prior to submission. This concluding piece may come in various forms: a written report, a visual report, an artistic production, computer-based production(s), pieces of creative writing, etc. It must be submitted by mid-October (exact date to be announced) it should be uploaded via Canvas site Drop Box under Richter 2020. If the final piece is an artistic endeavor and cannot be uploaded, please contact Tammy Burke (burketj@nullwfu.edu).
In addition, an abstract of your project must be submitted. Participation in Undergraduate Research Day is required unless you are studying abroad during the fall semester.
For additional information contact Dr. Eric Stottlemyer (stottlem@nullwfu.edu).