An award of $3000 will be given to a talented undergraduate student for a research assistantship with a faculty member.  This student will assist a faculty member with his/her research on families and will reflect on the experience in writing throughout the year.  (*depending on funding, a second award may also be possible.)

Eligibility

Students must be nominated by the faculty member for whom they will be providing research assistance. Nominees must be undergraduate students in their junior year at UMass Amherst, who have a demonstrated interest and background in family research.  Students must be attending full time and able to commit to a year-long assistantship from September 2013 to May 2014. 

The Award

The recipients will be required to attend two roundtable sessions at the Center for Research on Families to briefly present the research assistantship topic to other student award recipients (October 2013 and April 2014).  The student will also be invited to a lunch reception this year, on May 4, 2013 at CRF. Awards are processed through the UMass Financial Aid Office and posted to student’s university account. 

To Apply 

1.   Identify and confirm with a faculty mentor about a family research project for the following year.  Faculty are eager to find talented students to help with their research, so make contact with them right away to discuss working with and learning from them. 

2.  Once the project is clarified, complete and sign the attached APPLICATION FORM.   

2.   Write a STATEMENT OF INTEREST which describes what you will be doing on the research project and the intended value of the assistantship to your academic development. (2 pages single-spaced). Make sure the project is meaningful and important to you.  Get advice from your faculty mentor.

3.   Ask for a nominating LETTER OF SUPPORT from the selected faculty member. The letter should indicate the specific research project in family research, their commitment to working with you for an academic year, and their investment in mentoring you in research practices.

Deadline

Complete applications are due on Friday, February 22, 2013 by 5 p.m.

Selection

Applications will be reviewed and recipients selected by a committee convened by CRF. The awards will be announced on March 8th, 2013. 

Submissions

Please complete the webform below and upload the required documents. Confidential letters of recommendation should be given to Wendy Varner by email (wendy@sbs.umass.edu) or sent via campus mail (622 Tobin Hall).  Please contact Wendy with questions: 545-3593.