Home

Undergraduate Research Assistantship

Every semester, the School of Human Evolution and Social Change awards research assistantship(s) in the amount of $1,000 to select undergraduate students in its majors. The assistantships allow students to explore a topic close to their interests, give them great experience for graduate school in any field and are fantastic resume builders. Students are awarded a stipend for 9 hours of supervised study each week (of the semester that they have been awarded) to carry out their own research.

 

Eligibility

The student must:

  • be an undergraduate major in anthropology, applied math for the life and social sciences or global health;
  • be in good academic standing (there is no minimum GPA requirement);
  • have at least one semester left at ASU before graduation; and
  • conduct research overseen by an ASU faculty member.

 

Application Materials

Research projects should be well thought out and align with the student's research interests. These projects must be overseen by an ASU faculty member; however, independent research projects are desirable. Ideally, the faculty supervisor should be within the School of Human Evolution and Social Change because the money for these assistantships is generated by our faculty's research initiatives. If a student has a primary faculty advisor s/he would like to work with outside the school, we will accept those applications. However, we suggest that the student should minimally arrange for co-supervision with someone who is associated faculty within our school, in addition to their other faculty advisor.

  1. Students must submit a 2-page proposal (double spaced) that states the goal(s) and relevance of the project, the methodology to be used and the project's expected outcome. A student's advising professor can help with ideas, but the student will want to show his/her own ingenuity in the proposal. The student must include the following information in the top right-hand corner: name, address, affiliate ID and e-mail address.
     
  2. Students must have a letter of support from a faculty member that outlines how the faculty member will mentor the student through the project, the goals of the project and a timetable for its completion, a contextualization for the research design, the reasons for the analysis and the goals/significance of the student's work.
     
  3. Students must turn in a current, unofficial transcript.

All materials need to be turned in to SHESC 233 by the due date below.

 

Deadlines to apply

                                                 Spring                                  Fall

Applications Due             1st Monday in November          1st Monday in April

Decision Made By            Last Day of November              Last Day of April

 

Selection Process

Because these assistantships are funded through faculty research initiatives, the number of awards varies from semester to semester. Selection is competitive and recipients are chosen by the School of Human Evolution and Social Change's undergraduate committee. Decisions are based on the following:

  • the quality of the proposal;
  • the letter of support from the faculty member; and
  • the student's academic record.

Once decisions have been made, students will be notified in writing whether or not they have received the award.

Questions should be directed to the undergraduate advising office at shesc.undergrad@asu.edu.