This grant program is for faculty members in Divisions I & II who are seeking funding for collaborative research on campus with a full-time student research assistant in the summer of 2024.
Objective: This program is primarily funded by a generous gift from the Class of 1957, intending to encourage and enhance in-person faculty-student research collaboration on our faculty members’ research projects and foster a climate of summer research here on the Williams College campus. Therefore, the program provides Division I & II faculty members with funding for eligible students to collaborate with them as full-time research assistants on campus throughout the summer.
Summer 2024 Application Deadline: Friday, March 1, 2024
Program Dates: Funding is available for nine-week-long programs, and student summer housing will be available on June 10 at noon and will close on August 10 at noon. To be eligible for student summer housing, students must be on campus for at least five contiguous weeks – and the last day to move in is July 5, 2024.
Summer 2024 pay rates: Funding for the Summer research assistants in 2024 is budgeted to provide a rate of $583.15/week/student. $535 of this, minus any applicable taxes, is paid to the student, while the remaining amount covers the cost of benefits. Further questions regarding these rates can be directed to the Office of Student Employment.
Eligibility: To qualify for this funding, a student research assistant’s participation in your research project must be significant enough to provide authentic involvement in your research. Projects comprised primarily of clerical or background work performed by students will not be funded.
Students are also expected to spend a substantial amount of regularly scheduled, in-person time on campus along with the faculty members they are supporting. There are no half or part-time working arrangements. This program only offers full-time summer employment for a student, an important detail reflected in the weekly stipend amount.
Faculty members can propose to work with current first-years, sophomores, and juniors. Current seniors are not eligible for these positions. Additionally, students cannot plan to combine this opportunity with another campus job or fellowship opportunity. Please clarify this requirement with the student you propose to work with.
2024 Class of 1957 Div I & II Summer Research Application – The Summer 2024 Application Cycle Has Ended
Please click the link above to apply for a Class of ’57 Summer Research fellowship.
The application will require some summary information and the attachment of a one-page project description.
The following information will be required:
- A project title and short summary.
- The name and class year of the student you plan to work with.
- A brief overview of your work schedule and planned oversight of the student’s work in person and on campus.
- A one-page proposal that includes a summary of your research project and also touches on the student’s qualifications.
- The start date, end date, and the total number of weeks for the research project.
- The maximum number of weeks will be nine, but shorter timelines may be proposed. However, please remember that summer student housing eligibility requires that students be on campus for at least five consecutive weeks.
- The provision of a stipend assumes a full-time 35-hour workweek. Therefore, please be mindful of establishing a start and end date that begins on a Monday and ends on a Friday.
- Also, please remember that student vacation weeks do not count as paid time, and a break in the contiguous weeks of a working arrangement may also affect eligibility for student summer housing.
Additional information to keep in mind:
- Once again, this program is primarily funded by a generous gift from the Class of 1957, and most student participants are designated as Class of ’57 Summer Research Fellows. We, therefore, require participating students to submit a one-page report of suitable quality at the end of the summer to be included in an annual report to the class.
- Will the student require housing? On-campus accommodations will be free of charge within specific dates established by the Office of Campus Life. Please schedule work with students within this timeframe, as housing during the early and late summer “transitional” periods will not be available for research students. The Dean of the Faculty’s office cannot broker special housing arrangements outside of these dates. Further questions regarding summer housing can be directed to the Office of Campus Life, and you can reach their housing team at [email protected].
- All students who reside in campus housing must participate in one of the meal plans offered to them at economical rates. Meal plan charges are deducted from students’ paychecks. The summer research program does not pay for student meals even if they decline the free housing.
This program is not to be confused with the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUFP) or the Allison Davis Research Fellowship (ADRF), both of which also support student summer research and are organized by the Pathways for Inclusive Excellence (PIE) team.
Megamenu Social