Social Justice Research Fellowship

As part of the Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, & Scholarship, LUROP is pleased to announce the creation of the Social Justice Research Fellowship, which aims to support undergraduate Loyola students in conducting focused, faculty-mentored research connected to social justice.

The emphasis of this fellowship is on applied research, highlighting research that does justice, such as research on justice-related issues, research with community-based organizations, and/or research in response to pressing social issues. Applicants should be able to state clearly the general purpose and specific objectives, what they propose to do, the significance related to social justice, the approach related to your academic area or the interdisciplinary approach, and what results or products you expect to be generated. Define clearly what roles you and your faculty mentor will have. Describe how you will conduct your social justice research project, discussing, for example, the methodologies, equipment, or resources that you will use to bring your endeavors to fruition. Explain the community or social impact this project may have, related to social justice.

Expectations

Social Justice Research Fellows and their mentors are responsible for working together to set mutual expectations, which they do through the application process, and through the Social Justice Research Fellowship Learning Agreement. Fellows and mentors are strongly encouraged to read over this webpage with learning objectives and effective practices for researchers.

In terms of time commitment, while Social Justice Research Fellows and their mentors are encouraged to agree on a project timeline and to meet regularly to assess progress, fellows are not required to fill out timecards. Typically, summer fellows agree with their mentors to work between 10–20 hours per week over 10 weeks, while academic year fellows tend to work between 4–10 hours per week over the course of the academic year. However, the time commitment varies and ultimately depends on the agreement between the mentor and the fellow.

While attendance is not required, fellows and their mentors are strongly encouraged to attend at least one Social Justice Research Fellowship event each semester, and are welcome to attend as many as they like.

Fellows and their mentors are encouraged to exchange regular reports and feedback with each other, but only one formal progress report is required (see form below).

The capstone of the fellowship is Loyola’s spring research symposium, at which all Social Justice Research Fellows are expected to share their research projects in either an oral presentation or poster presentation. Fellows are also encouraged to present their work at other conferences, and should rely on their mentors and other fellows for feedback as they construct their presentations.

Stipends

The meaningful rewards of a Provost Fellowship have little to do with money, but the program does provide financial support. Fellows receive a $1,000 stipend paid in three installments, $250 at the beginning of their term, $500 after they submit a mid-term progress report, and $250 after they present at Loyola’s spring research symposium. See Stipend and Budget Info form below.

Research Budgets

Additionally, fellows can apply to receive up to $1,000 in a research budget. The research budget is not awarded as a lump sum. For each request, fellows and mentors must submit a budget request form (see below) to awarne@luc.edu including whatever additional documentation is required depending on the method you are using to access the budget. Both mentor and fellow should always be on the e-mail submitting these forms. There are several different ways fellows and mentors access research budgets.

Purchase Requisition Form—This form can be found on this page, and is the most common way to use the research budget in the sciences. Mentors must fill out the form, leaving the accounting unit blank, and then submit it. If approved, it will be sent to the Purchasing Office with the LUROP account number to purchase the items and ship them to the faculty mentor. This is the fastest and easiest way to use your research budget.

Receipts for Reimbursement—Fellows and mentors who make purchases for their research using their own funds should save the receipts, then submit them along with a budget request form (see below). If more than 2 receipts, please itemize and add them up. If approved, we will submit a request to the Accounts Payable Office for a check or a direct deposit to reimburse you, which can take 10-15 business days. Please note that you should always use a when making purchases as part of your research project. The Accounts Payable Office will not reimburse you for any taxes found on your receipts.

Expense Transfer Form—If the mentor makes a purchase for the student's research project using their ProCard or one for their department, they should submit an Expense Transfer Form, which can be found on this page. If approved, LUROP will effectively transfer funds to replace the expense from your research budget.

Mail Order Form—If you are sending out mailings as part of your research, you should use the Advanced Notification of Large or Mass Mailing Form, which can be found here. Leave the budget account number blank when you submit the form to awarne@luc.edu. If approved, we will add the LUROP account info, send the form to the Mail Room, and you should be able to send your mail in just a few days.

Advance to Mentor—On rare occasions, the Accounts Payable Office has approved advances to the mentor, lab, or department budget from the fellow's research budget, usually to pay study participants in cash. To request approval, you must fill out and submit the Advance Fund Establishment form, the third page of this Advance Fund Document, and submit it to LUROP. If the Accounts Payable Office agrees, mentors and fellows will be required to document the expenditure of the advance, indicating the recipient, amount, date, and witness. See the last page of the Advance Fund Document for a template. Once you have dispensed the full amount of the research budget advance, you must submit the documentation form to LUROP.

LUROP ProCard—On rare occasions, we have been able to make purchases directly for fellows using the LUROP ProCard. This method is only available if no other means of accessing the research budget exist. In practice, this has mostly applied to students purchasing airfare and hotel for conference trips when neither they nor their mentors have the funds to cover the cost of the trip.

*Please note that if you are using your research budget for a flight, you must keep and submit your boarding passes.

In terms of research budget availability, they are available starting July 1st for summer fellows and starting on the first day of fall classes for academic year fellows. The last day for either summer or academic year fellows to submit receipts and purchase orders is the last day of class in the spring semester.

For more detailed information on stipends and research budgets, see the Social Justice Stipend and Budget Info form below.

Orientation Forms

Social Justice Research Fellowship Learning Agreement (complete and submit by last day of finals, spring)

Social Justice Research Fellowship Stipend and Budget Info (read over with mentor by last day of finals, spring)

Social Justice Research Fellowship Payment Authorization Form (complete and submit by last day of finals, spring)

W9 Form (complete and submit by last day of finals, spring)

Academic Credit

If students want to obtain academic credit in conjunction with conducting this research, there are research courses designed to do so that fulfill the university's "engaged learning" requirement. Read here for more information.

Applying for the Social Justice Research Fellowship

As with the other LUROP Fellowships, students must apply online for the Social Justice Research Fellowship by March 1. Additionally, all applicants MUST have a faculty member willing to serve as a mentor BEFORE applying. Upper-level undergraduates generally apply with projects they have taken more individual initiative over designing, while younger undergraduates tend to apply with projects that their mentors designed (although all fellows should show a distinct individual component and take initiative within the project).

A group of faculty from various disciplines will evaluate each application, including an abstract and project description that includes a project timeline, a budget, and the mentor’s letter of recommendation.

For more information about the Social Justice Research Fellowship program, please e-mail kkaufm2@luc.edu or call 773.508.3886.

Co-Directors

Kevin Kaufmann, PhD
Undergraduate Research Program Manager

Patrick Green, EdD
Director of Engaged Learning - CELTS