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The University of Texas at Austin

Archived Program | Undergraduate ESI Fellows

Mellon ESI graduated its final cohort in summer 2024. The program has ended.

Qualifications & Eligibility

ESI Undergraduate Applicant Qualifications:

  • Minimum of a 3.2 G.P.A.
  • Junior or Senior class standing by Fall 2023.
  • Preference for applicants who are College of Liberal Arts students majoring in Humanities or Humanistic Social Science disciplines.
  • Must be able to commit to the ESI Fellowship expectations (see below).

ESI Fellowship Expectations:

Please note that the ESI program and the yearlong Capstone project require a significant commitment of time and energy. Although it is often possible to streamline the Capstone with thesis requirements or other extracurricular commitments, students are sometimes surprised by the time it takes to conduct community-engaged research and to build meaningful relationships with community partners. During the fall semester, ESI Fellows can expect to attend regular workshops, seminars, and speaker events designed to introduce scholars to the fundamentals of community-engaged research. Students will also work closely with mentors throughout the fall to design an individualized schedule for implementing their Capstone project. In the spring, work on the Capstone project will begin in earnest. All ESI Fellows will present on their work at our Capstone Showcase event in early May 2024; the Capstone project itself must be completed by no later than June.

We expect ESI Fellows to be actively involved in our scholarly community and to take full advantage of the individualized and peer mentorship opportunities the program offers. We recommend that all prospective applicants carefully assess their workload to determine if they can make this commitment.

The fellowship expectations include:

  • Regularly prepare for and attend* seminars and workshops (roughly 3 per month, with light assigned readings)
  • Meet with the Program Coordinator at least once per month throughout the academic year
  • Make timely progress on Capstone project, meeting all major deadlines:
    • Submit Capstone proposal and project timeline by February 2024
    • Present at Capstone Showcase event in May 2024
    • Complete Capstone project and reflection letter by May 2024

Application

Undergraduate ESI applicants must submit a completed application, with all of the required components by or before the application deadline. A select number of highly qualified applicants will be forwarded to the interview stage of the application process; the cohort of undergraduate ESI fellows will be chosen from the interview pool.

Applicants must submit the following items:

  • Undergraduate Engaged Scholar Application Form
  • Application Essay (limit: 2 pages)
  • Resume or Curriculum Vita (limit: 1 page)
  • Sample Paper: scholarly essay written for a class at The University of Texas at Austin
  • Faculty letter of recommendation

All application materials are due by Thursday, November 9, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.

Funding

ESI Undergraduate Fellowship Award:

Spring stipend: $2,500
Research stipend: up to $1,000

Research funds can be used to attend an academic conference, independently or with an ESI graduate fellow; the funds can additionally be used to support fellows’ additional research-oriented needs.