Exercise and Sport Science
Susan Stout Graduate Student Research Fellowships
The Stout Graduate Student Research Fellowships are intended to promote and support research of exceptional quality, conceived and conducted by graduate students enrolled in the masters or doctoral programs in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science.
Eligibility:
All graduate students in good academic standing who are enrolled in a masters or doctoral program are eligible. Students admitted under provisional status are not eligible until the conditions specified at admission have been satisfied. Students who have begun data collection procedures on the proposed project prior to their submission of the proposal are not eligible. Pilot data are acceptable. Proposals for the Fall selection procedures may be submitted between April 1 and October 1; proposals for the Spring selection procedure may be submitted between November 1 and March 1. Previous recipients of the fellowship are not eligible.
Although collaboration with faculty members on research projects is encouraged, fellows must be the principal investigators with primary responsibilities for the conceptualization, design and conduct of the project.
Research projects conducted independently for credit or non-credit, or research conducted for masters projects, theses and doctoral dissertations are eligible under the fellowship program. Where the proposed research project will serve as a thesis or dissertation, it is recognized that proposals approved under the fellowship program may undergo further refinement according to recommendations made by the thesis or dissertation committee. In such cases a revised proposal should be filed with the chair of the selection committee. Normally no further action on the proposal will be required.
Amount/Number of Fellowships:
Up to five fellowships of $800 will be made available annually to winners of the fellowship competition. No more than three fellowships will be awarded in the fall semester.
3. Purpose of Fellowships:Fellowships are intended to promote and support independent student research and are to be used at the discretion of fellows.
Selection Criteria:
- Quality of the research proposal (see 6b).
- Academic record of the applicant.
- Qualifications of the applicant to carry out the proposed project.
- Record of contributions of applicant to department/university may be considered as supplemental criteria.
5. Selection Committee:
Normally, the committee is composed of 3 members of the Graduate Faculty in Exercise and Sport Science whose interests span the scope of research in the department. Members will normally be appointed for one year terms by the Graduate Program Coordinator. Committee membership will change occasionally to avoid having faculty members on the committee whose advisees have submitted proposals, while still maintaining a reasonable balance of subdisciplines.
Applications must include all of the following, and nothing else should be submitted:
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Title page to include the following information:
- Name, Date, Student ID
- Address, Telephone Number
- Title of Research Proposal
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A 3-page narrative outlining the rationale, significance and methodology for proposed research project. The proposal should be written so that faculty from different subdisciplines within the department can make informed judgments about the proposal. Evaluations will be based on the degree to which the request for funds is persuasive and understandable. The following criteria will be used to judge the quality of proposals:
- Clarity of proposal and central questions or hypotheses.
- Importance of proposed work.
- Appropriateness of theoretical foundation.
- Appropriateness of methodology.
- Appropriateness of data analysis.
- Two letters of recommendation. One of the letters should be from the applicant's major advisor. Both letters should address: 1) quality and significance of the proposed project; 2) qualifications of applicant to undertake the work; 3) quality of student's academic standing and if applicable; 4) verification that only pilot data have been collected and that the student has not begun the study for which s/he has written the proposal.
- A brief, one-paragraph description of contributions to the Department e.g., committee work, professional service, assistance to other students, work beyond assistantship duties).
Application Deadlines:
Proposals will be considered twice each year, October 1 and March 1. No more than three fellowships will be awarded at the October deadline. Awards will be made available within 30 days following approval by the selection committee.
Final Reports:
Recipients are obligated to file a written report of their completed research project with the Graduate Program Coordinator. Normally these reports will be filed within one year from the date of the award. If the project is not completed within one year of the award the recipient will notify the Coordinator in writing of the status of the project. Any publications resulting from research supported by the award should carry an acknowledgement of the award.