Funding Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

The Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies is active in enhancing undergraduate education through multiple activities, including its Certificate, Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering, and Society (ISSuES). One of the main purposes of the Holtz Center and its ISSuES Certificate is to foster a better understanding of both the place of science and technology in social life, and the social and cultural determinants of science and technology research and practice.

The Holtz Center distributes a call for undergraduate research proposals and an essay competition each spring.

The deadline for submitting the spring undergraduate awards application is April 23, 2024.

Deadline: April 23, 2024

The Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies is active in enhancing undergraduate education through multiple activities, including its Certificate, Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering, and Society (ISSuES). One of the main purposes of the Holtz Center and its ISSuES Certificate is to foster a better understanding of both the place of science and technology in social life, and the social and cultural determinants of science and technology research and practice.

To these ends, we are excited to issue a new call for research proposals from undergraduate students interested in conducting research on issues important to science, technology, and society. All undergraduate students at UW-Madison are eligible for this funding opportunity including those in engineering, social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, and biological and physical sciences. We are giving two awards in this category. The maximum amount of each award is $1,000 for the student and $500 in flexible funds for the faculty advisor.

Research topics could be initiated by the undergraduate student with the support of a faculty advisor. Or, the undergraduate student could work as part of a faculty member’s research team. In either case, a very brief letter of support from the faculty advisor is required.

Here are the eligibility criteria and requirements:

  1. The student should be enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
  2. The research proposal should not be less than 3 or more than 5 double-space pages, summarizing the aims of the research project, explicitly stating its connection with the themes of this competition and the goals of the Holtz Center
  3. A very brief supporting note from the faculty advisor on the project
  4. A one-page budget
  5. Proposals are accepted for work to be done during the summer of 2024 or the 2023-24 academic year.
  6. A brief report from the student, not to exceed two pages, is due one month after the conclusion of the research project. The report should include the student’s reflections on the research project and its conclusions.

The deadline for submitting the proposals is 5 pm on April 23, 2024.

If you have any questions about the application process or proposal writing, please contact the Associate Director, Sainath Suryanarayanan, ssuryanaraya@wisc.edu.

Please submit your research proposals and the supporting document from the faculty advisor to sts@ssc.wisc.edu.

Undergraduate Research Opportunity CFP 2024

Deadline: April 23, 2024

Have you written in the fall or are you writing a paper this spring on a theme related to how science and technology affect and are affected by social, political, cultural, or economic life? Are you interested in writing such a paper? Then please consider submitting your essay to the Holtz Center’s Spring 2024 Essay Competition: Science, Technology, and Society.

The Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies is active in enhancing undergraduate education through its Certificate, Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering, and Society (ISSuES). One of the main purposes of ISSuES is to foster a better understanding of the place of science and technology in social life and the social and cultural determinants of science and technology research and practice.

This competition is open to all undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Appropriate applicants could include topics such as: engineering students who are thinking about the place of a technological artifact in society or in policy,  biology students thinking about biological research and gender dynamics, pre-med students of all disciplines concerned about how the internet is changing health practices of different groups, English students interested in science fiction, sociology students focused on science and technology policy, environmental studies students interested in the tensions between a scientific and social perspectives on sustainability, or scientific narratives of race and racial identities. These are only some examples of possible essay topics. Let your imagination run wild, unleash your creative impulses, challenge given and established wisdom, and think outside of the box.

Here are the eligibility criteria:

  1. You should be enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison
  2. The paper can be written as a class term paper, but should be redrafted to fit the purposes of this competition
  3. The paper can also be written specifically for this competition
  4. Papers should not exceed 2500 words (not including references)

The deadline for submitting the essays is 5 pm on April 23, 2024. Essays should be emailed to sts@ssc.wisc.edu .

Where qualified essays are received, the first prize will be $500, the second prize will be $300, and the third prize will be $100.

Questions about the competition should be addressed to the Associate Director, Sainath Suryanarayanan, ssuryanaraya@wisc.edu.

Undergraduate Writing Competition CFP 2024