The digital humanities, with their interplay of traditional humanistic inquiry and digital methods, provide rich opportunities for both undergraduates and graduates to develop new skills and engage in meaningful collaboration.
The Student Mentoring and Research Teams (SMART) program, offered by the Graduate Division, pairs doctoral student research mentors with undergraduate mentees to support mutual professional development. Working together on the graduate mentor’s project, both the graduate student and the undergraduate receive a stipend for this 10-week-long summer program, along with a budget for research expenses. Project budgets for 2016 are as follows:
- Graduate Student Stipend = $1000 - $5,000
- Undergraduate Student Stipend = $3,500
- Research Expenses = available by application
Graduate Students
For graduate students the SMART program is an opportunity to receive research assistance, practice mentorship outside of a traditional classroom setting, and develop skills in project management.
Graduate mentor applications and project proposals are duein November. Project proposals should comprise approximately 200 hours of work for undergraduate mentees. After being accepted to the program, graduate student mentors are required to take a 1-unit course on Mentoring in Higher Education during spring semester. More information for graduate applicants can be found on the SMART website.
We encourage graduate students to get in touch with a digital humanities consultant in advance in order to develop a competitive digital project proposal. Consultants can help you identify training opportunities, can provide technical consulting, and can work with you to find digital tools for collecting, managing, and analyzing research data.
Undergraduate Students
Undergraduate mentees receive a stipend for the summer and gain experience in discipline-specific research methods. Project requirements may vary: some projects require language skills or certain particular technical proficiencies, while others may only require interest in the research topic. Undergraduates should expect to complete approximately 200 hours of work over the course of the summer. Undergraduate mentees are required to attend several professional development workshops on topics such as applying to graduate school, research fellowships, presenting research, and academic writing.
Undergraduate Mentee applications are available in February.
SMART accepts undergraduates from any department. Applications are open to undeclared freshmen and sophomores, as well as seniors graduating in May 2015.
Undergraduates looking to get involved with research and work with faculty during the academic year may receive credit through the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program. The Office of Undergraduate Research provides information on supervised and independent undergraduate research programs. They also offer workshops throughout the academic year on soft research skills, such as writing grant proposals and locating a mentor.