Faculty and Student Research

All research conducted by Whitman College faculty or students involving human participants, regardless of funding source, must be submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review. 

Student conference and thesis travel funding is also available.

Abshire/Hubbard/Soden Student Research Scholar Award

Applications for 2025 Spring semester are due November 1, 2024

Applications for 2025 Fall Semester are due April 15, 2025

Abshire/Hubbard/Soden Scholar Awards are given each semester to a number of student/faculty teams. Students are nominated by Whitman professors having a need for assistance in their scholarly pursuits during the academic year. Students may work 5-8 hours per week with no more than a total of 80 hours (at $16.75/hour) per semester.  The ASID committee will consider requests for a period of two semesters depending on the nature of the project.

All disciplines are eligible for an Abshire/Hubbard award. The Soden award is available to faculty/student teams in the Arts and Humanities division, with preference given first to research work on German philosophers.

In evaluating proposals, the ASID Committee follows the following criteria:

• The proposed project should involve the student intellectually and not merely for rote processing of repetitive research tasks.
• Professors should include a rationale for the choice of student, emphasizing the student's abilities for assisting in the project.
• Although publication of the results of the project is not required, the project should be of sufficient professional quality that publication could be considered possible.
• The project and its methodology should have a strong relationship to the professor's research program.

Your application must include: 

1. Description of the research you intend to pursue.
2. Explanation of the student’s individual role with specific attention to the intellectual nature of the student’s work and how that work will help you to carry out your project.
3. Budget detailing projected expenditures for materials relating to your project. Please note that the Abshire/Hubbard/Soden award is intended primarily to support student scholarly work, which will be compensated at the rate of $16.75 an hour. Requests for materials and supplies should be justified in the proposal, and costs should be itemized.  The ASID Committee will consider requests for materials or supplies up to a maximum of $500.00.
4. Name and qualifications of the student who will assist you.
5. Statement from the student concerning his/her qualifications for the specific requirements of the proposed project.
6. The student’s advisor’s report or transcript, (does not need to be an official transcript).

Proposals should be submitted to the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty via Google form.

Submit Proposal

The ASID Committee will select the recipients.

History of Abshire Award Recipients

Adam Dublin Award

Applications are due November 1, 2024

The Dublin Award was established in the fall of 2003 by then Board of Trustees Chair-elect, Kari Glover, '72, and her husband, Thaddas L. Alston to support scholarly or creative work relating to multiculturalism in the United States or abroad. T.he Award is named for the late Adam Dublin, '96, in memory of his positive spirit and his commitment to diversity while a student at Whitman.

The grant will be divided into two $1,500 stipends, one for the student and one for the faculty member. In addition, up to $1000 may be used to defray documented expenses of the project such as art supplies or research materials. If travel is required for the project (e.g. archival research), an additional $1,500 may be requested. The application must include an itemized request for expenses.

The types of projects that can be funded include:

• Quantitative or qualitative research projects
• Senior theses
• Creative writing projects
• Visual arts projects
• Musical compositions or lecture recitals
• Video documentaries
• One-act plays
• Others as deemed appropriate by the selection committee

The award will go to the one or two projects that address issues of global multiculturalism in the most challenging, original, and well-prepared way. Academic rigor and creative originality will be criteria. Projects may focus on a particular ethnic or racial community in a specific country or look more broadly at the interactions between communities. Projects may concentrate on the United States or study issues of multiculturalism in other countries or at the global level. 

The selection committee will be looking for evidence of collaboration between students and faculty. Even if the student is ultimately responsible for the writing of the project (as in the case of a senior thesis), the committee will be interested in how the faculty advisor will be helping the student and how the student’s research affects or informs the faculty member’s work.

A public presentation of the research or creative project is required at the end of the academic year in which the award is given. Both the student and the faculty member should speak at this event.

All current students and faculty at Whitman College are eligible to apply. It is expected that the project will be completed before the student graduates and within a year of notification of the award at the latest. Proposals must be signed by both the student and the faculty member. A complete proposal will consist of the following:  

• The members of the team and their qualifications.
• The nature and scope of the project, identifying the main issue it will cover.
• The significance of the project.
• The timeline and process for completing the project (no later than two semesters from application and prior to the student's graduation)
• If necessary, an itemized budget of expenses.
• The form that the public presentation will take.

Proposals should be submitted to the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty via Google form.

Submit Proposal

The ASID Committee will select the recipients.

History of Dublin Award Recipients

Faculty-Student Summer Research Awards

Applications are due by Monday, February 10, 2025.

To apply, please upload the required documents including the cover page, via this link: Faculty-Student Summer Research Proposal

The ASID Committee will review applications and select the recipients.

The purpose of the Faculty-Student Summer Research Scholarship is to make it possible for faculty to collaborate with continuing Whitman students in their professional work, allowing for a rich learning opportunity for students to gain first-hand knowledge of the methods and challenges of sustained scholarly work. These collaborative projects are expected to be of such quality that they might lead to publication, exhibition, or performance.

Summer Research Grants provide a faculty stipend, hourly compensation for the student, and limited funds for supplies, travel, or other expenses necessary to complete the research project. For projects requiring fewer than 150 hours, please include an addendum providing detailed justification or consult with Mary Raschko before preparing a proposal.  All stipends are taxable.

The following criteria will be considered by the selection committee:

• The project and its methodology should have a close relationship to a professor's research agenda and teaching interests.
• Students should have relevant qualifications for the specific requirements of the project, ability to work professionally with faculty in their field of study, and commitment to work as a full-time summer research assistant. Preference will be given to work-study eligible students. Faculty can find out whether a student is work-study eligible through myWhitman.
• The proposed research project should be truly collaborative and involve the student intellectually.
• Safety of the student should be clearly indicated where relevant. Faculty whose projects require significant travel in remote areas with their collaborators should consider inviting two students.
• Although publication or the equivalent is not required, the summer research project should be of sufficient professional quality that publication or the equivalent should be considered possible.
• All faculty, regardless of status, are encouraged to submit applications. Some consideration is made for tenure-track faculty and for students who have not previously received a Faculty-Student Summer award.
• For those faculty who have previously received Faculty-Student Summber Research awards, a 1-2 page report describing work completed and resulting presentations or publication is required and will be reviewed as part of the criteria for the granting of a subsequent Faculty-Student Research award.

Please note that due to budgetary restrictions, and in an effort to distribute funding equitably, the committee may ask that the number of student researchers and/or the total number of student research hours be scaled back.

1. Application Cover Page with detailed budget and justification (REQUIRED). Please download:

Faculty-Student Summer Research word format
OR
Faculty-Student Summer Research PDF format

2. A two-page proposal about the research and an abstract of no more than 150 words. In your proposal:

• Provide a summary of background literature related to the status of the research question.
• Explain, in detail, the work the student will contribute to the project and the faculty member's role as a mentor. Please keep in mind that faculty on the committee may be unfamiliar with the research methods of your discipline and therefore providing a concrete description of what materials the student will be working with, how you will be guiding the student in this work, and the stages of the research is an especially important component of the proposal.
• Explain why this particular student is especially suited for this project.
• Explain how the project fits into your broader research agenda and describe the expected outcomes of the project.

Please note that if your student is applying for an external research grant, you may still apply. If your student receives the grant, you may request to substitute a different qualified student.

3. A timeline of the work. The strongest proposals provide a description of specific stages of research and the time involved. It is important that students not have other paid work by the College when they are working on the research project full-time (35 hours or more), so be sure to discuss your project timeline carefully with your student as you write your proposal. Projects may not begin prior to May 9 and must be completed by September 8.

4. Student statement about their interest in the project and skills or preparation they bring to the collaboration.

5. Student unofficial transcript or advisor's report.

6. Report from previous summer research award (most recent), if applicable.

When you complete your application, be sure to read the guidelines for each category as you put together an itemized and justified budget. 

History of Faculty-Student Summer Research Award Recipients