Emerging Scholars Application

Overview

Emerging Scholars are first year (freshmen or transfer) KU undergraduate students taking part in research through the Federal Work-Study Program. You must have been awarded and accepted Federal Work-Study funds as part of your KU financial aid package in order to apply.

You do NOT need to have any experience doing research to be an Emerging Scholar. The professor you work with will teach you any necessary skills to complete your work. You just need to be ready to learn.

Students should read through the 2021-2022 job descriptions and select your top five positions prior to completing this application. As you respond to the questions below, please write a paragraph (at least 3-4 complete sentences) in response to each question. Each written response is important, so we recommend that you think about the questions a bit, write your responses in a Word document or similar application, revise them, and then copy and paste them into the application.

Emerging Scholars will also have the benefit of free participation in the OPTIONS program. This year there will be two sessions. The Virtual OPTIONS session will take place July 5 through August 9, 2021, while the In-Person OPTIONS session will take place August 15-18, 2021. You may participate in one or both OPTIONS experiences as your schedule allows.

The OPTIONS program is designed to assist incoming undergraduate students as they transition to KU. If accepted as an Emerging Scholar and you apply and are accepted to the OPTIONS program, our office will email you further information. Contact us at cur@ku.edu or 785-864-5733 if you have any questions about the program.

Applicant Information

By submitting this application, you are applying to participate in the Emerging Scholars program. As an Emerging Scholar, you'll be paid to work as a research assistant for a professor and attend paid professional development meetings through the Center for Undergraduate Research.

Student First Name

Student Last Name

Preferred First Name

KU Email Address (your "@ku.edu" address)

Email Address (the best email address to contact you)

Phone Number

Orientation Information

If you already know your Orientation date, please list it here.

If you haven't signed up for Orientation yet, follow these instructions to register. If you're still deciding, just write "Undecided" or list a few ideas you're considering – no pressure!

How did you hear about Emerging Scholars?

If Other, how did you hear about this program?

Rank Your Job Preferences

If you are selected as an Emerging Scholar, we will match you with a professor or research staff member who you will work for as a research assistant. In order to find the best match, please rank which jobs are most interesting to you. Job descriptions are available on our website. Write 3-4 sentences for each of your five selections to tell us why you are interested in this job and why you would be a good match for this job. If there are any preferred experiences or requirements for the job, be sure to mention how you meet those requirements.

My first job choice is:

Explanation of first choice
Why does this job interest you? If any requirements are listed, how do you meet them?

My second job choice is:

Explanation of second choice
Why does this job interest you? If any requirements are listed, how do you meet them?

My third job choice is:

Explanation of third choice
Why does this job interest you? If any requirements are listed, how do you meet them?

My fourth job choice is:

Explanation of fourth choice
Why does this job interest you? If any requirements are listed, how do you meet them?

My fifth job choice is:

Explanation of fifth choice
Why does this job interest you? If any requirements are listed, how do you meet them?

Tell Us About Yourself

As part of your application, we’d like to know a little bit about you and your interests. Please write a paragraph (at least 3-4 complete sentences) in response to each question to help us get to know you better. We recommend that you think about the questions a bit, write your responses in a Word document, or similar application, revise them, and then copy and paste them into this section of the application.

Tell us about an experience where you enjoyed learning.
What was the experience? What made it enjoyable? What did you learn about yourself as a learner from that experience?

Research involves a lot of troubleshooting. Tell us about a time you had to troubleshoot a problem.
Describe the situation. How did you overcome the problem? What did you learn from the process of troubleshooting?

Application Timeline

We will begin reviewing applications after the June 1, 2021, priority deadline and will notify all applicants via email by July 31, 2021, of the outcome of their application. Admitted Emerging Scholars will receive more details about the program and will have the option of continuing in the hiring process or opting out of the program if they are no longer interested.