Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations

Jerome A. Schiff Undergraduate Fellows Program

The Jerome A. Schiff Undergraduate Fellows Program provides funding for students to perform an innovative research, creative or pedagogical project under the guidance of a Brandeis faculty mentor. Learn more about the Schiff Fellows program.

Applications for 2024-2025 Schiff Undergraduate Research Fellowship are due by Wednesday, April 10, 2024 before 6 pm ET.

Both the application and the faculty letter of recommendation are due by the April 10, 6 pm ET deadline.

Access the application here.

For more information, please contact Margaret lynch.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Brandeis first-year, sophomore, junior. Schiff Fellows generally apply as sophomores or juniors. First year students may apply, but must have strong support from their proposed mentor.
  • Students must be full-time Brandeis students enrolled in courses on the Brandeis campus during the entire AY24-25 year (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025).
  • Evidence of enthusiasm, preparedness, and commitment to do research and strong evidence of support and mentoring from the faculty mentor.
  • Students can apply for a Schiff fellowship to support projects that are not for course credit. If their project meets the additional criteria below, students are eligible to apply for a Schiff Fellowship if they are doing a research project for course credit.

Eligibility Scope: Additional Criteria

  • Students doing research for course credit during AY24-25: Please read the eligibility criteria below for students engaged in a research or creative project for a senior thesis, senior project, or a research or creative project for academic course credit.
    • Students who will doing a research or creative project for course credit in AY24-25 can apply for a Schiff Fellowship if they want to begin one or more components of their research or creative project during the summer.
    • Students who will engage in a research or creative project for course credit in AY24-25 can also apply for a Schiff fellowship to support a project that is related to but separate from (or completed different from) the research for course credit.
    • Students with a senior thesis research or creative project that requires travel, equipment, or other project-related supplies costing over $500 total can apply for a Schiff Fellowship.
    • If none of the above applies, students doing senior thesis research or a senior project who have project-related expenses of $500 or less can apply for funding through the Provost's Undergraduate Research Funds  (up to $250 per semester).
  • Students are required to hold a SSN and complete an I-9 in order to receive a stipend. International Students are encouraged to review the steps for beginning on-campus employment found on the International Students and Scholars Office website. 

Amount, Duration of Award

  • $3,000 stipend (in AY24-25) for each Schiff Undergraduate Fellow (non-U.S. citizens are subject to special tax deductions).
  • The project should span the entire academic year. Depending on the nature of your project, your time commitment may fluctuate or remain consistent throughout the year. Some fellows begin their work in the summer and use a portion of their stipend for on-campus housing.
  • Each Brandeis faculty mentor also receives a research reimbursement of $500 towards their own research.

Application Requirements

  • Completed applications are DUE by 6 pm ET April 10, 2024.
  • Late applications cannot be accepted.
  • Letter of recommendation, which must be submitted by your Schiff faculty mentor via the Faculty Recommendation Form. The recommendation letter should address the applicant's role in developing the project, the student's preparation to conduct research, expected outcomes, and a mentoring and communication plan.
  • Application components include: Research or Creative Project proposal (2000 words, including a 250-word abstract), Other project activities or project attachments (optional), required Mentoring and Communication Plan, Personal statement, Resume, Transcript, Letter of Recommendation from the Faculty Mentor for your project

Dates, Deadlines and Notifications

  • Campus deadline: The AY24-25 deadline is 6 pm ET April 10, 2024.
  • Notification: Schiff Fellows are notified in mid-late May and are expected to accept or decline their award within 5-10 business days after notification.

Congratulations to the 2023-24 Jerome A. Schiff Fellows!

Venus Adusei '24
  • Majors and Minors: African & African American Studies & English and Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies

  • Title: " Universes, Angels, and Gods: Afro Surrealism & Black Liberation "

  • Faculty Mentor: Faith Smith

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: English 
Floriesha Bastien '24
  • Majors and Minors: Sociology and Race, Media and Communication

  • Title: " Construction of Race at Brandeis Univeristy " 

  • Faculty Mentor: Wendy Cadge

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Sociology
Yuhan Hao '24
  • Majors and Minors: Politics

  • Title: " How Do Democratic Allies Manage Disagreement? "

  • Faculty Mentor: Kerry Chase

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Politics
Norah Khadraoui '24
  • Majors and Minors: Sociology and SJSP and Legal Studies

  • Title: "Aging out of Sympathy: Asylum, SIJ, and The "Worthy" Imiigrant"

  • Faculty Mentor: Gowri Vijayakumar

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Sociology
Tolani Odogiyon '24
  • Majors and Minors: Neuroscience, Health: Science, Society and Policy

  • Title: " Effect of syntactic challenge and working memory load on comprehension of vocoded sentences: speed, accuracy, and effort "

  • Faculty Mentor: Arthur Wingfield

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Neuroscience and Psychology 
Fiona Stewart '25
  • Majors and Minors: Biology and Computer Science 

  • Title: " The Impact of RNA Polymerase Conformational Heterogeneity on the Binding of Secondary Channel Factors GreB and DksA "

  • Faculty Mentor: Jeff Gelles 

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Biochemistry 
Megan Tan '25
  • Majors and Minors: Film, Creative Writing

  • Title: " Designing Broadsides: Exploring the Relationship Between Poetry and Multimedia Art "

  • Faculty Mentor: Elizabeth Bradfield 

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Creative Writing
Anana Turner '25
  • Majors and Minors: African and African-American Studies, Technology: Ethics & Politics

  • Title: " ChatGPT becoming “ChatMD”: Algorithmic Bias in ChatGPT’s Medical Diagnostics "

  • Faculty Mentor: Anya Wallace

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: African and African-American Studies
Destiney Williamson '25
  • Majors and Minors: Sociology  and African and African-American Studies

  • Title: " Examining Young Black Femininity in the Baptist Church "

  • Faculty Mentor: Sara Shostak

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Sociology 
Jackson Wu '24
  • Majors and Minors: International and Global Studies, Anthropology and Business 

  • Title: " Investigating Cancer Incidence amongst Filipino Migrant Domestic Workers in Taiwan "

  • Faculty Mentor: Elanah Uretsky

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: International and Global Studies
Qihao Xie '24
  • Majors and Minors: Neuroscience, Psychology

  • Title: " Cross-Cultural Differences in Self-Enhancement using Electroencephalography (EEG) and Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Analysis "

  • Faculty Mentor: Dr. Angela Gutchess

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: Department of Psychology
Yija Yu '24
  • Majors and Minors: Anthropology and Theater and Business

  • Title: " Zero-COVID Nation: The Untold Stories and Collective Memories from Shanghai COVID Lockdown "

  • Faculty Mentor: Elanah Uretsky

  • Faculty Mentor's Department: IGS and Anthropology