Frequently asked questions

Is SOL right for me? Am I right for SOL?

We are looking for thoughtful, dedicated undergraduates from all academic disciplines who are interested in:

• Becoming part of an intensive, one-year, nationally recognized leadership program that combines coursework, experiential learning, critical reflection and mentoring;

• Joining a tight-knit community of peers who are interested in conducting community-based research in the summer;

• Learning how to reflect critically on the intellectual, ethical, and civic issues from their research experiences;

• Gaining a deeper intellectual understanding of the kinds of leadership needed to tackle complex, real-world problems.

Can you tell me more about the full-credit gateway and capstone courses?

The spring gateway course, PUBPOL 196: Border Crossing, Leadership, Value Conflicts, and Public Life, prepares students to conduct community-based research projects in the summer through SOL, or another RSL opportunity. Students will be trained in basic research methods, complete a 20-hour service project for a local community organization, and be introduced to a leadership framework for undertaking complex problem-solving work in the public arena. The course is designed to provide students with theoretical knowledge and critical reflection skills for entering other cultures to conduct research with community organizations. The course is taught by Alma Blount, Director of SOL and the HLP, and Steve Schewel, HLP faculty member. It fulfills the SS, EI, R and W curriculum requirements.

PUBPOL 137: Adaptive Leadership is the fall capstone seminar for students completing community-based research projects through SOL. Participants will engage in critical reflection on summer projects, and examine concepts of leadership, politics and policy design to explore how lives of commitment to the common good are formed and sustained. This course is also taught by Alma Blount. It fulfills the SS, EI, R, W and seminar curriculum requirements.

What types of summer community-based research projects do SOLsters do?

Community-based research projects are as varied as student interests. Projects have covered a broad range of issues, including barriers to gun control reform, HIV/AIDS stigmatization, women entrepreneurs in rural agricultural businesses, child victims of domestic and sexual violence, and the integration of refugee children into schools and communities. SOLsters have most recently been located in North Carolina, Vermont, New York, South Korea, England, South Africa, Belize, India and Costa Rica.

Please note that summer community-based research internships do fulfill the internship requirement for Public Policy majors.

Am I expected to develop and organize my summer community-based research placement?

HLP faculty and staff will coach students in the process of developing and organizing their summer community-based research placements. However, students ultimately bear full responsibility for this process, from securing a host organization and faculty mentor, to developing a community-based research project in close consultation with the host organization and faculty mentor, to securing accommodation and making travel plans.

What are the advantages of participating in SOL?

First, as an RSL program, SOL has the potential to tremendously impact students' intellectual and personal growth. As Professor Robert Thompson, Dean of Trinity College, explains, "Research pedagogies teach students to identify a problem and pose a question, to develop a rigorous investigative approach that involves primary research, and to participate in a process of analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and dissemination. Service-learning, on the other hand, increases understanding of an academic subject or theory through direct service. It involves structured reflection and analysis that connects social and public issues with personal experiences and development. When research is joined with service-learning, the outcomes are a deeper level of inquiry-based field research that not only builds leadership and life skills but helps shape students' identities as agents for change and activism in the community."

Through participation in SOL, students are not only given the opportunity to locate themselves within or in relation to efforts to promote social change, but also the opportunity to refine their research skills in contexts where the impact of their research efforts is visible and immediate.

Second, a focus on leadership development, close mentoring from HLP faculty and staff, well-structured opportunities to engage in critical reflection, and organizational support for going public with your research findings outside of your host organization distinguish SOL from other RSL opportunities at Duke.

Last but not least, past SOL participants have emphasized the strong sense of community and camaraderie amongst participants as one of the program's many benefits.

Must the three SOL stages be completed in one calendar year?

No, the three SOL stages - gateway, community-based research and capstone - do not have to be completed in one calendar year. However, the community-based research project and capstone seminar must be completed consecutively, that is to say, in the same calendar year.

For example, if you enroll in the spring 2008 gateway course but decide not to apply for the summer 2008 SOL research grant, you can apply for the summer 2009 SOL grant. If you are successful in applying for the summer 2009 SOL grant, you MUST enroll in the fall 2009 capstone seminar.

How do I apply for SOL?

Applying for acceptance into SOL is a two-step process.

First, in fall 2007, apply for a permission number for the spring 2008 gateway course, PUBPOL 196: Border Crossing, Leadership, Value Conflicts, and Public Life. Approximately 25 students will be accepted into the course.

Second, in spring 2008, apply for a SOL summer research grant (only students currently or previously enrolled in the SOL gateway course are eligible to apply). Between 10 and 15 summer research grants in the amount of $4,000 each will be awarded. If you are awarded a summer research grant, you have been accepted into SOL.

If you accept the SOL summer research grant, you become a SOLster. You are therefore required to enroll in the full-credit capstone seminar, PUBPOL 137: Adaptive Leadership, in the fall.

Acceptance into the spring gateway course, PUBPOL 196: Border Crossing, Leadership, Value Conflicts, and Public Life, neither guarantees you summer research funding through SOL nor constitutes your acceptance into SOL. Similarly, enrollment in the gateway course does not obligate you to apply for a SOL summer research grant in the spring.

If you do decide to apply for a SOL summer research grant and are awarded one, you have been accepted into SOL. You are free to apply for summer research grants from other sources to augment the SOL stipend.

If you do not wish to apply for a SOL summer research grant, you are free to seek funding from other sources for an independent research project that is not part of SOL. Since you will not be in SOL, you will not be permitted to enroll in the fall capstone seminar.

How do I apply for a permission number for the gateway course?

To apply for a permission number for the gateway course, please write a two-page essay (500 words) addressing these questions:

Why are you interested in taking this course and the possibility of joining SOL?

At this early stage, what kind of community based research project could you imagine yourself doing if you were to apply for SOL summer funding in the spring?

Which leadership abilities and skills are the most important ones for you to develop at this point in your college career? How would your participation in SOL help your leadership development?

Applications for the spring 2008 gateway course are now closed.

If I am studying abroad this semester, can I still apply for the spring gateway course?

Yes. Simply email your gateway course application essay to Seema Parkash, the SOL Program Coordinator, at sgp5@duke.edu by the deadline.

How do I apply for a SOL grant once I am enrolled in the gateway course?

Students who are currently or were previously enrolled in the SOL gateway course may apply for one of 10 to 15 SOL grants in the amount of $4,000 each to conduct community-based research projects in the summer.

To apply for a SOL grant, you will need to submit a community-based research project proposal that outlines your placement with a specific host organization and your summer research project. You will also be required to find a suitable faculty mentor for your summer research project.

Please submit your application, with all required attachments, to Seema Parkash, SOL Program Coordinator, in Rm 113 of the Sanford Institute or via campus mail to Box 90248.

Click here to download a SOL summer grant application form for 2008.

The deadline for submitting your community-based research proposal for summer 2008 grants is 5 pm on Friday, February 29, 2008. You will be notified of our decision in early March.

If I have more questions, where should I go?

For additional questions, we encourage you to:

• Check our website: http://www.pubpol.duke.edu/sol for
  news and updates.

• Contact the SOL Program Coordinator Seema Parkash at    sgp5@duke.edu or 613-7406.