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
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.
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 Trisha Bailey, the SOL Program Coordinator, at tab16@duke.edu by the deadline.
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.
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