How do I apply for SOL?

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

The first step, applying for a permission number for the spring 2008 gateway course - PUBPOL 196.30: Border Crossing, Value Conflicts, and Public Life - must be done in fall 2007.

The second step, applying for a SOL summer research grant, takes place after you have enrolled in the gateway course, in the spring.

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.

IMPORTANT:
Enrolling in the spring gateway course, PUBPOL 196: Border Crossing, Leadership, Value Conflicts, and Public Life, is the first step in joining SOL. You have to apply for a SOL summer research grant, be awarded one, and accept, in order to officially become a SOL participant. If you are in SOL, you must agree to enroll in the fall capstone course. You are free to apply for summer research grants from other sources to augment your 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.

How do I apply for a SOL grant after I have 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.

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

Click here to download a SOL summer grant application form.

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.

The deadline for submitting your community-based research proposal for summer 2008 grants is Friday, February 29, 2008 at 5pm. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

You will be notified of our decision by Friday, March 7, 2008.

If you are awarded a SOL grant, you have been accepted into SOL.

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