|
|
|||||||||||
| faculty & staff | current scholars | projects | news & events | » | general info | alumni | |||||
 "When I visited universities during my senior year in high school, I heard two arguments from recruiters: large schools emphasized their extensive facilities; small schools touted their small class sizes and high level of faculty/student interaction. CAS Scholars at Northwestern gave me the advantages of both worlds: I have access to excellent resources as well as intense interaction with faculty." -John Hembling, '99 Majors: environmental sciences and international studies |
General
Information Summary: The WCAS College Scholars Program is designed to nurture creative scholarly and artistic talent at the undergraduate level at Northwestern University. Guided by distinguished members of the College faculty, WCAS Scholars are encouraged to develop individualized goals for their academic programs, pursue research and creative work, to engage in intensive intellectual exchange with fellow students, faculty members, visiting scholars and artists, and to develop a sense of intellectual community. The Program imposes no formal requirements on its members (other than that Members must be Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Students). Scholars are, however, expected to maintain dedicated, active research and/or creative interests and high academic standards, and to direct their efforts towards such goals as the writing of research papers, original creative material and honors theses, the presentation of professional talks, preparation for graduate study and careers in the public and/or private domain. The Program holds an annual conference in which graduating Scholars present the results of their research and creative activities. College Scholars Program is not limited to a specific discipline or area of study. It seeks unusually motivated, independent intellectual endeavor in any field or combination of fields represented in the WCAS curriculum. Current Scholars are majoring in such diverse subjects as American Studies, Biology, Philosophy, Chemistry, Computing and Information Systems, Economics, Environmental Sciences, Hispanic Studies, History, Mathematics, Sociology, and Religion. Admission: The Program sends out annual requests for nominations to members of Northwestern Universityís faculty, seeking exceptional students from among WCAS freshmen, sophomores, and in special cases, Juniors. Nominees are invited to submit applications, which are evaluated competitively by the Program Board, on the basis of the applicantís past academic achievement and future scholarly and creative promise. The Program normally admits about 15 students per year out of the whole pool of WCAS students (in previous years, out of the whole pool of Weinberg applicants. Due to reorganization the Program will only admit two to five Scholars in 2001-2002 for the following year). Prospective applicants to Northwestern are not eligible for nomination. The Program does not accept unsolicited applications. Support and Privileges: The Program offers Scholars support in many forms, including: Research Funding: Research funds of up to $2,500 (and more in exceptional cases, subject to approval) are available to each scholar to pursue her/his own research. College Scholars funding is independent of any other sources of undergraduate research funding available at large within the University community or elsewhere. All funding is subject to approval, but may be used for a broad range of research oriented purposes, including costs of research materials, professional literature, professional travel, membership in learned societies, etc. Individual Supervision: Scholars are normally offered individual supervision by afaculty member with expertise in their chosen fields. Special arrangements may be made through the Board of Directors of the College Scholars Program. Personalized Curricula and Ad-Hoc Majors: Scholars are encouraged, where appropriate, to design an ad-hoc course-of study which (subject to requirements) best suits their academic and creative interests. Scholars may develop their curricula with assistance from members of the Board, the Program Director, individual mentors, and departmental advisors. Special Activities: In order to foster a sense of community, various resources are available for use in accordance with Scholarsí suggestions and requests. Scholars are encouraged to join other Scholars at regularly scheduled lunches with Board members, to participate in small workshops and symposia with visiting academics and artists. The program regularly sponsors outings to various cultural events/venues in the Chicago area, including, for example, the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Lyric Opera, and Chicago's many theatres, etc. For correspondence contact Phyllis Siegel, the Program Assistant, 20 University Hall, Evanston Campus, 60208-2245. tel. 847/491-3525. fax. 847/467-2733, email psiegel@northwestern.edu. For further information online go to http://www.cas.northwestern.edu/cscholars
|
