Call for Student Research Proposals: Due March 30

March 2, 2020

Call for Student Research Proposals: Due March 30
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The Religion, Race & Democracy Lab invites undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Virginia to join with faculty, staff, and fellow students to investigate the complex interrelationships between religion, race and democracy.

Select students will receive a stipend—$3,000 for undergraduate students and $5,000 for graduate students—to produce media-rich non-fiction narratives on any topic that explores religion, race, and democracy. We seek topics from around the globe and throughout history that will result in a short audio or video documentary. Final projects should engage the broadest possible audience. Please note: the stipend does not support the writing of a dissertation chapter or an academic article

The Lab requires all student collaborators to participate in a three-day training workshop in the documentary arts, held May 18–20, 2020 at UVA. Additionally, student collaborators are strongly encouraged to attend a welcome lunch on Monday, April 20, and a final share session with the full cohort in September 2020 (date TBD).

Throughout the research period, student collaborators receive one-on-one support from the Lab’s editor and senior producer, with additional help from instructors at Light House Studio, a Charlottesville nonprofit that trains young filmmakers. Student collaborators must identify a faculty mentor with whom to consult about their research efforts. Students are expected to follow the below production schedule and submit a final documentary by September 21, 2020. To ensure that projects follow the production timeline, stipends will be awarded as three separate payments, and issued only when key project milestones are reached.

The ultimate goal is to present final projects on the Lab’s website, however, the Lab retains the right to publish or not publish any student-produced content. To see samples of student documentaries, visit: https://religionlab.virginia.edu/projects/

ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must:

  • be enrolled at UVA throughout the fall 2020 semester
  • be able to participate in the documentary training workshop, May 18–20, at UVA

Students who have received Lab funding in the past are welcome to apply again.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
All application materials must be submitted no later than 5 pm, on Monday, March 30, 2020.

  • completed online form, which includes:
    • project pitch (no more than 2 pages double-spaced, .pdf or .doc only); see sample pitches from This American Life
    • resume (no more than 1 page single-spaced, .pdf or .doc only)
  • brief statement of commitment from a faculty mentor emailed to thereligionlab@virginia.edu
  • brief statement of commitment from a research contributor (i.e. interviewee, archivist, scholar) emailed to thereligionlab@virginia.edu

Have questions? Contact us at thereligionlab.virginia.edu or 434.924.6617.

 

Funding to support undergraduate research is generously provided by