The Marcus Undergraduate Research Assistantship Grant

The Marcus Undergraduate Research Assistantship Grant is an initiative aimed at promoting student research in collaboration with a faculty mentor.

 

Faculty Eligibility:

  • Must be a tenured/tenure-track full-time faculty member in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts.
  • The faculty mentor should commit to meeting weekly or biweekly with the student research assistant(s).

Student Eligibility:

  • Must be declared undergraduate majors in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts.
  • Must be enrolled during both the fall and spring semesters of the awarded academic year.
  • Must not be studying abroad in 2023-2024.

All tenured and tenure-track full-time faculty members in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts are eligible to apply. This grant promotes scholarly activity conducted by undergraduate students and a faculty member in a partnership. Projects must involve mentoring across a range of research activities.

Research projects are broadly construed to include all disciplines represented in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts, and in all cases, students must be learning and practicing research/scholarship skills appropriate to the field of inquiry. 

Expectations

  • All student recipients will present results of their project at the Spring 2024 LCA Undergraduate Research Showcase.
  • Both the student(s) and the faculty member will also submit a one-page report at that time that reflects on their experiences.

Application Components

To apply for the Marcus Undergraduate Research Assistantship Grant, you will need to include the following:

  1. General Information: Your name and contact information, Department/School, etc.
  2. A copy of your most recent CV
  3. Project Title and Abstract
  4. Project Narrative
  5. Project timeline including what will be accomplished by student research assistant(s) at each stage.
  6. Faculty Mentorship Plan
  7. Name and contact information for your proposed student assistant(s) if you have this information (it can also be added later once the grant has been awarded)
  8. Justification for a second student assistant (if applicable)
  9. Additional Materials (optional)

Marcus Undergraduate Assistantship Grant: Current and Past Winners

Queering the Newsroom: Using Engagement Strategies to Improve Coverage in the Bay Area
Josh Davis
Department of Journalism
Student researchers: Nicole Buss, Myron Caringal

From the Bay to the Valley: California Politics in Context
Marcela García-Castañon
Department of Political Science
Student researchers: Arturo Avila, TBD

Animation Matters: Interrogating Diversity in Mainstream Animated Features
Mihaela Mihailova
School of Cinema
Student researcher: Madisyn Montoya

‘It’s my job’: Scientists Working with Journalists and the Medialization of Science
Laura L. Moorhead
Department of Journalism
Student researchers: TBD

Under-Represented Cinemas in The Archive
Greta Snider
School of Cinema
Student researchers: TBD

“Forging A Deeper Democracy?: Assessing Participatory Budgeting in the Bay Area.” Mentor: Ron Hayduk (Department of Political Science).

“Big Apple 80s: A Geolocated Audio Trip to the Birth of MTV.” Mentor: Elizabeth Bradley Hunter (School of Theatre & Dance).

“Decolonizing Linguistics: Computer-Mediated Communication as an Inclusive Gateway to the Discipline.” Mentor: Jenny Lederer (Department of English Language and Literature).

“Finding the needle, re-thinking the haystack: A systematic review of labels and descriptors of ‘low-skilled’ populations in U.S. health literacy research.” Mentor: Maricel Santos (Department of English Language and Literature).

“A New Critical Edition of ‘Romeo and Juliet’: A Digital Humanities Project”
Students: Jason Bolich, Nicolaz Ruiz
Mentor: Kurt Daw (School of Theatre and Dance)

“Shakespeare’s ‘Lear’: A VR/Live Performance Hybrid”
Students: Nicole Carlson, Jo Rhoades
Mentor: Elizabeth Hunter (School of Theatre and Dance)

“Lexical Variation and Sociolinguistic Style in a Bay Area High School”
Students: Ana Abarca, Shane Cueva
Mentor: Teresa Pratt (English Language and Literature Department)

“The Unpublished Works of Elizabeth Anscombe”
Student: Ivan Manriquez Jr.
Mentor: Jeremy Reid (Philosophy Department).

“From the Left or the Right? Anti-Semitism in Germany Since 2002”
Student: Nicolle Mariani
Mentor: Scott Siegel (International Relations Department).

“A Juggler’s Choice: Agendas and Attention in the Modern Presidency”
Student: Elizabeth Wedel
Mentor: Rebecca Eissler

“China’s Multilateral Activism and the Postwar Order: Rule Taker, Rule Shaper, Rule Breaker or Rule Maker?”
Student: Samuel Catania
Mentor: See-Won Byun

“Is It Teasing or Bullying? Interactional Practices and Blurry Lines”
Student: Austin Schutz
Mentor: Leah Wingard

“Vegetarian Indian Restaurant or Indian Vegetarian Restaurant: Order of Attributes in Search Queries”
Student: Lauren Baker
Mentor: Anastasia Smirnova

“What They Bring with Them: Pre-Migration Experiences and Trajectories in American Politics of American Immigrants”
Student: Yvette Osio
Mentor: Marcela García-Castañon

George and Judy Marcus Funds for Excellence in the Liberal Arts