Judith Geist and Carl Rosberg Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program Application
Most of the application is submitted electronically.
A few items must submitted in hard copy.
The Application includes:
A. An ONLINE APPLICATION FORM (Coming Soon)
B. The following materials should be emailed to the Center: africa_center_fellowships@berkeley.edu
An abstract of 150 words or less (visit http://research.berkeley.edu/ucday/abstract.html for hints on how to write an abstract).
A 1200-word proposal including central question, importance of work, scope and methodology. Include in your proposal some indication of the contribution your project will make to African Studies. Workshops on writing research proposals are available through the Office of Undergraduate Research. For the schedule, visit http://research.berkeley.edu/haas_scholars/schedule.html. We encourage you to read The Art of Writing Proposals (Pzreworski & Saloman) and visit our 'Research Resources' page for further tips on preparing your application.
A curriculum vitae or academic work resume.
A complete budget, including airfare plus other expenses (if costs are to exceed $3,000, please indicate other sources of funding).
A proposed itinerary including all destinations and dates of travel.
A copy of your unofficial UCB transcripts of record (CalCentral Academic Summary PDF). To access your unofficial transcript of record, go to: https://calcentral.berkeley.edu, login with your Calnet ID, click on “My Academics", then click on “Academic Summary." Print the page as a PDF file, save and submit.
One letter of recommendation from your faculty advisor. Provide a signed copy of the waiver to the recommender. Instruct the recommender to ELECTRONICALLY send the letter directly to the Center's fellowship e-mail <africa_center_fellowships@berkeley.edu>. We suggest that faculty members put in the subject line the name of the applicant and "ROSBERG~GEIST Letter of Recommendation". Faculty advisors should indicate in the letter their willingness to support the applicant through the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects process as necessary.
Proof of completion of CITI Human Research Course. (https://www.citiprogram.org). Before funds are released, those selected for the fellowship must ascertain whether review and approval by the UC Berkeley Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) is required. This process can take up to 8-10 weeks. The CITI course is a required part of this process and can be done online. It will help you determine whether your project requires CPHS approval. When completed you will receive an online certificate that you can download or save as a PDF file.
Protecting Human Subjects: Federal and University regulations require that prior to conducting any research involving human subjects, one must gain approval from the CPHS. Among other issues, the CPHS process examines proposed research methods, the protection of the rights of human subjects, informed consent, and confidentiality for the subjects and data. Special considerations apply when working with children/minors, non-literate populations, non-English speakers, etc. The Office of Undergraduate Research runs workshops on the CPHS process.
More information about how to use the eProtocol system to submit your research project for review can be found on the CPHS/OPHS site, http://cphs.berkeley.edu/. If CPHS approval is required, the Rosberg/Geist Fellow will be the "Lead Investigator" and their Faculty Advisor will be the "PI" or "Principal Investigator". Hence, you may need to gain support from your faculty advisor to serve as the PI on this. The CPHS sites below provide further guidance.
An overview of CPHS: http://cphs.berkeley.edu/
Useful guidelines for research abroad: http://cphs.berkeley.edu/international.html
CPHS Student Investigators Guide: http://cphs.berkeley.edu/student.html
Berkeley eProtocol Instructions, sample forms and Login: http://cphs.berkeley.edu/eprotocol.html
C. Paper items to be submitted at the address listed below: Transcripts from any other previous undergraduate institutions other than UC Berkeley, you MUST SUBMIT ORIGINIAL PAPER DOCUMENTS from each respective institution.
Signed Ethical Conduct Waiver that states that you have read and understand the African Studies Association Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Research and other Professional Undertakings in Africa.: https://africanstudies.org/about-the-asa/asa-ethical-conduct-guidelines/
Signed Waiver Form for the Letter of Recommendation. We must have a signed copy for our files. Please follow the directions written on the form.
All PAPER materials are to be submitted to:
Geist and Rosberg Fellowship Committee
Center for African Studies University of California, Berkeley
342/356 Stephens Hall #2314 Berkeley, CA 94720-2314
Phone: 510.642.8338
email: africa_center_fellowships@berkeley.edu