Program Overview

ASPIRE Academic Year Program

The ASPIRE Academic Year Program is designed for students to work on individualized research projects under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Students apply to the program by listing their research interests and goals, and are then matched with a faculty member in their major.

Program Details

• Students commit to work 5-10 hours a week on a research project for graded independent study course credit.
• The commitment can be for a semester or a year, depending on the scope of the project.
• The explicit goal for the student is to produce quality research that could be presented at a national or regional discipline-specific conference.
• Once the student is accepted at an appropriate conference, the ASPIRE program provides funding to cover the costs of attending the conference.

Eligibility Criteria

• To qualify for the ASPIRE academic year program, students must have a major in the College of Humanities & Social Sciences.
• Students must be a sophomore or higher in classification.
• Students must be in good academic standing.

Application Process

• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the academic year.

Program Objective

The ASPIRE Academic Year Program aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage in research projects and produce quality research that can be presented at conferences.