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Application Requirements

A complete application packet will include a 1) cover letter, 2) research statement, 3) unofficial transcript and a 4) nomination letter from your Research Mentor. Your research statement should be reviewed by your Research Mentor before you submit to honorsnd@nd.edu by November 1.

Cover Letter

Submit 1 page, single-spaced:

1. Include your email, college, major, year, and research mentor.
2. Include how long you have worked with your research mentor.
3. Include why you are applying to the Honors Program.
4. Include career plans, including an explanation of how your research experience would fit into your career plans, both immediate and long-term.

Undergraduate Student Researcher Statement

Submit total of 5-6 pages, single-spaced:

1. Research Experiences
   1. Description of the research undertaken to date, in courses and with research mentors and how you developed from each experience
   2. No more than 1 page in length
2. Research Intent
   1. Is a description of proposed research that provides sufficient detail to demonstrate the viability and worthiness of the research to enable reviewers unfamiliar with your specific area of research to provide a reasonable assessment. Research that is driven by the scientific thought process versus a mostly technical contribution.
   2. Should be 3-4 pages in length
   3. Should have the following structure with these subheadings:
      1. Background with references
      2. Preliminary results, if applicable
      3. Aims (2 to 3 aims)
         1. Each aim should have the following labelled subsections
            1. Hypothesis
               1. Should be intellectually deep
               2. Result in multiple experiments
            2. Rationale (for that aim)
            3. Experimental strategy with methods
            4. Interpretation and significance.
         2. As experiments progress and if issues arise, the research mentor, advising mentor, and student researcher should feel free to adjust research aims to move the Honor’s research forward.
3. Significance of Proposed Research
   1. Generally, a paragraph describing the broader impact – how could the information generated by this research be applied or have an impact on scientific knowledge)
4. Timeline of your research by semester until graduation. 
   1. A description of experiments that will be conducted through the spring of senior year.
   2. The student’s role and project should be clearly defined, if the student is part of a research team on a large project.
   3. Generally, a half of a page in length.

Nomination Form Letter From Faculty Mentor

Your Research Mentor should complete the following form and email directly to honorsnd@nd.edu by November 1.

Download the Nomination form here: Nomination form letter

Primary Contact

For more information or if there are questions, please contact: 

Prof. Amy Stark

Honors Program Faculty Coordinator

astark1@nd.edu

(574) 631-1540