Program Details

Eligibility

University of Dayton undergraduate students majoring in any academic discipline within the College of Arts and Sciences are eligible to apply. Students must be in good academic standing (GPA of 2.0 or higher). The application process must be initiated by a full-time CAS faculty mentor. Fellows must be available to conduct research for a minimum of 20 hours per week during one or both summer sessions.

Application

A call for applications will be announced at the end of the fall semester each year. Faculty mentors work with their students to complete the application, with applications typically due in late January.

Applications received by the due date will then go through a review process. Once the Dean’s Office has selected the students who will receive DSF funding, it will notify the applicants of its decisions (typically by mid-March).

• The student award for 2024 is in the amount of $3,000 (full summer) or $1,500 (half summer).
• For the summer 2024 DSF program an honorarium of $500 will be awarded to faculty mentors. This honorarium will be added to a faculty member's payroll in the fall once their sponsored student has submitted their DSF final report. Mentors are eligible for only one honorarium, even if they mentor more than one student for DSF.

Student Expectations

• Students should be devoting a minimum of 20 hours per week to research on their proposed projects or related educational endeavors.
• A midsummer progress report and a final report are required for full-summer fellows. The final report only is required for half-summer fellows.

Other Participation Reminders

• Participating fellows may not enroll in more than one course (3 semester hours) in each summer session.
• While students who have previously received a Dean's Summer Fellowship are welcome to apply again, preference will be given to students who have not previously received a Dean's Summer Fellowship. 
• By accepting the Dean's Summer Fellowship, students give permission to the University of Dayton to use their names, pictures and videos in College news and promotional materials without further consent.
• Faculty may sponsor no more than two students for the Dean’s Summer Fellowship program per cycle.
• Students may not stack awards on top of the Dean’s Summer Fellowship. If a student is applying for multiple summer opportunities, students are encouraged to apply for DSF and may decline participation later should they choose to pursue a different opportunity.