The Richter Scholars program supports independent student research projects conducted under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The program relies on funds awarded through the Paul K. Richter Memorial Fund and the Evalyn E.C. Richter Memorial Fund, distributed by the Bank of America.
The purpose of these funds is to support educational research opportunities that encourage the practices of independent thought, leading to independent achievement and personal responsibility. In keeping with this intent, the Richter Scholars program at George Fox distributes funds to support student research and projects that are devised, initiated and carried out by individual student researchers, with mentorship, guidance and expertise provided by a faculty mentor.
For the purpose of this program, research is defined as a knowledge-generating activity that is designed to provide new information on a topic, tool or process, and that proceeds according to established and accepted research methods.
Guidelines For Applicants
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Eligibility
- Richter grants are available to full-time graduate (eight hours per semester) or undergraduate (12 hours per semester) students at George Fox who are actively pursuing their degree and are in good academic standing.
- The applicant’s cumulative GPA at George Fox must be at least 3.0.
- Undergraduate students must have at least sophomore standing to be eligible for a Richter grant.
- Transfer students are eligible to apply so long as they meet all eligibility criteria.
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Proposals
Proposals are submitted by individual students, and separate proposals must not request funding for the same research or project. Individual students may submit separate proposals to work on separate components of the same larger project, but each student’s submission must describe a full individual investigation.
A proposed project must be completed before an applicant’s graduation date. Funding is for research or projects that have not yet been conducted, and funds cannot be used to reimburse students for research that has already been completed.
An applicant must have identified a George Fox faculty mentor prior to submitting a proposal, and should consult with the faculty mentor in the preparation of the proposal.
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Collaboration
Collaboration with other students and researchers is encouraged, but the proposal should provide clear evidence of student leadership and involvement in all aspects of the proposed project.
The proposal materials should include clear support from a George Fox faculty mentor and may include additional professional mentors with expertise in the area of the proposed research or project. The research must be designed and conducted predominantly by the student.
Faculty mentors will be required to approve monthly stipends for undergraduate students.
Faculty mentors are also expected to be involved by providing general expertise and resources that support the student’s proposed work, as well as guidance on:
- Appropriate research methods, tools, and project timeline
- Discipline-specific and research-focused materials to support student learning (e.g. books, articles, protocols)
- Project design, proposal development, data analysis, and research project dissemination
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Funding
Funding is awarded in the spring semester for research that is usually conducted over the summer immediately following notification of the award. While data analysis and dissemination activities may extend into the following fall semester, most of the research effort should occur during the summer.
Please note: Research may be done during the academic year; however, stipends can only be paid during the summer months.
Also note that Richter research grants are specifically for the proposed research project and do not affect other George Fox scholarships or grants.
Undergraduate proposals may request funds for a stipend and supplies.
- Stipends may not exceed $5,700, and are not assessed based upon an hourly rate. Thus, the stipend should not be seen to indicate the number of hours of work that should be dedicated to the research.
- Stipends can only be paid during the summer months and not during the academic year.
- Students may not work on campus as a student employee for more than 20 hours a week and be awarded a stipend.
- Students must provide their own summer housing. University housing is available to Richter students at a discount. It is the student's responsibility to apply with Student Housing.
- Supply requests should be restricted to those supplies that are necessary for the proposed project and that are not available through university resources and would normally not exceed $2500.
- Funds for domestic and/or international travel may be included in the initial budget request if the travel is necessary to collect data. Travel requests must be based on the most reasonable rates available for transportation, lodging and meals.
- There is not a specific limit on the amount of funding per student, but funded requests typically do not exceed $8,200.
Graduate proposals may only request funds for supplies and travel to collect data; graduate students are not eligible for stipends.
- There is not a specific limit on the amount of funding per student, but funded supply and travel for data collection requests typically do not exceed $2,500.
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Travel Funds Policy
Requests for travel funds to present research results at a conference or to disseminate the research through another venue should not be included in the original request. Funds may be made available to support travel to present Richter-funded research at a professional conference. These funds should be requested only after the original funding request has been awarded and a research presentation has been accepted.
Conference travel requests will be considered by the Richter committee as they are received. Requests should be made using the Travel Grant Application Form; completed forms should be submitted to Vetta Berokoff at vberokof@georgefox.edu, along with documentation confirming acceptance of the conference abstract, paper or poster. Travel grants will not be awarded to undergraduate students until the final research video has been completed.
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Final End Product
Students will be required to have their research/project presentation video graphed during the early spring semester and are required to submit an electronic poster if they are a fall graduate and are unable to attend the video shoot in spring. Prior videos can be found on the university's YouTube channel in the video playlist "Richter Scholars Program."
Proposals
Proposals will be due January 27, 2025. A faculty committee will review the applications based on the established rubric (Guidelines for Evaluation of Richter Scholar Applications) and notify students by email of the decisions by the end of February. All research activities for which funds were awarded should be completed by November 1 of the following year.
Review Process
All proposals that meet eligibility criteria will be reviewed by a faculty committee consisting of graduate and undergraduate faculty representatives from a range of academic disciplines.
When making funding decisions, the committee will consider:
- The merit of the proposed project
- The likelihood of the research/project plan to be successful
- Adherence to proposal guidelines
- The extent to which the proposed work represents independent student research
- The anticipated support provided by the mentor(s) and how this will impact the student's experience
- The total amount of funding available to be distributed.
Following review, the committee will make one of the following decisions on each proposal:
- Award as submitted
- Award with changes
- Invite the applicant to resubmit with specified improvements
- Reject with no opportunity to resubmit
Applicants will be notified of the committee's decision by email.
Informational Videos
This Richter video includes:
- An overview of the program
- An explanation of the lay summary component, a more recent requirement for the project proposal
- Two student research videos that are good examples of the required final end product
- Two students sharing their testimonials on being a Richter Scholar