In support of our vision to “seek to achieve health equity for vulnerable groups and individuals around the world,” the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) invites interdisciplinary teams led by regular rank faculty with a DGHI affiliation to submit proposals designed to enhance research, implementation and/or clinical capacity in global health.
Capacity-building, defined by the UN, is “the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world.”
Applications should address how the pilot project will focus on capacity-building that enables partners to successfully apply for external funding as well as improve research and/or clinical operations.
Members of the 2023 Summer Course Development Grants cohort (from left, Brittney Mitchell, Tom Newpher, Meagan Dunphy-Daly, Anna Smith, Jenifer Hamil-Luker, Ian McArthur, April Henry, Elizabeth Johnson, Claire Rostov and David Morgan); not pictured: Kevin LaBar, Jakob Norberg, Tom Schultz and Leonard White (Photo: Blythe Tyrone)
The Challenge
Help departments to develop or redesign summer courses that will strengthen undergraduate education while furthering Duke’s commitment to excellence in Ph.D. training.
“At Duke, we’re interested in supporting new ideas about how to teach well,” said Ed Balleisen, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies. “We also want to support the development of Ph.D. students as educators as well as researchers, and provide avenues for departments to advance their objectives.”
A cohort of faculty members and Ph.D. students collaborated on the development or redesign of summer session courses that will be offered regularly to undergraduates beginning next year. In some cases, the Ph.D. students who helped design the courses will serve as the instructors.
Learning Innovation staff led a three-day workshop series in May, and provided two more workshops and consultation throughout the summer. In August, the cohort gathered for presentations to learn from each other across disciplines and provide feedback on the grant experience.
Fantasy is a massive subject, said Ph.D. student Ian McArthur during his presentation in August. “It’s an enormous genre across various media.”
To streamline the course and connect it to German Studies, he consolidated films and foundational texts and linked them to Germanic mythologies.
April Henry and Ian McArthur (Photo: Blythe Tyrone)
The title remains under consideration. Balleisen reflected on the tension between choosing a marketing title that will grab students’ interest and going with a more formal title that students would want to see on their transcripts.
Experimental Design & Research Methods (Marine Science & Conservation)
This course takes place at the Duke Marine Lab as part of the new Bonaventura Summer Research Scholars Program. Duke undergraduates can apply in the spring.
Brittney Mitchell and Meagan Dunphy-Daly (Photo: Blythe Tyrone)
“One of the biggest challenges with designing a course like this is striking a balance,” said Ph.D. student Brittney Mitchell, pointing to a wide variety of student levels, interests and experiences. She created an interactive Bonaventura Scholars Workbook with everything from course materials and lecture content to deliverable guidelines.
Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience (Psychology & Neuroscience)
“The age of technology in neuroscience education is ramping up,” said Ph.D. student Anna Smith. She revised the textbook-based summer course as a hands-on, active learning experience that utilizes inexpensive kits for dynamic experiments.
Smith purchased 17 SpikerBoxes that allow students to view and record electrical activity in the heart and brain using a phone or laptop.
Anna Smith
“There’s a lot you can do with these kits,” she said. “We’re hoping students will take their [course] research further through Bass Connections, senior theses and other mechanisms using this infrastructure.”
Religion & Popular Culture (Religious Studies)
In this new course, students will explore topics such as how modern witches are using TikTok and why religious language is used to describe sports fandom, said Ph.D. student Claire Rostov. They’ll consider popular culture in religion as well as religion in popular culture — and then popular culture as religion.
Claire Rostov and David Morgan (Photo: Blythe Tyrone)
Rostov incorporated a class activity at the Rubenstein Library using the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History collection. Adding another hands-on activity to the course, she devised an assignment for students to create a piece of religious popular culture.
Methods of Social Research (Sociology)
Ph.D. student Elizabeth Johnson took on the challenge of revising Sociology 332. The course is taught by faculty members during the academic year and graduate students in the summer, making it hard to ensure consistency in instruction.
Clockwise from far left: Ed Balleisen, Elizabeth Johnson, Ian McArthur, Anna Smith, Sophia Stone (Learning Innovation), Brittney Mitchell, Erin Voigt (Marine Lab Scholars Program), Len White, Meagan Dunphy-Daly, Elise Mueller (Learning Innovation), Claire Rostov and David Morgan; not pictured: Jakob Norberg (behind Mitchell), Xinzhu Wang (behind Mueller)
Johnson’s solution was to create a resource library with slides, syllabi, readings, articles, in-class activities, assignments, instructions and project rubrics. This will help future Ph.D. students who are asked to teach the summer course and ensure that sociology majors are well prepared to take on their own capstone projects.
The Winners
These five departments gained new or redesigned courses that align with their curricular priorities and can be taught regularly during summer sessions.
Participating faculty members received research funding, and the Ph.D. students received summer funding while building their skills in course design and pedagogy. The students who go on to teach their courses next year will also gain experience as effective instructors.
Undergraduates will benefit from a greater number and range of summer courses that incorporate innovative approaches, and future Ph.D. students will have access to an archive of course materials to support their own summer teaching.
Three Ph.D. students from two departments have been awarded research fellowships by Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies, following a request for proposals in July.
2023-2024 Center for Documentary Studies Ph.D. Fellows
Indigenous Revision: Media Technologies and Representation in Late-20th Century Mesoamerica
About These Fellowships
The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) has funds to support a small number of Ph.D. student fellows who will pursue research related to documentary studies. Duke Ph.D. students in any humanities or social science program whose research engages with documentary studies, broadly conceived, are eligible to apply for a one- or two-semester fellowship. Faculty with relevant expertise review student proposals.
Grantees receive a stipend that replaces departmental funding for the period of the grant. They do not take on RA or TA assignments; rather, they focus on dissertation-related research and other aspects of professional development.
As part of the fellowship, students give presentations on some aspect of their dissertation research that relates to documentary studies at a CDS work-in-progress seminar, to be scheduled during the academic year. Students also reflect in writing on the outcome of their fellowship experience.
Bass Connections is now accepting proposals for 2024-2025 projects that engage faculty, undergraduates and graduate/professional students in the interdisciplinary exploration of complex societal challenges. Please see the project proposal guidelines. The deadline to propose a project is November 6 at 5 p.m.
Projects may be proposed in relation to one or more of the six interdisciplinary themes of Bass Connections, or to Bass Connections Open – a channel that invites proposals that align with the model of Bass Connections but otherwise fall outside the parameters of the existing themes.
Duke faculty, postdocs, graduate/professional students and trainees/fellows may propose projects; all projects must have at least one faculty leader.
Bring Your Questions to Drop-in Office Hours
Interested project leaders, particularly those who have never led a Bass Connections team, are encouraged to contact a Bass Connections theme leader or Laura Howes (Director, Bass Connections) with questions or to discuss potential project ideas. Faculty can also discuss potential ideas or ask questions during our drop-in office hours (https://duke.zoom.us/j/6666010362):
Thursday, September 14, 10-11 a.m.
Friday, September 29, 11-12 p.m.
Monday, October 16, 1-2 p.m.
Wednesday, November 1, 1-2 p.m.
Special Opportunities for 2024-2025
When completing a proposal, faculty may choose to take advantage of the following opportunities. Please note that applying for these opportunities will not increase your project budget, but rather may increase the likelihood that your project will be selected by allowing us to leverage funds designated for a specific purpose.
Joint proposals for a Bass Connections project and a Summer 2024 Data+ project: You may propose a Data+ project for Summer 2024 linked to a year-long Bass Connections project through the Bass Connections RFP. You do not need to complete a separate application for Data+. Data+ is also accepting proposals for Climate+, a “vertical theme” focused on applying data-driven approaches to climate, environment and energy research. Please contact Paul Bendich or Gregory Herschlag with questions about Data+.
Ethics: Funds are available to support projects that address ethical issues, broadly conceived, with a preference for projects that focus on the climate crisis; racial equity; inequities in health and wealth; civil discourse and democracy; global migration and refugees; and urbanization and the urban/rural divide. Please contact David Toole to discuss project ideas that might align with this area.
Arts & Humanities: Funds are available to support projects in any area of research related to the arts and the humanities. Please contact Christina Chia or Victoria Szabo to discuss ideas for potential humanities projects.
Duke faculty interested in running a 2024 Data+ project are invited to submit their proposals by November 6, 2023. The Rhodes Information Initiative at Duke is especially interested in proposals that involve a partner from outside the academy or a faculty member from a different discipline. We also encourage proposals that involve previously untested ideas or unanalyzed datasets, and we hope that the Data+ team can make a contribution with important proof-of-principle work that may lead to more substantial faculty work and/or connections in the future. We also welcome proposals that will lead to the undergraduates creating tools that might be used in the classroom or facilitate community engagement with data and data-driven questions. See more information on submitting a proposal.
We are continuing to include a special segment within Data+ called Climate+, for projects connecting data science to issues around climate change.
Duke’s Plus Programs will launch the season with an Information Fair on January 18, 2024, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Energy Hub of Gross Hall to showcase the 2024 lineup of summer projects for undergraduate and graduate students.
The Data+ program continues to welcome undergraduate and master’s students interested in exploring new data-driven approaches to interdisciplinary challenges. It is suitable for students from all class years and majors. Students join small project teams, working alongside other teams in a communal environment. They learn how to marshal, analyze and visualize data, while gaining broad exposure to the modern world of data science. The projects come from an extremely diverse set of subject areas. Learn more about Data+.
DukeEngage is seeking proposals for new faculty-led programs in the U.S. and abroad for summers 2024 and 2025.
DukeEngage consists of more than 20 eight-week, faculty-led summer programs, each enabling small groups of students and faculty to collaborate with a community to address critical societal needs through an immersive summer of community engagement. Each program centers around a societal theme — for example, education, engineering, environment, health, human rights, migration, race, social enterprise, and so on.
DukeEngage is seeking new programs. We are especially interested in proposals that focus on healthcare; food; engineering; the climate crisis; energy, environment, and sustainability; racial equity; inequities in health and wealth; civil discourse and democracy; and urbanization and the urban/rural divide.
Programs can be located anywhere in the world that are not on Duke’s restricted regions list, but we are hoping to build out a portfolio of programs in Durham, elsewhere in North Carolina, and in the rural U.S. Proposals that build connections to other signature programs—e.g., Bass Connections, the Duke + programs, and the Global Health Student Research Training Program (SRT)—are also especially welcome.
Proposals for a Summer 2024 program are due August 30.
For faculty wanting to explore the possibility of a program in Summer 2025, DukeEngage has site exploration funding for logistical research and relationship building with potential partners. We will entertain exploration grants up to $5,000 per program. Site exploration funds can be requested at any time during the year. To request site exploration funds, please send a query to inga.peterson@duke.edu.
The Basics
Most programs range in size from four to eight students; some are larger.
The core of the program for students is full-timework with one or more community organizations for eight weeks. Some programs disperse students among multiple organizations, while others work as a team with one organization.
Each program begins with a mutually beneficial partnership between a faculty Program Director and one or more community organizations. Student work must be guided by the community and may consist of direct service, project work, advocacy, or community-based research.
Work is accompanied by cultural immersion and regular, intentional critical reflection.
2024 programs can run between May 10 – August 16, 2024.
DukeEngage hires site coordinators who will be on site for the full eight weeks. Faculty must spend at least the first two weeks on site.
The program is fully funded for all participants. In addition to travel and living expenses, program budgets include a small allotment for cultural enrichment.
The DukeEngage Program Director role description and general timeline of responsibilities can be found here. Faculty compensation is provided in the form of supplemental summer salary.
Additional program development considerations can be found here.
Proposals
We especially value programs that have one or more of the following characteristics:
Are in a location where there are currently no other repeating DukeEngage programs
Proposals should include:
Faculty director(s) + contact information
Location (city/community, state, country)
Theme (see our website for examples; new themes are welcome)
How long you envision being on site beyond the first two weeks.
Potential partner organizations
Potential full-time student projects/work
Brief description of the community
Your prior experience in the proposed community
Potential prerequisites (language, skills) or academic connections for students
We’re happy to be a sounding board as you consider a proposal. Send any questions you might have to Inga Peterson (inga.peterson@duke.edu). Once we receive your proposal, we will be in touch for more details.
The Center for Documentary Studies has funds to support a small number of Ph.D. student fellows for the fall and spring of 2023-2024 to pursue research related to documentary studies.
Eligibility
Duke Ph.D. students in any humanities or social science program, whose research engages with documentary studies, broadly conceived
Terms
Students may apply for either a two-semester or one-semester fellowship.
Each two-semester fellowship pays a $28,950 stipend, at $3,216.67 per month from September through May, replacing departmental funding for that period.
A semester-long fellowship will pay the monthly stipend of $3,216.67 for each month of the semester, again replacing departmental funding for the fellowship period.
Holders of the fellowship do not take on RA or TA assignments, but rather focus on dissertation-related research and other aspects of professional development.
You will be asked to upload the following documents:
Letter describing student’s research interests and connection to documentary studies, and indicating whether the applicant wishes to be considered only for the fall semester, only for the spring semester, or for the full year
Transcript
CV
Advisor letter of recommendation
DGS note indicating departmental endorsement for the application
Timeline
RFP released
07/28/2023
RFP deadline for submission
08/08/2023
Selected students notified; funds made available shortly thereafter
08/15/2023
Review and Selection
Proposals will be reviewed by a group of faculty members with expertise related to documentary studies.
Contact
For any questions related to your application, please contact:
Ed Balleisen, Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies, eballeis@duke.edu
Meg Atchison, Interdisciplinary Studies Priorities Coordinator, mjb43@duke.edu
Top row, from left: Hunter Augeri, Thea Ballard, Cade Bourne, Britt Edelen; bottom row: Leo Gaskins, Alex Karsten, Gabi Venable, Zhenxuan Wang
Duke’s Office of the Provost has awarded Graduate Student Training Enhancement Grants (GSTEG) to eight Ph.D. students for summer internships aligned with their core research and training.
Earlier this year, Ph.D. students were invited to propose internships with an NGO, community organization, cultural institution or government agency. These experiences will amplify their intellectual trajectory and contribute to dissertation research, beyond the standard offerings within their program and opportunities otherwise available at Duke.
Canine Cognition Research Intern, Circumference Group
Zhenxuan Wang, Ph.D. in Environmental Economics & Policy
Research Intern (Evaluating the Advances and Challenges of Decarbonizing the Residential Building Sector), Resources for the Future
About These Grants
The Office of the Provost has created a range of research and professional development opportunities to complement the key features of disciplinary training. The options reflect input from Duke Ph.D. alumni and faculty about the full set of skills and experiences that prepare Ph.D. graduates for success, whether within or outside academia. They also align with the recommendations of national reports on Ph.D. education, such as Reshaping Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, as well as the report of the Duke Provost’s Committee on Reimagining Doctoral Education.
