First-year, sophomore, junior, and Frances Perkins students who receive financial aid from Mount Holyoke College are eligible to receive funding from the Mount Holyoke Summer Research Fellowship program. The amount of grant will be based on the student's budget for her project and her financial need as determined by the Office of Financial Aid. (Past awards have averaged between $2,000 - $3,000 and may cover some of a student's summer earning expectations.) Students who have previously received a Mount Holyoke Summer Research Fellowship are ineligible to apply.

Mount Holyoke Summer Research Fellowships are intended to support:

• creative, independent projects of an academic nature (the project need not take place in an academic institution)
• an internship, library research, field experience relevant to a student's major, or independent study of an academic nature
• specialized courses/experiences that will augment or enhance students' MHC course of studies such as art projects, music compositions, geology expeditions, writing seminars, etc.

Each project should be supported specifically by a member of the Mount Holyoke faculty, and a letter of recommendation from the supervisor of an intended internship must be submitted as part of the application. Mount Holyoke Summer Research Fellowships will be awarded by the Summer Opportunities Committee. The Committee makes its selections based upon:

• the intellectual merit of the project and its feasibility
• the student's academic record
• the qualifications of the student to carry the project to a successful conclusion
• the strength of a faculty member's support for that project and for the student proposing it.

We always receive more fellowship proposals than we are able to fund, and we anticipate that competition for the Mount Holyoke Summer Research Fellowships will be keen. The proposals most likely to be seriously considered are those that are carefully planned, have clear intellectual merit, are clearly and concisely presented, and are strongly supported by a faculty member.