Community-Academic Scholars: Academic Mentors

The project submission portal opens annually in November and closes early January. 

Project submissions will be evaluated on multiple criteria, including: 

1. Community Impact (Does the proposed project benefit the community with whom it is being conducted?
2. Geographic proximity to Champaign-Urbana and potential for the scholar to have direct contact with the community their project serves.
3. Strength of community-academic collaboration (Does this project represent an equitable and reciprocal collaboration between academic and community partners?)
4. Nature of the student research experience (Will the student engage with the community partner on the project, either virtually or in-person?)
5. Realistic expectations for the summer scholar (Is the role of the student appropriate for a 10-week summer undergraduate research experience?)

Community organizations must be non-profits or NGOs, and may include health agencies, summer programs for children, schools or school districts, park districts, and other organizations serving special populations.

No, University faculty or staff need to submit the application for the project. Post docs and graduate students, however, can be the main point person working with and/or communicating with the scholar.

We accept community-engaged research projects that provide a diversity of student research experiences. CAS scholars may be conducting literature reviews, gathering preliminary data, conducting focus groups, implementing programs, performing data analysis, etc. We prioritize projects in which students have direct experiences with the community partner and community members.

Scholars appreciate being informed if and when the nature of the project changes from what was submitted to what will be implemented. The CAS Program Team can work with you to help ensure that it is still a positive experience and mutually beneficial for all involved.

Projects submitted to the Community-Academic Scholars Program do not need to have IRB approval at the time of application. However, IRB approval (or verification of the project's exempt status) must be obtained prior to the start of the summer program. If you have questions about whether your project requires IRB approval, please contact the Office for the Protection of Research Subjects. 

Multiple project submissions are allowed at this time, provided they have distinct community partners.

Scholar applications open in late January after all academic mentors have been notified of their project's acceptance status. Application review will take place in February, with the goal of finalizing scholar project matching by early March.

• Once your project has been accepted, you will be notified and then contacted by a member of the Community-Academic Scholars program team who will serve as your point of contact leading up to and during the summer program.
• Your program team contact will stay in touch throughout the scholar matching process. Once finalists have been selected, you will be invited to participate in the final interview process.
• Upon scholar acceptance, the program team will help set up an initial meeting between each team (academic mentor, community mentor, and scholar) to touch base about the status of the project prior to the May program start date.

• There will be space on the project application to include the name of a student whom you would recommend to work on your project.
• This does not guarantee that student's acceptance into the program and they will still need to apply to the program when the scholar application portal opens.