Thomas W. Smith Future of Freedom Scholars Program

The student member of a student/faculty research team is responsible for writing and submitting the proposal (see below) in consultation with the faculty member. The team conducts their research over an 8 to 10 week period in the summer, at the end of which the student member of the team submits a concise and accessible abstract of approximately 200 words describing the project and results. 

Students present their results at the research poster session during Family Weekend in October.

The T.W. Smith Free Market Societies Scholars Program supports student-faculty research teams in the humanities and social sciences addressing how markets and market-supporting institutions may shape social and political life. Students are eligible to apply for the summer after their first, sophomore, or junior year, and will generally be pursuing study in a relevant field. Students may apply for more than one summer, but among fundable proposals, priority will be given to students who have not had prior support, even for a different project. Faculty will generally have an appointment in a department or interdisciplinary program relevant to the field of study. Both tenure track and continuing non-tenure track faculty may serve as mentors in the Free Market Societies Scholars program.

Proposal Application

The student and faculty mentor should collaborate in developing the project, composing the project description, and talking through any of the associated needs and requirements for the application and project. Note: The work associated with the summer project should naturally dovetail with the faculty mentor's scholarly and/or artistic work.

The complete proposal consists of a “Student Application” and a “Faculty Mentor Form,” both of which are linked to this page.

Student Part of Proposal

Fill out the “Student Application,” which is linked on this page.  

Upload the following information under the section titled “Project Description.”The project description should provide a clear and concise description of the goals and methodology of the proposed project (limit 2000 words). This description should include the elements listed below.

Note: A good proposal will be clear and understandable to a reader outside the discipline. That is, it will avoid unnecessary jargon in favor of accessible language that conveys your understanding of the topic, as well as the strategies and methodologies to make progress on your research question and/or creative goals. As always, make sure to proof-read before submitting.

1. A clear and concise statement of your research question(s) and/or creative goal(s) and your interest in pursuing this work. 

Clearly explain what you are planning to examine and why your research question(s) and/or creative goal(s) is important.  

2. Articulate your objectives in pursuing the research and/or creative project. 

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish during this summer’s work? How will you assess or evaluate the outcomes of your project?

3. Describe the methodology you expect to employ in your research and/or creative project. 

Describe the methods involved in your research and/or creative project. Indicate why these methods should enable you to attain your objectives for this project. 

Are there any potential limitations or pitfalls to this approach? If so, how might you work around any difficulties that arise.

4. Briefly describe the resources needed for your research and/or creative project and how you intend to access them. 

5. Provide a tentative, brief schedule for the summer’s work and logistics for work.

This schedule should indicate that you have realistically calculated the time it should take to accomplish your proposed work. Also include information about the regularity of “check-ins” (for discussion and feedback about your project) with your faculty mentor and the location where you and your faculty mentor will work over the summer.  (Ex. the Summer Scholar programs typically reserve space in Oden Hall, your faculty mentor may be able to enable space in a studio, etc.)

Note: Projects that involve research using human participants (ex. surveys, interviews, focus groups) will require Kenyon IRB approval before you can start recruiting human participants. Allow up to four weeks for this process since it is an interactive process between you and the IRB.

6. Other information

Provide any other information related to the potential support and success of your project.

For example: 

 – Briefly describe any preparation you have for the project, ex. enrolled in a spring semester course through which you can prepare for the summer project, briefly discuss this.

 – Indicate if you expect to enroll in a course in the fall to continue the work of this project (e.g. Honors, independent study, senior seminar, etc.).

– You might also briefly discuss why your project cannot be accomplished through a class assignment (e.g. it requires extensive time to develop background understanding, methodology or technique, etc.);

Faculty Mentor Part of Proposal:

Fill out the “Faculty Mentor Form,” which is linked to this page.  

This form allows the faculty mentor to describe how the proposed projects supports and/or advances their scholarly/creative interests, to provide a clear plan for mentorship and collaboration, and describes the readiness of the student to take on the proposed research. 

The mentor also provides a budget and indicates whether there are additional funds to cover any expenses that go beyond the allotted $500 budget.

In addition, the mentor also indicates if there is a grant or other funds available to cover the student stipend.

Award Announcement:

Awards will be announced in late February. Notification will be by email, copying the faculty mentor. Students may not accept this award if they are participating in another summer research program or if they have on-campus summer employment, and if they accept the award, they are expected to commit to the program and remove themselves from consideration in other programs.

T.W. Smith Free Market Societies Scholar proposals will be selected based on the following criteria:

The potential for the project to engage the student in authentic and compelling scholarly or creative work, with a clear plan for faculty mentorship and collaboration.

The potential for the project to support or advance the scholarly interests of the faculty mentor related to how markets and market-supporting institutions may shape social and political life.

Considerations of disciplinary, mentor, and student diversity, equity and inclusion.

The current fellowship award is $5,000 per student plus provision of on-campus housing. Students not requiring on-campus housing are not eligible for additional remuneration.

A budget of $500 is provided to purchase materials, equipment, or travel that directly supports the research project. Any durable materials, supplies, and equipment will become the property of the College and remain with the department after the summer. All expenses must be approved by the faculty mentor and submitted with original invoice or receipt to the administrative assistant for the faculty mentor’s department no later than the last day of October following the summer project. Additional funding for conference travel may be requested through a Provost’s Student Research Grant.

Students who complete all requirements as stated above and who are endorsed by their faculty mentors will receive audit credit on their transcripts for this summer research experience. Students who will be abroad at the time of the poster session may prepare a poster in advance for display at the session, or they may present their poster in the summer science poster session the following year to complete the requirements for audit credit. If neither of these options is feasible, other arrangements may be made with the approval of the Associate Provost and the student’s research mentor.

Students awarded a summer research scholarship whose research involves the use of human subjects, must apply to the Kenyon College Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review of their research protocol. Information about the IRB application may be found on the IRB web page. IRB applications should be submitted well in advance of the start dates of your program and research.