Wentz Research Project Award

The Lew Wentz Foundation and OSU provide support for the nationally recognized Wentz Research Project awards. Each year, $4,500 one-year research projects awards are given to approximately 40 undergraduate student scholars to conduct independent research with the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Justin Rader
I think the Lew Wentz Research program is fantastic, allowing undergrads to perform good research in interesting fields with the benefit of a generous scholarhsip.  For me, the program has been a great blessing and learning experience.

Cortney Timmons
Being given the opportunity to do undergraduate research has been the highlight of my collegiate career.  The Wentz Research Program allowed me to explore my area of concentration and also prepared me to apply for and win a Udall Scholarship.

The Wentz Research Project Award

The Wentz Research Projects are an opportunity for undergraduates to design and conduct research under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Wentz Research project awards are for two semesters of an academic year (fall and spring). This is a yearly award; no extensions are promised nor will any preferred treatment be given for those wishing to continue their projects into a second year. Only one Wentz research project per year, per student, is allowed.

The award is to fund independent, mentor-guided research by an undergraduate student. The research project description, conceived and written by the student, must include a concise statement of the purpose using vocabulary and style readily understandable to a wide range of scholars from various disciplines, and reasonable objective must be developed on one page. The description must convince the award committee that this is student research rather than a task assigned by a faculty mentor to support his/her ongoing research. Selected applicants could be interviewed following a first screening to determine the origin of the ideas and plans for the completion of the project.

Students chosen for an award must arrange with their professors to receive two hours of academic credit for the project during the spring semester of the year of the project award. All participants must submit a progress report during the first semester in order for the second semester stipend to be approved. They must also display the results of their work at a spring program and turn in a final report at the end of the semester. Participants must enroll in at least twelve hours of residence credit and report to their mentors during the first week of the fall semester, or the award will be rescinded. Award recipients must achieve meaningful results in two semesters.

A faculty panel will determine which proposals are to be funded, based on the quality of the student's proposal and the student's interaction with a supportive faculty mentor. The amount of the stipend has been set to include supplies or expenses. Upon acceptance of the award, the student and mentor will be asked to designate whether the full $4,500 should be credited to the student of $500 withheld and processed later through a department account for expenses.

Who is eligible to apply?

Wentz Research Projects awards are limited to students officially listed as undergraduates at the time of application and for the duration of the project year (students classified as graduate students, in 3-2 programs, or in Veterinary Medicine are not eligible). Applicants must have a minimum 3.00 GPA and have completed at least 12 in residence hours at OSU.

Scholars in all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Applicants may choose topics from areas not related to their major, if they wish.

TO APPLY, PLEASE...

1.  Complete the application materials, including the student information sheet, mentor comment sheet, and the one-page

      project description;

2.  Attach an official transcript;

3.  Return the materials to the OSDR office at 260 Student Union no later than 5:00 p.m., February 15, 2008.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION