Humanities, Arts, and Preprofessional (HAP) Scholars Award
The UROP Humanities, Arts, and Preprofessional (HAP) Scholars Award provides summer stipend support to students conducting research in the arts, humanities, and certain preprofessional programs. The award is available to students conducting research with faculty mentors in the following schools/departments:
- African American Studies
- American & New England Studies
- Cinema & Media Studies
- Classical Studies
- College of Communication
- College of Fine Arts
- Core Curriculum
- English
- History
- History of Art & Architecture
- Humanities (CGS)
- Linguistics
- Philosophy
- Questrom School of Business
- Religion
- Romance Studies
- School of Hospitality Administration
- Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
- World Languages & Literature
Note – Applications for HAP Scholars Awards will also be considered from students working with faculty from outside these departments and programs provided that the research falls within a humanity, art, or preprofessional discipline. Applicants are encouraged to get prior approval of their project’s scope by contacting UROP at least one week prior to the application deadline.
Students conducting research in the humanities, arts, and certain preprofessional programs are welcome and encouraged to apply for UROP funding during standard application deadlines.
Application Information
During the summer students can apply for a $3,000 stipend for 20 hours of research per week, a $4,500 stipend for 30 hours/week, or a $6,000 stipend for 40 hours/week. Complete applications will include an Application Form (button above) and a faculty recommendation letter.
For summer 2025, international students must be working in the US to receive stipend funding.
Summer 2025 HAP Scholars Application Deadline: April 17, 2025 by noon
Apply Here!
The summer 2024 UROP application deadline is April 17 by noon for students applying for a HAP Scholars Award. Students are still required to complete the standard UROP application and receive a letter of recommendation from their faculty mentor also due by noon on April 17. Students applying for the HAP Scholars Award are not eligible for the Global Challenge Research Award.
Summer 2024 Humanities, Arts, and Preprofessional (HAP) Scholars Awardees:
Levi Leca, a Technical Production major, is conducting research with Jon Savage (CFA, Scene Design) on a project titled “LiDar Technology: Making Theatre More Efficient and Accurate.”
Eben Lowenstein, an Architectural Studies major, is conducting research with Deborah Kahn (CAS, History of Art and Architecture) on a project titled “Defining the Garden Cemetery: The Importance of Landscape Documentation and Analysis at Mount Auburn.”
Zahra Abdi, a Latin major, is conducting research with Zsuzsanna Varhelyi (CAS, Classics) on a project titled “Families in War: Civil War Trauma and Social Change in the Late Republic.”
Maggie Borgen, a Film & Television Studies major, is conducting research with Scott Thompson (COM, Film & Television Studies) on a project titled “Addressing the Lack of Nuanced Gen Z Mixed-Race Representation in Film.”
Katherine Bourlakas, an English major, is conducting research with Erin Murphy (CAS, English, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies) on a project titled “Bodies and Body Politics in the American Colonial Contact Zone.”
Jonah Causin, a Religion major, is conducting research with Andrew Jacobs (CAS, Religion) on a project titled “Imagining Heaven and Hell: The Emergence of the Afterlife in Early Christian Eschatology.”
Rivkah Chaouat Kelley, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Nicholas Westberg (CAS, Philosophy) on a project titled “The Mind-Body Problem in the 21st Century: Revisiting Debates About Dualism in Light of AI.”
Lucas Dantas Leite, an English major, is conducting research with Joellen Masters (CGS, Humanities) on a project titled “Implicit Pantheism in Northeastern Protestant Elegies: a Genealogy.”
Maggie Ma, an English major, is conducting research with Joellen Masters (CGS, Humanities) on a project titled “Implicit Pantheism in Northeastern Protestant Elegies: a Genealogy.”
Juan Diaz Garrido, a Business Administration major, is conducting research with Patricia Cortes (QST, Markets, Public Policy & Law) on a project titled “The Exit Gap: To what extent there is a systematic difference in the amount of capital women founded companies sell for in comparison to those founded by their male counterparts.”
Christopher Ellars, a Japanese Language & Literature major, is conducting research with James Keith Vincent (CAS, World Languages & Literatures) on a project titled “A Tale of Two Rivers – Noh, Opera, and Western Japanophilia in the Postwar Era.”
Emma Claire Everett, an English major, is conducting research with Anna Henchman (CAS, English) on a project titled “An Ecocritical Investigation of Two Jean Rhys Novels.”
Emma Hardy, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Luluah Mustafa (CAS, World Languages & Literatures) on a project titled “Rap Music as a Tool of Power in Palestinian Political Movements.”
Isabella Ketchen, a History major, is conducting research with Micah Goodrich (CAS, English) on a project titled “Iconic Allegiance: Unveiling the Intersection of Orthodoxy and Nationalistic Narratives in Russia.”
Mitali Krishnamurthy, a History major, is conducting research with Andrew Robichaud (CAS, History) on a project titled “Flappers and Education: College Culture and Social Life in Massachusetts Universities during the 1920s.”
Noora Lahoud, an Economics major, is conducting research with Margaret Litvin (CAS, World Languages and Literature) on a project titled “Reclaiming the Permission to Narrate: The Economics of Funding in Arab Films.”
Wenshu Li, a Musicology major, is conducting research with Michael Birenbaum Quintero (CFA, Musicology & Ethnomusicology) on a project titled “Sub-bass: the Poetics and Sounds of Dweller Forever.”
Hope Myers, a Political Science major, is conducting research with Brockett Horne (CFA, Graphic Design) on a project titled “Empowering the Movement: Uses of Protest Art in the Black Power Movement from 1960 to the Present.”
Bella Ramirez, a Journalism major, is conducting research with Jodi Luber (COM, Film and Television) on a project titled “Empowering the Movement: Uses of Protest Art in the Black Power Movement from 1960 to the Present.”
Raza Shah, a Business Administration major, is conducting research with Christopher Ricks (CAS, Core Curriculum) on a project titled “How do Charles Dickens’ literary works, including “Hard Times,” “Household Words,” and “American Notes,” influence present day perspectives on corporate ethics, business practices, and social justice?”
Ruofei Shang, an Anthropology major, is conducting research with Margaret Litvin (CAS, World Languages and Literatures) on a project titled “Colonial War and Decolonial Resistance Solidarity across the Third World Literature – Middle East and Asia.”
Ethan Stoehr, a Linguistics major, is conducting research with Michael Everdell (CAS, Linguistics) on a project titled “Why Say More?: Determining when additional phrases are used O’dam, a language that only requires a verb.”
Kenneth Wong, a History major, is conducting research with Philip Haberkern (CAS, History) on a project titled “(Re-)imagining Medieval Monastic Cultures: Exploring Cross-Cultural Splendor in Japan and the Latin West through Art, Architecture, and Philosophy for the Global Bright Ages.”
Summer 2023 Humanities, Arts, and Preprofessional (HAP) Scholars Awardees:
Anas Bin Alfadino, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Professor Margaret Litvin (CAS, Arabic) on a project titled “Najati Sidqi: His Memoir and Works.”
Sahika Aydinol, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Professor Jeremy Menchik, (Pardee, International Relations) on a project titled “”Do NED Mention It”: Analyzing U.S. public diplomacy efforts under “democracy promotion” through spending by the National Endowment for Democracy.”
Nathan Duong, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Professor Takeo Rivera (CAS, English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) on a project titled “Refugee Laws and Resettlement Systems as Determinants of Racial Identity in Diasporas: A Study in the Plurality of Vietnamese Americans’ Racial Self Imaginings.”
Mara Farrell, a Political Science major, is conducting research with Professor Marie McDonough (CAS, English) on a project titled “Exploring the Potential of Sexual Liberation: Perspectives on Queerness, Gender, Connection, and Fulfillment in Sexual Identity.”
Maxwell Fisher, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Professor Tanner Hammond (CAS, Philosophy) on a project titled “Blackness through the Lived Body: Examining Race under Murreal Ponty’s Phenomenology.”
Varshitha Sathish Kumar, an Economics major, is conducting research with Professor Krishna Dasaratha (CAS, Economics) on a project titled “Learning from viral content.”
Kathryn Lakin, an English major, is conducting research with Professor Marie McDonough (CAS, Writing) on a project titled “Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen: Food Production in The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Eitan Marshall-Pinko, a History major, is conducting research with Professor Sarah Phillips (CAS, History) on a project titled “Preliminary History Honors Thesis Research.”
Natalie Ng, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Professor Arianne Chernock (CAS, History) on a project titled “Primary: Colonization and Decolonization of Fashion in the Indian Subcontinent.”
Nasra Noor, an History major, is conducting research with Professor Betty Anderson (CAS, History) on a project titled “Tracking Education Progress in the Federal Republic of Somalia (The condition of Education in of Post-colonial Somalia).”
Anna Paradise, an Art major, is conducting research with Professor Felice Amato (CFA, Art Education) on a project titled “Unveiling the Mask: An Interdisciplinary Investigation of Women’s Artistic Tradition in Mask-Making.”
Grant Powicki, a Lighting Design major, is conducting research with Professor Jon savage (CFA, Scenic Design) on a project titled “International Theater Organizations through the Prague Quadrennial.
Zachary Sherman, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Professor Rady Roldan – Figeroa (Pardee, Theology) on a project titled “My Hidden Neighbor: how Jewish Refugees and former Nazi officers coexisted in post-war Argentina.”
Bryan Teoh, a Computer Science major, is conducting research with Professor Keith Vincent (CAS, World Languages and Literature) on a project titled “The Tale of Genji Database and Web Application Project.”
Allison Vidovich, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Professor Derek Anderson (CAS, Philosophy) on a project titled “Against Transracialism: Not Just Ethically Wrong but Metaphysically Impossible.”
Kenneth Wong, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Professor Philip Haberkern (CAS, History) on a project titled “Modernizing Medieval Philosophy: Intellectual Inheritance from the Global Middle Ages and its Contemporary Relevance to the 21st Century.”
Emily Yoder, an Comparitive Literature major, is conducting research with Professor Sunil Sharma (CAS, World Languages and Literatures) on a project titled “Designing a Website for Boston University’s Global Medieval Studies Program.”
Yu Zeng, a Computer Science major, is conducting research with Professor Keith Vincent (CAS, World Language and Literature) on a project titled “The Tale of Genji Database and Web Application Project.”
Nina Zhao, a Biology major, is conducting research with Professor Leslie Kaufman (CAS, Biology) on a project titled “Elevations of Hope? Topographical Microelevation Island Impact on Saltmarsh Sparrow Nesting Success.”
Summer 2022 Humanities Scholars Awardees:
Siyu Chen, an Architectural Studies major, is conducting research with Dr. Jan Henraets (CAS History of Art & Architecture) on a project titled “Mapping the Mughal gardens and Serais of Kashmir, India.”
Natalie Cisneros, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Dr. Michael Birenbaum Quintero (CFA Musicology and Ethnomusicology) on a project titled “Urban Indigeneity and Cultural Creativity in City Spaces.”
Gabriella Finocchio, a Political Science major, is conducting research with Dr. Andrew Robichaud (CAS History) on a project titled “An Archival and Oral History of the Gay Community News.”
Aarohi Goel, an Ancient Greek major, is conducting research with Dr. Zsuzsanna Varhelyi (CAS Classical Studies) on a project titled “Are You Truly Friends? A Translation and Interpretation of Cicero’s De Amicitia.”
Haoyu Liu, an International Relations major, is conducting research with Dr. Daryl Ireland (STH Theology/Mission) on a project titled “Recovering Chinese Christian Leaders: Opening New Pathways for Research.”
Roxana Liu, an Architectural Studies major, is conducting research with Dr. Sibel Bozdogan (CAS History of Art and Architecture) on a project titled “Thinking Forward Through Architecture: An Investigation of Architecture’s Role in Dystopian Films.”
Ari Lohr, an English Education major, is conducting research with Dr. Marie McDonugh (CAS Writing Program) on a project titled “Reimagining Collectivism in Parable of the Sower.”
Venus Medina, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Dr. Derek Anderson (CAS Philosophy) on a project titled “Silly Little Life: A Look Into the Mind of Capitalism and Its Effects on the Human Condition.”
Evan Powell, a Linguistics and Computer Science major, is conducting research with Dr. Elizabeth Coppock (CAS Linguistics) on a project titled “The Linguistic Encoding of Rates and Ratios in Romance Languages.”
Abby Roberts, a Linguistics major, is conducting research with Dr. Kate Lindsey (CAS Linguistics) on a project titled “Answers and Agreement: A Cross-Linguistic Investigation of Response Particles.”
Juan Ruiz, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Dr. Juliet Floyd (CAS Philosophy) on a project titled “A comprehensive study of Hispanic American readings of Wittgenstein’s “Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.”
Kim Schneider, a Philosophy major, is conducting research with Dr. Walter Hopp (CAS Philosophy) on a project titled “Applying Heidegger’s Phenomenology to AI Systems and the Moral Implications of Artificially Intelligent Beings.”
Ali Sokni, a Linguistics major, is conducting research with Dr. Juliet Floyd (CAS Philosophy) on a project titled “Literature Through Linguistics: Understanding Octavia E. Butler’s methods of conversing with the reader.”
James Brine, a History major, is conducting research with Dr. Charles Delheim (CAS Philosophy) on a project titled “Olmstead in Boston and Los Angeles: The Limitations of the U.S. Park Utopia.”
Carter Fahey, a Classical Civilization major, is conducting research with Dr. Stephanie Nelson (CAS Classical Studies) on a project titled “Per Oculi Antiquitatum: Reframing Modern Politics Through Ancient Art.”
Zupei Li, a History major, is conducting research with Dr. Eugenio Menegon (CAS History) on a project titled “A Social Network Analysis of Chinese Christian Literati in the Ming-Qing period (1580s-1720s).”
Previous Awardees
- Summer 2021: Jintao Zhai, Sophia Yakumithis, Carolyn Welter, Jiayi Wang, Nicholas Rowe, Sydney Pickering, Maria Osipovich, Cristina Morrison, Moriah Mikhail, Caitlin Meyer, Alexandra Mascarello, David Malkin, Lincoln MacVeagh, Jieyu Liu, Noah Kunkel-Smith, Deidra Hoyt, Olivia Hammond, Charlotte Greenhill, Katherine Fraser, Max Ferrandino, Magdalene Farren, Alexandra Denker, Luca Del Deo, Maximillian Dahlstrom, Morgan Clark, Sophia Alvarado
- Summer 2020: Kaasinath Balagurunath, Jack Beck, Claire-Solene Becka, Marion Cassidy, Aidan Chaffin, Laurel Clark, Jiangnan Fang, Sarah Feather, Julia Furmanek, Andrea Gomez, Elizabeth Guerrero, Katarzyna Jezak, Tomiris Kaumenova, Veronica Kelly, Shuangyu Liang, Clay McDermott, Rona Moriah, Leela Munsiff, Emma Nix, Sabine Ollivier Yamin, William Santarsiero, Guillermo Socorro, Andrea Wetzler, Robert Wright, and Xincheng Zhou
- Summer 2019: Katharine Draisen, Jiangnan Fang, Caitlin Fisher, Matthew Gorab, Victoria Hempstead, Helen Houghton, Erin Kahaly, Kevin Kelly, Rachel Kubrick, Tess LaValley, Gabriella Messina, Conor Mooney, Isha Pawar, Darian Radzikowski, Hannah Rafferty, Lolo Serrano, Eleni Spiru, Ryan Stagg, Andrea Wolfson, Lila Wright, and Yingshihan Zhu.
- Spring 2019: Lee-Or Bentovim
- Fall 2018: Cadence Seeger, Pamela Sugrue, Hailey Hart-Thompson, Zahra Thani, Madeleine Werner
- Summer 2018: Skovran Cunningham, Brett Driben, Benjamin Fisher, Samantha Gagne, Elias Gagne, Hailey Hart – Thompson, Elisabeth Kotsalidis, Carsen LaGreca, Casey Lewry, Orly Lipset, Daria Lugina, Audrey Poe, Chance Pompay, Anna Stroinski, Ata Sunucu, Madeleine Werner
- Spring 2018: Nikta Khani, Greg McKnight, and Rachel Molenaar.
- Fall 2017: Shivani Singh, Sterling Gingerich, and Maria Ren.
- Summer 2017: Vanika Achreja, Brett Driben, Bridget Girnus, Gregory Kerr, Morgan Lehofer, Alicia Rosenthal, and Kelly Tapager.
- Spring 2017: Brett Driben, Cheryl Gartsbeyn, Madeline Howard, Gregory Kerr, Melinda Reyes, and Shivani Singh.
- Fall 2016: Cheryl Gartsbeyn, Maya Kammourieh, and Adrienne Rube6.