We welcome your interest in the SOL program.  If you decide you would like to apply, the first step is to get a permission number for the spring preparation course.  You apply for this in the fall before registration for spring courses begins.  The deadline for the 2010 SOL Gateway class has passed. Please check back in the fall of 2010 for information about the 2011 application.

Enrolling in the spring gateway course is the first step to joining SOL. The second step is to apply for a SOL summer research grant.  This step is a bit more competitive, and each year we give out 15-20 grants.  The SOL summer grant application is due in late February, and we will coach you in the preparation course about how to complete the proposal.  If you accept the grant, you are making a commitment to complete a community-based research project during the summer and to enroll in the fall capstone course, a policy research seminar called "Adaptive Leadership."  Some students want to participate in the preparation course (Bordering Crossing), but prefer to do their community based research projects independently.  (For example, perhaps they have plans to do a study abroad program in the fall, and they cannot make the commitment to a summer and fall program that particular year.  Fortunately at Duke you have a number of options for summer project funding, and we can give you information about other grant sources.

Once you are enrolled in the gateway course, you can apply for a SOL summer research grant of $4000.

To apply for the SOL grant, you will need to submit a proposal where you outline a community-based research project for a community partner organization.  In the proposal we will ask you to tell us about your research design, who your faculty mentor is and how you will solicit your mentor's help during the summer, and how your project could benefit your community organization.

If you apply for a grant, are awarded one and accept it, you commit yourself to taking the fall capstone course. You are free to apply for summer research grants from other sources to augment your SOL stipend if necessary.

The SOL Summer Grant application form will be available early in the spring semester of 2010.

Please submit your application and all required attachments to Andrea Marston (RSL Coordinator) in Room 113, Sanford Building, Sanford School of Public Policy.  (Alternatively you can send it to us via campus mail at Box 90248. bit we must receive it by 5:00 pm on the due date.  )

Is SOL right for me? Am I right for SOL?

We are looking for thoughtful, dedicated undergraduates from all academic disciplines who are interested in:

• Becoming part of an intensive, one-year, nationally recognized leadership program that combines coursework, community-based research, critical reflection and mentoring;
• Joining a tight-knit community of peers who are interested in conducting collaborative research projects with community partners in the summer;
• Learning how to reflect critically on the intellectual, ethical, and civic issues connected to the research experience;
• Gaining a deeper understanding of how leadership is connected to complex problem solving work in groups and institutions.

What kinds of community-based research projects do SOLsters do in the summer?

Community-based research projects are as varied as our students' interests. SOL students have completed a wide variety of projects since the program's genesis.  Over the years students have conducted oral history interviews with rural farmers in Honduras, surveyed the needs of young mothers living in transitional housing in Chicago, conducted a needs assessment and created an HIV/AIDS resource library in Namibia, evaluated the technical assistance needs of refugee famlies starting businesses in Charlotte, and researched relationships between female students and service staff at Duke.  Most recently SOL students completed projects in Ghana, South Africa, London, South Korea, Durham, North Carolina, Brooklyn, New York, and Guanajuato, Mexico.

Please note that if you are a public policy studies major, you can use the SOL community-based research internship to fulfill your PPS internship requirement.

Am I responsible for developing my own summer placement with a community organization and designing my community-based research project?

Yes.  And there are many people who can coach you in this process, including former SOLsters, Andrea Marston--our Research Service Learning Coordindinator, and Professor Alma Blount, who teaches the SOL courses.  Your job is to find a good partner organization and faculty mentor, to develop a CBR project by consulting with your community partner and faculty mentor, to make your own travel plans, and to find safe housing in your host community.  This process requires planning and persistent effort, but it is creative and well worth your time.  You will learn a lot by shaping the project from start to finish.

What are the advantages of participating in SOL?

The SOL program uses research service learning as a tool to help you explore complex social issues at the local level.  Through the years our alumni have told us that their experiences have had a strong impact on their intellectual and personal growth. In describing the research service learning approach, form dean of Trinity College Robert Thompson said, "Research pedagogies teach students to identify a problem and pose a question, to develop a rigorous investigative approach that involves primary research, and to participate in a process of analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and dissemination. Service-learning, on the other hand, increases understanding of an academic subject or theory through direct service. It involves structured reflection and analysis that connects social and public issues with personal experiences and development. When research is joined with service-learning, the outcomes are a deeper level of inquiry-based field research that not only builds leadership and life skills but helps shape students' identities as agents for change and activism in the community."

SOL gives you the opportunity to develop important leadership skills.  You can learn how to form collaborative partnerships, how to analyze complex problems, how to reflect critically on what you are learning, and how to deliver a research product to your community partner that is practical and useful.

The learning process involves close mentoring from faculty and staff, rigorous reflective writing, and organizational support to help you bring your work to wider audiences for discussion and debate.

In addition, SOL participants tell us each year that one of the program's best benefits is the strong sense of community and camaraderie they find with their SOL group.

Do I need to complete the three stages of SOL in one calendar year (gateway course, CBR, and capstone course)?

No, you do not have to complete all three stages in one calendar year. However, the community-based research project and capstone seminar must be completed consecutively, that is to say, in the same calendar year.

For example, if you enroll in the spring 2010 gateway course but decide not to apply for the summer 2010 SOL research grant, you could apply the following year for the summer 2011 SOL grant. If you are awarded and accept the summer SOL grant in 2011, you are making a commitment to also enroll in the fall 2011 capstone seminar.

If I am studying abroad this semester, could I still apply for the spring gateway course?

Yes. Just email your gateway course application essay to Andrea Marston, RSL Program Coordinator, at andrea.marston@duke.edu by the deadline.

If I have more questions, where should I go?

Please contact Andrea Marston at andrea.marston@duke.edu or at 919-613-7406.