We welcome your interest in the SOL program.  If you decide you would like to apply, the first step is to complete an application for the SOL spring gateway course.  Upon acceptance, you will receive a permission number for PPS 135: Border Crossing, Leadership, Value Conflicts, and Public Life.

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 approximately 15 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.

Please submit your application via email, in person, or by mail to:
Fernande Legros
Research Service-Learning Coordinator
Box 90248
Sanford Building 113
Durham, NC 27708
fernande.legros@duke.edu

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 2012 SOL Summer Grant Application will be made available in January 2012. Please see the 2011 SOL Handbook (available under the Resources tab to the left) for more information.

Please submit your application and all required attachments to Fernande Legros (RSL Coordinator) in Room 113, Sanford Building.  (Alternatively you can send it to us via campus mail at Box 90248. but we must receive it by 5:00 pm on the deadline.)

About the spring preparation course:

“The class is more than just ‘intellectual'. Assignments and readings aren’t difficult because they’re hard to understand. They are challenging because they make you question and identify your core values/beliefs, and methods of engaging with others.”

“This class was unlike any other I’ve taken at Duke. I’ve learned life lessons and been challenged in my core beliefs.”

“We had to learn how to interact with people of different backgrounds with different values by exercising leadership skills we discussed in class. The class provided a new way of thinking about leadership as a practice to incorporate into daily life rather than only in certain situations.”

“It challenged me to think, be patient, respect points of views and helped me grow enormously as a person. The readings were fantastic; assignments were self-reflective and energy in the classroom was always powerful… The passionate discourse in and out of the classroom really honed my communication skills and the writing assignments were extremely helpful in teaching me how to write in an engaging manner.”

“She (Alma) has brought together a group of very diverse students who generally would not be friends outside of class and engaged us in interesting, challenging topics… Alma constantly challenges us to think deeper and go outside our preconceptions to challenge the status quo.”

“One of the most valuable courses I have taken. I’ve learned that leadership is about opening space, being present, having the moral courage to expose oneself to messy situations in which personal values are challenged and worked with (not against) to harvest collective movement.”

About the overall SOL experience:

“My SOL experience was the best part of my academic career at Duke. I was challenged to think in ways that I had never thought before, and to encounter the ideas of other students, even when they differed from my own. I truly found my own voice and have held onto it ever since!”

“The Hart Leadership Program gave me the skills and the experience necessary to apply and receive a Fulbright. Once in the field, my research and classroom experiences were invaluable.  The Hart Program gave me the confidence to pursue a goal I never would have imagined possible.  It led me to create a documentary in a foreign country, in a foreign language about a topic I feel passionate about.  In the job application process, it has also been a significant point of interest and continues to help me make tough decisions both professionally and personally.”

“Words cannot adequately describe how SOL has changed my ideas about my purpose and role in life. These weren't facts I memorized or someone else's opinions that I regurgitated - it was a product of myself and my own thoughts and actions.”

“SOL was the most forming and important experience I had at Duke.  Although different than my study abroad experience (which I also enjoyed highly), SOL's integration of classroom learning with work abroad was extremely powerful.” 

“I couldn't rely on the skills I've developed my whole life in being a 'successful student.' I couldn't skate by on my ability to hone in on what people want. I had to re-learn how to learn, and how to be a 'true' student of life. It was scary, because I hate to fail. It was also challenging because I couldn't predict the outcome of most of the things I engaged in. It was also challenging because there were people's real lives at stake; I was experimenting in the real world, and taking lessons from real life - I didn't have absolute control, and I had to be bold and careful at the same time.”

“SOL was a valuable experience for me and really changed the direction of my studies and my career plans. I believe that 2nd year students, in particular, really benefit from the experience because they've already had a year to mature and then have ample time to alter their course of study and explore other educational/organizational options.”

“If you are a student and interested in better understanding yourself and the world you live in, do the program. If you are a student and you are interested in making yourself and the world you live in a better place, do the program. If you are a student and you are interested in having a fun, exciting, and challenging college experience that you will never forget, do the program.”

“I only wish I could do SOL again.”



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 encountering and engaging with different communities;
• Gaining a deeper understanding of the kinds of leadership skills needed to tackle real-world problems and promote social change.

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. SOLsters have worked in more than 20 countries, including Belize, Bosnia, the Dominican Republic, England, Honduras, India, Madagascar, Senegal, South Africa, and South Korea; and have volunteered in more than 16 cities across the U.S. 

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, Fernande Legros --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 2012 gateway course but decide not to apply for the summer 2012 SOL research grant, you could apply the following year for the summer 2013 SOL grant. If you are awarded and accept the summer SOL grant in 2013, you are making a commitment to also enroll in the fall 2013 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 Fernande Legros, RSL Program Coordinator, at fernande.legros@duke.edu by the deadline.

If I have more questions, where should I go?

Please contact Fernande Legros at fernande.legros@duke.edu or at 919-613-7406.