Zillman Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowships

APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 19, 2024

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, working through the University of Wisconsin Foundation, has created the Summer Scholars Program. These awards honor the memory of Theodore W. Zillman, long-time Dean of Students at Madison, one-time National President of Phi Kappa Phi, and a moving force behind the establishment of the Summer Awards Program. A contribution from the Zillman family in 1983 and additional contributions and fundraising since have helped to support this program. The Summer Awards Program was begun in 1970 when the Madison Chapter celebrated its Golden Anniversary (1920-1970). Initial awards were granted in honor of Professor Benjamin H. Hibbard, a distinguished university economist who served as founder and first president of the Madison chapter.

Zillman Summer Research Fellowships are designed to encourage undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines to enrich their educational programs through summer projects involving study, research, travel, and training that is not part of a formal curriculum. Zillman Summer Research projects may be carried out in the United States or abroad. Awards are not given to those who intend to remain in Madison, and the award cannot be used in a manner that provides university credits.

AWARD AMOUNT:
Past awards have typically ranged between $300 to $1,500. The amount of each award depends on the project’s estimated costs, apparent merits, and the number of successful applicants in a given year.

QUALIFICATIONS:
Any undergraduate Phi Kappa Phi member of the UW-Madison Chapter is eligible to apply. Successful applications from recent summers have included proposals to spend the summer playing tuba with the Atlantic Brass Quintet in Wester, Massachusetts; to travel to India to implement a student-designed cardio-respiratory monitor; participate in archaeological excavations in Hungary, Tanzania and the eastern Mediterranean; work at a refugee camp in Malawi; intern as a public health researcher at Northwestern University and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; and conduct research projects on topics ranging from Victorian depictions of mermaids to food security levels in Ethiopia.

HOW TO APPLY:

Zillman Award applications will be available online through Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH). 
Log on to Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH). After logging-in and filling out a general application, you will be presented with links to applications for scholarships for which you are eligible, with open application cycles. If you do not see the Zillman Summer Research Award application on your list, and you believe you meet the eligibility requirements, please contact Phi Kappa Phi (phikappaphi@wisc.edu, 265-2428).

Please note that the online application will require one letter of recommendation from a faculty member.

TIMELINE:
All applications must be received by February 19, 2024. Finalists will be interviewed before spring break. Winners will be notified by early April and will be honored at the Induction Ceremony held April 21, 2024, 1:00 p.m., Tripp Commons, Memorial Union.

Previous Zillman Fellows