Overview:

The Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship provides research training and support to UW-Madison undergraduates, allowing them to undertake their own research project in collaboration with UW–Madison faculty or research/instructional academic staff. Each year, the McPherson Eye Research Institute sponsors multiple Hilldale Fellowships for students undertaking vision-based (including bioengineering, imaging, data visualization, cognitive psychology, ophthalmology and general biology of the eye) research projects. The Hilldale Fellow receives $3,000, and the faculty/staff research advisor receives $1,000 to help offset research costs. To apply for this award, students must have at least junior standing at the time of application.

The application period for Hilldale Fellowships begins in December of each year, with a submission deadline in February of the next calendar year.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible to apply for and receive a Hilldale Research Fellowship, you must…

• …be an undergraduate student at UW-Madison in good academic and disciplinary standing

• …have at least junior standing at time of application

• …submit only one application for consideration for that year

• …not have won a Hilldale Fellowship award in the past

• …agree to not accept funding from other sources for the same research project during the same time period. For example, if you plan to apply for summer funding from another source you may want to apply for the Hilldale for the fall and/or spring term.

• …undertake your project in collaboration with UW–Madison faculty or research/instructional academic staff. Graduate students are ineligible to serve as Hilldale project advisors.

Submission Guidelines:

To apply for a Hilldale Research Fellowship you will need to submit:

1. A project proposal of no more than five double-spaced pages with at least 1 inch margins, and no smaller than 11pt font. The abstract and references are included in the 5-page limit, and the proposal should follow disciplinary guidelines and use headers appropriate to the field. If you are uncertain about how to format your proposal, talk to your project advisor. All proposals should contain the following:

(a) An abstract of the proposed research (200 words or less, may be single-spaced)

(b) An introduction and literature review, detailing the originality and significance of the proposed project

(c) A methods section, describing plans for data collection and analysis

(d) A timeline for completion of project

(e) Conclusion/future directions

(f) References (may be single-spaced)

2. An unofficial UW–Madison transcript (For instructions on how to access your unofficial transcript, go to request unofficial transcript)

3. A recommendation letter from the project advisor, which includes a brief budget statement explaining how the $1,000 awarded to the advisor will be spent in support of the student’s research. It’s helpful when the letter also addresses how long and in what capacity the project advisor has known the student; the student’s intellectual contribution to the research proposal and ability to carry out the project; the originality and significance of the proposed research; plans for regular interaction with the student for the duration of the project, and the timeline agreed upon for the project. The recommendation is submitted online as part of the online application.

How to Submit and Further Resources

Applications are submitted to the Undergraduate Academic Awards Office via the 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 Hilldale application on your list, and you believe you meet the eligibility requirements, please contact the UAA Office (awards@provost.wisc.edu, 265-2428).

Please note that the Writing Center offers workshops on writing proposals for Hilldale Research. Contact the Writing Center to register (263-1992).