Description

The Portz Fellowship program was launched in 2010 and is supported by the John and Edythe Portz Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship. It is intended to support creative and innovative endeavors that cross boundaries, inviting application from individuals who wish to undertake cross disciplinary research or from a team of two students from different disciplines who propose a single collaborative project.

Note: You will need a Reviewr account to submit an application for this Fellowship. 

Interdisciplinary Research

The NCHC Portz Interdisciplinary Fellowship champions the following components characterizing interdisciplinary research. These components will be reflected in a successful proposal; faculty reviewers will evaluate proposals based on these components.

1. Interdisciplinary research may address a problem or question that is too complex to be answered satisfactorily by any one discipline. The proposal should clearly state a complex question, identify two (or more) disciplines involved in the project, and note why these disciplines are necessary to address that question.
2. Interdisciplinary research demonstrates competence across disciplines involved in addressing the question posed by the researcher(s). The proposal should note disciplinary competency and awareness of differences in shared or key concepts.
3. Interdisciplinary research draws from diverse and distinct scholarly work. The proposal should draw upon relevant and diverse specialized research within identified disciplinary communities (generally considered to share a set of guiding concepts, theories, and methods).
4. Methodologies of interdisciplinary research reflect the strength and diversity of research methods. The proposal should note how the research methods draw from more than one discipline and acknowledge the strengths – and weaknesses – of particular methods and theories.
5. Interdisciplinary research draws from relevant and active disciplinary perspectives. The proposal should acknowledge the dynamic nature of all disciplines and integrate ‘best’ elements of disciplinary insights that offer something new and applicable beyond the prompting question. 

Application Components

Applicant Information

Provide the information requested for each student in the project.

• Project Title
• Applicant name
• Local/Campus Address
• Preferred email (the email you use/check most often)
• Preferred phone number
• Home/Permanent Address
• Academic major(s)
• Academic minor(s)
• Faculty sponsor name(s)
• Faculty sponsor department(s)
• A list of honors courses successfully completed at the time of this application 

Letters of Support

Secure two letters of support from faculty: one letter from a faculty member who is sponsoring the project and one letter from a faculty member who knows your work well. Also, the Honors Director/Dean will need to complete a Confirmation Letter sent directly to NCHC. 

• Your faculty sponsor should have read the final description of your project before writing the support letter.
• Faculty letters should be submitted to NCHC via this online form.

Academic Transcript

Applicants should provide an unofficial academic transcript that covers all college-level work up to the most recently completed semester. The unofficial transcript should be uploaded to the application.