Loewenstern Fellowship
2012 Fellowship Year
The Loewenstern Fellowship program is gradually building a greater capacity for students, as well as allowing more flexibility on the areas served, length of service, community partners, and types of work supported. For the fifth fellowship year (2012), it is important to note the following conditions for placements:
- Placements in Latin America or Asia
- 6- to 12-week placements
- No medical service placements (direct patient contact) will be approved, but community health education projects will be approved
- Placement costs are covered up to a maximum of $6,000 (Latin America) and $7,500 (Asia)
- Projects working only with pre-approved third-party providers
- Direct Service Track and Civic Research and Design Track placements
A Civic Research and Design placement may be built around the community-based research interests of a Rice University faculty member. Those interested in this track should contact Dr. Stephanie Post, Executive Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, by phone (713-348-2223) or e-mail (post@rice.edu) for more information.
- Approximately 20 placements to be approved
At this time, only non-graduating undergraduates able to complete a full fellowship term (spring 2012 to fall 2012) are eligible to apply.
Application Deadline: Completed applications are due by 5:00pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 and students will be notified of their status by Wednesday, November 9, 2011. A mandatory meeting for all Loewenstern Fellows selected in this round will be held on Monday, November 14, 2011 at 10:00pm.
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Changes to 2012 Program
- Change in Term of Fellowship
After considering the intensity of the preparation process and the continued involvement of students after the completion of their service, the term of service for Fellows will change starting with the 2012 program year. Fellows will be selected in the middle/end of fall semester and then the fellowship will run for a calendar year (January through December), inclusive of a semester of pre-trip preparation and a semester of post-service presentations and reflection.
- Approved Providers
Fellows selected for direct service placements will no longer have the flexibility to select providers not included in the list of Community Involvement Center's approved third-part providers. Community-based research placements will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of staff members from the Center for Civic Research and Design and Community Involvement Center; these placements have a high threshold that must demonstrate adequate support and supervision for both logistics and academics.
Information Sessions
Interested students are invited to attend the following Information Sessions to learn more about the Loewenstern Fellowships, talk to current/past Fellows, and ask questions:
- Monday, September 19 - 4:00-5:00pm - RMC 2nd Floor Conference Room
- Tuesday, September 20 - 12:00-1:00pm - RMC 2nd Floor Conference Room -- Special session for international students
- Tuesday, September 20 - 4:00-5:00pm - RMC 2nd Floor Conference Room
All inquiries for the 2012 class should be directed to Mac Griswold, Director of the Community Involvement Center, by phone (713-348-6163) or e-mail (griswold@rice.edu).
Range of Activities
Consistent with the structure of the Center for Civic Engagement, Loewenstern Fellowships will be supported in three tracks:
- Direct Service
- Direct service work with non-profit organizations, governmental entities, or NGOs.
- Opportunities in this track can range from community-building construction work and domestic violence intervention programs to implementing grassroots educational campaigns and meal service to the homeless. This direct service is the foundation upon which many non-profit organizations are built and frequently involves direct client contact, allowing participants to connect with other individuals at a personal level.
- Civic Research and Design - Interested students must have a fully developed research proposal completed prior to the application deadline
- Community-based research or design projects conducted with government entities, non-profit organizations, or NGOs.
- All projects must be faculty-supervised.
- Applicants will submit a well-developed research or design proposal, a letter of support from a Rice faculty member or Rice staff member whose position is research oriented, and a letter of support from the community partner
- The student must demonstrate how the proposed research or design project will directly benefit their community partner or the community they serve.
Participant Commitments
- Pre-Trip Requirements
- Attending the mandatory group meeting on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 10:00pm.
- Completing a campus-based Pre-Departure Orientation offered in conjunction with the
Office of International Programs (Study Abroad) prior to my departure.
- Meeting with the full group of Loewenstern Fellows approximately 5-6 times prior to departure.
- Attending one-on-one meetings with my assigned advisor from the Center
for Civic Engagement and/or academic unit to set appropriate learning
goals and make logistical arrangements for my experience.
- On-Site Requirements
- Producing 12 guided journal entries on assigned topics that are shared with my CCE and/or academic unit advisor.
- Completing a mid-point evaluation with my on-site supervisor and make any necessary adjustments to my planned activities.
- Not engaging in any employment or academic coursework outside the scope
of my service activities. If the fellowship, in and of itself, fulfills
an academic requirement, credit may be granted with advance approval of
the CCE and/or my sponsoring academic unit.
- In cases of community-based research, working with my community partner
to present my findings (in the case or research or design work) or
experiences to the host community or organization.
- Post-Trip Requirements
- Participating in a meeting for all Loewenstern Fellows within the first
month of the fall semester to process the experience in a larger
setting.
- Working with my cohort groups to present back to the Rice and Houston
communities on my experiences abroad. These presentations will take the
form of a lecture and/or discussion series scheduled throughout the fall semester.
- Assisting with the identification and recruitment of potential fellows for the following year.
Funding Awarded
Funding is provided up to $6,000 for placements in Latin America and up to $7,500 for placements in Asia to cover travel to/from host country, living expenses, and program fees. Registration fees are paid on behalf of students to the approved providers listed below and plane tickets are purchased through a travel agent for all students.
Approved Third-Party Providers of International Programs - List of approved providers. (Subject to review and change.)
All applicants must fully complete Section 3 (Third-Party Provider Program Selection) of the application.
Application Process
- Application Release Dates:
- Monday, September 5, 2011
- Follow these instructions to join as a member of the OWL-Space collaborative site:
- Go to OWL-Space (https://owlspace-ccm.rice.edu).
- Click on "LOG-IN using NetID" and enter your credentials.
- Click on the "Membership" tab in the left margin.
- Click on the "Joinable Sites" link next to "My Current Sites" header.
- Under the "Worksite" list, find the title "'12 Loewenstern" and click on the link "Join" located just below it.
- Click on the newly formed tab ('12 Loewenstern), located next to the "My Workspace" tab at the top of the page.
- Once you have been added as a member, you will have access to the application, which is under the "Tests & Quizzes" tab on the left sidebar. You may save your progress at any time during the application process and return to complete it any time before the deadline.
- Complete the required information on the "Loewenstern Fellowship Recommendation Form" and provide the form to your recommender.
- Complete the "Language Background Report" and distribute it with the "Foreign Language Evaluation" to your evaluator, if you do not meet the minimum language standards through formal coursework. Language evaluators must be fluent or native speakers of the language they are evaluating and may be neither students nor family members. It is the student's responsibility to identify an evaluator, request his or her assistance, and complete a formal evaluation prior to the application deadline. The reason this responsibility is placed on the student is to ensure they are in contact with someone helping maintain their language skills on a regular basis; those unable to identify an evaluator may lack the support system necessary to maintain adequate skills.
- If applying for a Community-Based Research placement, complete the "CBR Track Application."
- Complete all steps (including submission of recommendation forms and language assessment) by the 5:00pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
- Applicants should not make arrangements (purchase plane tickets, pay agency program fees, arrange housing, etc.) until they have received notification of acceptance as a Loewenstern Fellow and have met with their advisor from the Center for Civic Engagement.