Humanities Fellows Program

How (and Why) Do We Represent Nature?

Explore, Imagine, Connect

The Humanities Fellows Program is a selective, close-knit, and interdisciplinary community of students and scholars investigating critical and contemporary questions about human experience from diverse perspectives. Sophomores excited about humanities fields have the opportunity to explore their interests while developing skills that matter in and out of the classroom and preparing to live productive and purposeful lives. In 2025-2026 our focus will be the theme question,  “How (and why) do we represent nature?”

The program combines an interdisciplinary humanities seminar and field experience in Washington, D.C. (March 2025) with the opportunity to apply for mentored summer research and continued professional mentorship, career development and community.

Humanities Fellows:

EXPLORE the central questions about human experience that define humanistic inquiry in an interdisciplinary seminar that develops students' skills in critical thinking, argumentation, and written and oral communication.

IMAGINE a focused and immersive humanities research project under the close guidance of a faculty member and apply to pursue that project in a paid summer fellowship.

CONNECT with each other, mentors, UR alums, and career advisors to investigate internship, fellowship, and post-graduate opportunities while learning to match and market their skills to future jobs and careers.

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  • How does the program work?

    Spring 2025
    The program begins with a 1-unit spring seminar that explores how humanists examine and research a critical question of human experience. Our theme in 2025 is the question How (and Why) We Represent Nature? Through a range of case studies encompassing a diverse range of voices from different historical eras, geographic locations, and cultural traditions, fellows will learn how humanities fields approach big questions. In the process, we focus on the relationship between our questions and the approaches or “methods” we adopt. The primary aim of the seminar is to help Fellows craft a humanities-based research project that they undertake across the next full academic year. As many readings as possible are by scholars the Fellows will get to engage during the semester, whether those are UR faculty or invited scholars doing Humanities events.

    Summer 2025
    Building off of the work of the seminar, Fellows will apply for a fully-funded, summer fellowship exploring a research or creative project of their own design. Under the close guidance of a faculty mentor, Fellows will develop skills in project development and execution, independent thinking and working, and can apply to present their results at national undergraduate conferences.

    Fall/Spring 2025-26
    In either fall or spring of 2025-26, Fellows will complete a half-unit independent study with their mentor to bring summer efforts to fruition and prepare to present at the A&S Symposium. Students will also work with their Career Services representative on how to research and apply for shadowing opportunities, summer jobs, and internships, match and market their new skills to future careers, participate in A&S NEXT, and learn about post-graduate fellowship opportunities.

  • What takes place in the classroom?

    The Humanities Fellows Program is specifically designed to foster a collective approach to thinking, one intensified in the spring semester through participation in many Humanities theme events on campus, in a spring trip to Washington, D.C., and to occasional outings around RVA.

  • What takes place outside of the classroom?

    If health and travel guidelines permit, the Fellows visit to Washington, D.C. puts classroom training to work and links theory and practice by teaching students to "read" a metropolitan capital through the lens of recovery and repair.

    The Humanities Fellows run the @URHumanities Instagram account, beginning during the D.C. trip.

    Fellows also stay in touch via bi-weekly meetings, often on Zoom due to study abroad schedules) throughout the summer and entire next academic year leading to the A&S Student Symposium.

  • How do I come up with a research area?

    The Fellows discover their topics in a variety of ways. Some students come to the course with an idea from a class they’ve previously taken and others discover a new area of interest while working in the seminar. Don’t worry if you don’t have a topic: we don’t expect students to come to the program with anything other than an enthusiasm for learning new skills and approaches and a deep curiosity about how individuals and cultures evolve.

  • Who can apply?

    The program is open to sophomore students.