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FSU | Department of Psychology

Department of Psychology

College of Arts and Sciences

APF Announces New Program Honoring K. Anders Ericsson

The American Psychological Foundation in conjunction with Natalie Sachs-Ericsson announces the establishment of the K. Anders Ericsson Dissertation Research Grant.

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FSU | The Graduate School

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The graduate school, international dissertation research fellowships.

The International Dissertation Semester Research Fellowship carries a $7,000 stipend, plus tuition waivers, for advanced doctoral students. This prestigious international fellowship is for advanced doctoral students offered by the Graduate School to facilitate research and timely completion of the doctoral degree that requires extended research-time abroad. Please find the members listed below by name, department and college.

FSU | Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards

Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards

Graduate student fellowship/award recipients.

OGFA facilitates Florida State University’s graduate students in their nomination and application for national and international awards. We do this by providing information about awards through the lens of ongoing professional development, portfolio building, development of communication and writing skills, and engaging scholarly development from a holistic approach. The Graduate Student Recognition database dates back to 2011. This space is dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of graduate student award recipients, facilitating peer to peer connections, and helping the community at large recognize the invaluable research and work in action that often take place behind the scenes in the “graduate world”.

Keeping the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards up to date about your awards helps the University recognize and publicize your accomplishments. Please email us at [email protected] when you receive an award notification so that we can continue to celebrate you!

FSU | Office of National Fellowships

Office of National Fellowships

Division of Undergraduate Studies

Graduate School

DAAD Study Scholarship Highly qualified final year undergraduate students (graduating seniors) or those who have received an undergraduate degree of all disciplines may apply for the DAAD Study Scholarship for a year of independent study or a full master's degree program at a German university.

Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship The Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) provides outstanding benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems. The program fosters a community of energetic and committed Ph.D. students, alumni, DOE laboratory staff and other scientists who want to have an impact on the nation while advancing their research. Fellows come from diverse scientific and engineering disciplines but share a common interest in using computing in their research.

Department of Homeland Security Undergraduate Scholarship, Fellowship and Internship Opportunities The Department of Homeland Security Offers opportunities in a range of disciplines including Health and Science, Law Enforcement, Legal, Public Affairs and Intelligence and Analysis with the goal of exposing students to the mission of national security.

Fulbright Study/Research Grant  The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study and advanced research worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 1,900 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide. Fulbright U.S. Student alumni populate a range of professions and include ambassadors, members of Congress, judges, heads of corporations, university presidents, journalists, artists, professors, and teachers.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship  This international scholarship program enables outstanding students from outside the United Kingdom to study at the University of Cambridge. The Trustees award scholarships on the basis of a person's intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others. Gates Cambridge Scholarships are awarded only to students who gain admission to the University through the University's regular procedures. They cover the full cost of study at Cambridge for a single person - namely, all approved University and College tuition fees, a maintenance allowance, a further discretionary allowance for study-related activities, and one return economy airfare between the UK and the Scholar’s normal country of residence.

Golden Key Graduate Scholar Award This scholarship supports members’ post-baccalaureate study at accredited universities anywhere in the world. The award offers support in the amount of $10,000.

The Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship The Hertz Foundation's Graduate Fellowship supports graduate students working towards the Ph.D. degree in the applied physical and engineering sciences, as well as those aspects of modern biology which apply the physical sciences intensively. The applicant must attend a graduate program at one of the Foundation’s tenable schools. Successful applicants have two fellowship options: Option 1: $28,000/9 months personal stipend plus tuition equivalent for up to five years Option 2: $33,000/9 months personal stipend plus tuition equivalent for two years Option 3: $6,000/ year supplemental stipend from Hertz.

Marshall Scholarship Marshall Scholarships finance young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom. At least forty Scholars are selected each year to study either at graduate or occasionally undergraduate level at an UK institution in any field of study. Thirty-two fellowships are for two-year programs and the remaining eight are for one year of study. The award covers University fees, cost of living expenses, annual book grant, thesis grant, research and daily travel grants, fares to and from the United States and, where applicable, a contribution towards the support of a dependent spouse.

George J. Mitchell Scholarship  The Mitchell Scholarship Program is designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland, while recognizing and fostering intellectual achievement, leadership, and a commitment to community and public service. Up to twelve Mitchell Scholars between the ages of 18 and 30 are chosen annually for one academic year of postgraduate study in any discipline offered by institutions of higher learning in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Mitchell Scholarship Program provides tuition, accommodation, a stipend for living expenses and travel.

National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowships  The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship is a highly competitive, portable fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens and nationals who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in one of fifteen supported disciplines. NDSEG confers high honors upon its recipients, and allows them to attend whichever U.S. institution they choose. NDSEG Fellowships last for three years and pay for full tuition and all mandatory fees, a monthly stipend, and up to $1,000 a year in medical insurance.

The National Italian American Foundation The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) annually awards scholarships to outstanding students in the summer for use during the following academic year. The awards will be made on the basis of academic merit and divided between two groups of students. Scholarship awards range from $2,000-$12,000 and are awarded to undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, medical, and legal students. Each scholarship award can only cover tuition and university-provided room and board. Scholarship recipients are eligible for one year of scholarship support. Scholarship monies not used during one academic year are not transferable to the following academic year. Scholarship applicants and winners can and are encouraged to reapply in subsequent years.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

Obama Fellowship The Obama Foundation Fellows are a diverse set of community-minded rising stars – organizers, inventors, artists, entrepreneurs, educators, and more – who model the powerful truth that we each have an important role to play in civic life. By engaging their communities to work together in new and meaningful ways, Obama Foundation Fellows are leading transformational change on many of the world’s most pressing problems. The two-year, non-residential Fellowship offers hands-on training, resources, and leadership development to equip Fellows to scale the impact of their work. Fellows participate in four multi-day gatherings where they collaborate with each other, connect with potential partners, and collectively push their work forward. Throughout the program, each Fellow pursues a personalized plan to leverage Fellowship resources to take their work to the next level.

Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship The honor society of Phi Kappa Phi supports its mission of recognizing and promoting academic excellence in all fields through its graduate research fellowship. The society awards 60 fellowships annually in the amount of $5,000 each and 40 Awards of Excellence in the amount of $2,000 each to students pursuing first year graduate or professional study on a full time basis.

Rhodes Scholarship  The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. The first American Scholars were elected in 1904.Rhodes Scholars are elected for two years of study at the University of Oxford, with the possibility of renewal for a third year. All educational costs, such as matriculation, tuition, laboratory and certain other fees, are paid on the Scholar's behalf by the Rhodes Trustees. In addition, each Scholar receives a maintenance allowance adequate to meet necessary expenses for term-time and vacations. The Rhodes Trustees cover the necessary costs of travel to and from Oxford, and upon application, may approve additional grants for research purposes or study-related travel.

Rotary Peace Fellowships  The Rotary Peace Fellowship is the premier educational program of The Rotary Foundation and supports Rotary’s mission to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. It is intended for individuals who have chosen a career related to international relations, peace, and conflict resolution; who have work experience in these areas; and who have a commitment to community or international humanitarian service and working for peace. Rotary Peace Fellows are leaders promoting national and international cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict throughout their lives, in their careers, and through service activities. Fellows can earn either a master’s degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, conflict resolution, or a related field, or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict resolution.

Harry S. Truman Scholarship  The Truman Scholarship is a $30,000 merit-based grant awarded to undergraduate students who wish financial support to attend graduate or professional school in preparation for careers in government, the non-profit sector or elsewhere in public service.

Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship  The USAID Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program seeks to attract outstanding young people who are interested in pursuing careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). If you want to work on the front lines of some of the most pressing global challenges of our times ó poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and violent extremism ñ the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development provides an opportunity to advance U.S. foreign policy interests and reflect the American people's compassion and support of human dignity. The Payne Fellowship, which provides up to $90,000 in benefits over two years for graduate school, internships, and professional development activities, provides a unique pathway to the USAID Foreign Service.

Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Award  The Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant, administered by the Department of Education, funds individual doctoral students to conduct dissertation research in other countries in modern foreign languages and area studies for periods of 6 to 12 months. The estimated range of fellowship awards is $15,000 to $60,000. The estimated average size of a fellowship award is $29,603. Award amounts include travel, a maintenance allowance, and materials.

New Israel Fund Fellowships  New Israel Funds seeks to invest in the next generation of leaders through fellowships to fund law school and internships with social change organizations in Israel.

James Madison Graduate Fellowship  The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 for the purpose of improving teaching about the United States Constitution in secondary schools. Junior Fellowships are awarded to students who are about to complete, or have completed, their undergraduate course of study and plan to begin graduate work on a full-time basis. Junior Fellows have two years to complete their degree. The maximum amount of each award is $24,000, prorated over the individual period of study. Fellowship payments cover the actual costs of tuition, required fees, books, and room and board but cannot exceed $12,000 per academic year. After receiving the master's degree, each Fellow must teach American history, American government, or social studies in grades 7-12 for one full year for each academic year of funding received under a fellowship, preferably in the state from which the recipient won the fellowship.

Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship  The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship is funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The Department of State seeks a Foreign Service that reflects the diversity and excellence of our society. The Fellowship is designed to attract outstanding individuals from all ethnic, racial and social backgrounds who have an interest in pursuing a Foreign Service career with the U.S. Department of State. Fellows will receive financial support of up to $37,500 annually for, tuition costs (first priority), room and board, books, mandatory fees, and one round-trip ticket between Fellow's residence and his/her academic institutions.

Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship Program  The Rangel Graduate Fellowship is a program that aims to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers in the Foreign Service in which they can help formulate, represent and implement U.S. foreign policy. In 2015 the Rangel Program plans to award 30 fellowships of up to $47,500 annually towards tuition, room, board, books and mandatory fees for completion of two-year master's degrees. At the conclusion of two years of study, the Rangel Fellow is expected to have obtained a degree in international affairs or another area of relevance to the work of the Foreign Service (such as public administration, public policy, business administration, foreign languages, economics, political science, or communications) at a graduate or professional school approved by the Rangel Program.

Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans  The purpose of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is to provide opportunities for continuing generations of able and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields and to partake of the American dream. Fellows must have shown potential in the fields for which they seek further education; the capacity for creativity, persistence and work; and the commitment to the values of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which protect the American dream. Each award is for up to $25,000 in stipend support (not to exceed $35,000), as well as 50 percent of required tuition and fees, up to $20,000 per year, for two years.

Tylenol Scholarship  The Tylenol Scholarship Program awards scholarships to students pursuing careers in health care. Scholarships are awarded to the best and brightest in America’s next generation of healthcare providers. What are the details of the award? Up to 20 scholarships ranging from $500-$2500 will be awarded annually and are not renewable. 10 - $10,000 scholarships will be awarded annually and are not renewable. 30 - 5,000 scholarships will be awarded annually and are not renewable. The scholarships will be applied to tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for course load. Institutions must be accredited, nonprofit two or four-year colleges/universities in the United States. A student may transfer from one institution to another and retain the award.

John L. Carey Scholarship  The John L. Carey Scholarship provides financial assistance to liberal arts and non-business degree holders who are pursuing both graduate studies in accounting and the CPA licensure. This award is funded by the AICPA Foundation and is intended to encourage students with little or no previous accounting education to consider professional accounting careers. Up to five students per academic year can receive a one-time award of $5,000.

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management The mission of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is to encourage and enable the largest possible number of the best and the brightest African American, Hispanic American and Native American college graduates to pursue successful careers in management.

Coro Fellows Program The Coro Fellows Program is an intensive nine-month, full-time, graduate-level program. Unconventional by traditional academic standards, the program is rigorous and demanding, and is an unparalleled opportunity for personal and professional growth. Applicants are chosen from across the country to serve as Coro Fellows at one of the following Coro Centers: Los Angeles, New York, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and San Francisco. Coro helps students who want to make a difference in their community, organization or industry, and have an interest in civic affairs to develop marketable skills for effective leadership.

Frost Scholarship Programme (Florida)  The Frost Scholarship Programme (Florida) funds current students of the State University System of Florida (SUSF) to study one-year, full-time master’s courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (‘STEM’ subjects) at the University of Oxford. The Programme is supported by the generosity of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Philanthropic Foundation. The first Frost scholars began their studies in October 2014 and the Frost Scholarship Programme (Florida) will continue to offer ten scholarships each year until 2018. Frost scholars will also take part in an exclusive week-long orientation programme at one of Oxford’s oldest colleges, Exeter College, to introduce them to academic life at Oxford just before the start of their course. The scholarship will cover 100% of University and college fees and grant for living costs (of at least £14,057). Awards are made for the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course.

University Libraries

Finding Theses and Dissertations

Search options.

• Browse or search  DigiNole  (includes ETD manuscripts from 2003 to present)
• Browse or search  Proquest’s Dissertations and Theses Full Text  database (requires log in for off-campus access).

Questions about policies and submission of Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) can be directed to The Graduate School’s  Manuscript Clearance Advisor , 850-644-0045. 

Questions about access to ETDs can be directed to University Libraries’  repository manager .

About ETDs at FSU

The production, approval, access and long-term preservation of theses and dissertations at Florida State University is a joint effort of The Graduate School, University Libraries and ProQuest/UMI. The Graduate School manages the policies and processing of these manuscripts with students and academic departments; ProQuest includes the manuscript in their Dissertation and Theses Database (PQDT); University Libraries preserves and makes the manuscripts accessible through the library.

FSU requires electronic submission of theses and dissertations (ETDs) using ProQuest’s UMI ETD Administrator system. The graduate manuscripts are also archived in DigiNole , FSU’s institutional repository, a service of University Libraries. All theses and dissertations are also cataloged in the  University Libraries OneSearch .

Browse theses and dissertations produced at FSU from 2003 to present in DigiNole. Thesis and dissertations produced prior to 2003 are recorded in the catalog. Many of them are held in the Special Collections department. 

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (All records) With more than 2 million entries, PQD&T is the single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master's theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts.

WorldCat Dissertations and Theses Provides access to over 5 million records of dissertations and theses available in OCLC member libraries catalogs in the WorldCat database.

ERIC Many theses and dissertations done by educators are indexed in this database.

Purchase a copy through ProQuest Purchase unbound copies of dissertations and theses with express delivery to your home, school or office. Select from the over 1.9 million graduate works available.

Center for Research Libraries foreign dissertations More than 750,000 dissertations produced for universities outside of the United States and Canada.

Theses Canada Portal Approximately 300,000 records of theses and dissertations on microform in Library and Archives Canada's collection. Of these approximately 50,000 are also available electronically.

Index to Theses A comprehensive listing of theses with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by universities in Great Britain and Ireland since 1716.

Registry of Open Access Repositories (ROAR) Access to the research literature pre- and post-peer-review through author self-archiving in institutional repositories.

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) Browse or search through several ETD collections, typically across multiple institutions at once.

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Joshua Matson

Joshua Matson - FSU Doctoral Student (Religion) - Digital Narratives | English | Digital Narratives | April 24, 2020

Florida State University has one of the few programs in North America that offers balanced training in the study of religion in antiquity and provides access to a renowned professor in Dead Sea Scrolls research.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

My love of learning and the pursuit of further knowledge in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Additionally, my obsession with puzzles could only be satisfied by writing this dissertation!

Importance of your research

My research and work is important as it highlights and bring to life the process by which religious communities collect and authorize texts and underscores how the interpretations of those texts comes about over time. While we may assume that such processes are limited to antiquity, even in our current world there is a constant shaping of interpretation of authoritative religious texts that play a pivotal role in how individuals live their lives, how they vote or participate in politics, and how the interact with one another.

Advice for prospective graduate students

Study what you love and pursue it with all your heart. If you love what you are going to study, graduate school will be the best thing you have ever experienced. If you are pursuing it for a career or for prestige, it isn’t worth it!

Accomplishments during graduate career

I am most proud that I was able to obtain sufficient grant funding from Florida State University, Brigham Young University, the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the State of Israel, to spend a year abroad, studying in Israel, handling Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts, walking where the authors of the texts walked, and working with some of the brightest and most talented minds in Dead Sea Scrolls research.

Career aspirations

My greatest aspiration in a career is to help people better understand the development of religious ideas in the past and help them navigate the utilization of religion in our world today. Whether that is as a teacher in the classroom, as an author on a page, as a counselor or an adviser in an office.

Funding I received while pursuing my PhD:

• Florida State University Fellows Society Dissertation Fellowship (20-21)
• Brigham Young University Religious Education Dissertation Research Grant (20-21)
• Brigham Young University Religious Education Dissertation Research Grant (19-20)
• Israel Council for Higher Education Fellowship for PhD Research in Israel (18-19)
• Orion Center for Dead Sea Scrolls Research Scholarship Award (18-19)
• FSU Graduate Student International Dissertation Research Award (18-19)
• Brigham Young University Religious Education Dissertation Research Grant (18-19)

GradImpact Profile

Tagged: Digital Narratives , Fellows Society Dissertation Fellowship

Graduate Degree Information

College/Unit: College of Arts and Sciences Degree Program: Religion Degree Level: Doctorate Discipline: Philosophy And Religious Studies Major Professor: Matthew Goff Degree Conferral: Summer 2021

Thesis: Reviving the Bones of the Prophets PURL LINK

Chubbuck, Idaho, United States

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At college of communication & information, koo wins fsu dissertation research grant.

Doctoral student “Joy” Joung Hwa Koo of the School of Library & Information Studies has been awarded a 2010-2011 Dissertation Research Grant from the Graduate School of The Florida State University. She was selected by a committee of representatives from FSU schools and colleges that offer doctoral degrees.

The grants are funded by the FSU Congress of Graduate Students, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Research. They provide students with reimbursement for expenses incurred while doing dissertation research up to the amount of $750.

The title of Koo’s dissertation is “Adolescents’ Information Behavior when Isolated from Peer Groups: Lessons from New Immigrants Adolescents’ Everyday Life Information Seeking.”

SCSD Associate Professor Receives Funding from NIH

iSchool Courses Recognized by National Institute of Standards and Technology

FSU | Department of History

Department of History

College of Arts and Sciences

UROP in History: Black Americans in the Soviet Union

Madeleine Stout, Ph.D. candidate in History, is directing a UROP project on how African American activism against racialized violence and the lack of civil rights in the United States, coupled with how the USSR and the U.S. publicized the treatment of African Americans, makes a case for extending the Cold War’s origin to the 1920s. Stout’s dissertation focuses on tracing the experiences of African American women in the Soviet Union and how it influenced their writing and activism back in the U.S. The UROP project helps contextualize and set the scene for her dissertation by highlighting the complicated relationship between the U.S. and USSR and how it affected and in turn was affected by problems of race and gender. 

Stout saw that there were independent research areas within the broad project that she had proposed. During the interview process, she noticed the different strengths and passions of the UROP students and was able to match their interests to her research needs. Because their topics were quite distinct, as well as for scheduling reasons, Stout met with the students individually rather than as a group.

This is the first time that Stout is directing a UROP project. She loved the idea of introducing students to history and mentoring them in primary research. She has three students working with her. Zoe, a second-year History major with a minor in English; Kirill, a Humanities major; And Kaysyn, a second-year English and African American Studies major.

Zoe got interested in history in high school when she discovered the Beatles and then got curious about Cold War history. As this project focused on the Cold War before the Cold War, it was the natural choice for her.

Kirill chose this project because he thought that he could bring something to it that others would not be able to - translate articles from Russian newspapers. Kirill grew up speaking Russian. His interest in history was piqued by taking part in the National History Fair in middle school. He got totally absorbed in the archival research for his project and realized that this was the most fun he had in a long while.

Kaysyn got interested in African-American history in high school. She was part of a summer academy devoted to African-American studies. As her special interest is the intersection of history and literature, she found this project to be a great fit: it allowed her to work on the historical context of the Harlem Renaissance.

What got you interested in UROP?

Zoe : I got an email about UROP, and I would probably have ignored it, if not for one of my classmates who was in UROP at the time. She had talked about her work, and I decided to try it too.

Kirill : When I registered for classes, I was told that I had to take an Engage 100 class, a class designed to help bridge the gap between high school and university. My dad is a UROP mentor, and he suggested I take that for my Engage 100 experience.

Kaysyn : I was in the Global Scholars program in my freshman year. Part of the requirement of the course was to apply for something else, an internship, a research grant, another program or similar. As many other global scholars had done UROP and had all been positive about it, I completed my application for UROP partly to satisfy my Global Scholar requirements.  

What is your project about?

Zoe : I looked at U.S. State department records containing Russian/ Soviet newspaper cuttings from the 1920s and 30s to see how the Soviet Union described the United States, especially the treatment of its workers and racial minorities. I also searched through the Chicago Defender, a historically Black newspaper, for articles by Black authors on the Soviet Union during the same time period.

A lot of the articles in the Chicago Defender were written by Homer Smith Jr. who was part of a delegation of Black writers to the Soviet Union in 1932. He reported on his own experiences as well as other Black people while there.

Kirill : My project was to look at Soviet newspapers like Pravda. It took me a while to work out which issues I needed and how to access them. It felt a lot like the inscription above Dodd Hall, The half of knowledge is to know where to find knowledge. Eventually, through consulting bibliographies, for instance the Bibliography of Soviet Bibliographies, I found the articles I wanted.

I translated the coverage of the Robert Robinson trial, a Black mechanic doing contract work in the Soviet Union, who was assaulted by two white American fellow workers in 1930. I also translated articles on Ada Wright’s travels through Europe in 1932. Two of her sons were on trial in the Scottsboro case in Alabama where nine Black teenagers were falsely accused of raping two white women. Robinson’s assailants were tried, found guilty, and deported. In the Scottsboro case the accused were unable to get justice because of the rigged jury system in Alabama.

The goal of the work was to compare coverage of the same events in the Soviet and U.S. press. That’s where my work ties into Zoe’s project.

Kaysyn : I looked specifically at the Black writers who traveled to Moscow in 1932. They were invited by the Soviet Union to make a film about racism in the USA. These were all Harlem Renaissance writers, like Langston Hughes, Louise Thompson Patterson, Dorothy West. I focused specifically on Hughes and West and how they wrote about the Soviet Union, before, during, and after their trip. They stayed in the Soviet Union for a year but were interested in different things.

What was the most challenging thing about UROP?

Zoe : For me, there were two big challenges. One was technical, getting used to working with microfilm. The machines were not easy to handle, and the quality of the microfilm was very uneven. The other challenge was understanding the reports that the American diplomats wrote about the Soviet press cuttings that they sent to Washington, D.C. They mentioned a lot of events and people that I had not heard of. As I had to provide context for the cuttings and their annotations, I had to do a lot of impromptu research to find out what they were talking about.

Kirill : I also encountered two main challenges. One was getting hold of the material I needed to work on. The other was combining my passion for the UROP research with the assignments of the UROP colloquium.  The themes of the UROP workshops were useful, but I always felt torn between completing the work for them and doing the actual research.

Kaysyn : The hardest thing for me was how much material there was! Both West’s and Hughes’ papers are in separate archives. Both wrote long letters recording the details of their daily lives. It was hard to find material that was relevant to my project. Then both also wrote in shorthand which was hard to read. They were writing to their friends who knew them and their handwriting. I did not.

The other thing that was difficult was trying to find a good balance in time. I had other classes and other things in my life, but I also wanted to take the time to create something that I was proud of.

What was the best part?

Zoe : I realized that I like doing historical research. I had never worked with primary sources before. My plan for the future did not involve pursuing history after undergrad; I wanted to go to law school. But after doing this UROP project, every time I was thinking about my future, I would settle on something history-related and not law school.

Especially, when I was looking through the newspapers, I kept messaging my friends:  I can’t believe I am having so much fun with this, I am turning into a nerd. So, discovering my love for historical research was the best part.

Kirill : For me, it was finding something after searching for it for a long time. Scrolling on that microfilm reader and eventually finding the article I was looking for. Or finding one that I wasn’t looking for! There was also a moment when I was very proud of myself for figuring out how to search through a bunch of OCR transcribed issues from the Daily Worker online. 

Zoe : I had those little moments of success too. I found this little snippet from 1929 when there was the big conference from the 3rd Communist International, and they mentioned briefly, we need to focus more on appealing to Black authors, and I thought – this is what we are looking for, and I almost started crying in the library.

Kaysyn : While I just complained about the amount of material that I had to comb though, it did allow me to get to know these artists as people. I got to read their thoughts. They were so dramatic. I got to learn so much about their interpersonal dynamics. There were complete letters just detailing why someone did not like another person. It was so interesting to see what they kept in their archives.

Kirill : When you read history books, you see dates- months, days, years. But then when you get into primary sources, you see ‘Friday’ or ‘Tuesday’ and you realize that the people you study lived through ‘real’ days.

Kaysyn : When you see the love that is there or the hate, you can see the real people behind the names.

Zoe : I found that too when looking at the newspapers. Today, we critique public figures in social media, but back then, this happened in the newspapers too. You could feel the emotions of the writers come out.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in UROP?

Zoe : Definitely, apply! The application is very short, and it is easy for Humanities majors to get selected – even if you don’t want to do a Humanities project. It is a great way to get used to working in academia.

Kirill : Find a good project and find a good mentor for that project. As you have to learn from your mentor how to do things, select someone you want to work with. They will teach you how to write an abstract, make a poster; this is a learning on the job opportunity. I relied on Madeleine a lot for all these things.

Kaysyn : Always go for it. I had not planned on doing more things with History when I came into the program. I was even questioning if I should pursue academia as a thing in itself. I am a first-generation student, I feel the need to make money, and academia is not where you go to make money. But doing UROP and doing a project that was a bit outside of my wheelhouse gave me that clarity without having to take extra classes. It made me realize that I would be deeply dissatisfied as a person if I did not work in academia.

Final comments?

Kaysyn : I would say, keep in touch with the people you worked with in UROP and also keep in touch with your research mentor. Madeleine has introduced me to many cool people and events that I would not have known about. So don’t just think of your UROP project as something to complete and go on but keep the connections you have made and the friendships that came from working in a team and with your mentor.

Kirill : Make sure you get the right mentor. You will want to work with a faculty member or a graduate student, someone who has experience mentoring others and knows about conducting research.

Zoe : Yes, use the interviews for the projects as a way to assess your mentor, not just as a mentor but also as a person. You want to ask: do you have something in common that you can bond over outside the specific project?

Kaysyn : Also – sometimes your UROP project can help you with assignments for other classes. I learned so much about Dorothy West and that she had such a detailed archive that is accessible, this influenced my decision in working on a research project this summer, and especially as now I know how to do research.

Madeleine : They each found such great documents, letters, reports, timelines. I will certainly give them credit in my dissertation – and also the book, when that comes out. I will be happy to continue as their mentor and to write letters for them if they need them. I don’t believe in inspiring students to get involved in History and then to cut them loose once the semester is over.

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