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The Burdick Global Scholars Program helps UCSB students rise to the challenge of our global society by extending the study abroad experience beyond the classroom. Each yearlong Burdick cohort consists of UCSB faculty and a group of students who work closely with a visiting research collaborator (a scholar, activist, or creative) who is rooted in the research area on a collaborative research project. Since 2020, our Burdick projects have focused on water scarcity, the carceral state, and environmental justice with research projects in South Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Designed to advance a collaborative approach to research and pedagogy in the global arena, this call supports research partnerships between UCSB and their counterparts in the global south and offers students direct experience with the research endeavor. The complete research projects should have scholarly rigor, educational value for the students involved, and a public facing component (i.e., engaging the problem under study in a way that is tangible for the local communities in which the research is conducted or for larger publics beyond academe.)

Eligibility:

The Burdick Global Scholars Program is housed in the Division of Social Sciences (SOSC), but it invites faculty collaborators from both HFA and SOSC divisions. The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a UCSB faculty in the Division of Social Sciences with long-term research experience in the proposed field site and with a proposed research collaborator who is rooted in the world region where the research is to be conducted. A co-PI can be from any division. Further, since the program falls in the purview of the Area-Global Initiative (AGI), the principal investigators must be sponsored by a member of the AGI Executive Committee.

Letter of Intent:

Faculty interested in submitting a proposal for the Burdick Global Scholars Program must submit a one-page letter of intent by May 15, 2023. This short letter should outline:

•    The research project with a scholarly and pedagogical dimension 
•    The proposed global research collaborator (based at a university or civil society/community organization)
•    The public facing dimension of their final research project.
***Email the letter of intent to sbalaghi@ucsb.edu with subject heading Burdick Letter of Intent.

Informational Zoom Session:

Current and past Burdick faculty fellows will join Bishnu Ghosh (Associate Dean of SOSC) and Shiva Balaghi (AGI Academic Coordinator) to review the aims and logistics of the Burdick Global Scholars Program. This session is scheduled for May 1, 2-2:45 pm PT. Zoom link here.

Invited Proposals:
The finalists selected from the letters of intent will be invited to submit a fuller
research proposal to include:
•    a 2-page narrative with overall aims
•    the global research partner and their institutional affiliation
•    a plan for selecting student participants
•    outline of a trip to a global research site
•    planned research outputs, including public facing components
•    a provisional calendar for completion commensurate with the timeline below
•    an itemized budget for up to $50k. 

Invited Proposals should be submitted by May 31, 2023. 
 

Timeline:

Spring 23: Prospective PI (or PIs) submit a letter of intent and attend zoom informational session. Selection committee invites some PIs to submit fuller research proposal.

June 23: Notification of selected Burdick Proposal.

Summer 23: Burdick PIs work with Associate Dean of SOSC and AGI Academic Coodinator on a detailed research plan.

Fall 23: Burdick PIs selected 4-6 UCSB student fellows to join their collaborative research project; work with global south collaborator on developing research project.

Winter 24: Burdick faculty teach 1 credit practicum for students (arrange independent study credits through their department); global south collaborator visits UCSB and works with Burdick cohort on planning and implementing research project; prepare for global research trip.

Spring 24: Conduct 2-week research trip to global site during Spring Break; Burdick cohort completes final research project with public facing dimension.

Spring/Summer 24: Burdick cohort share their research findings at UCSB and beyond through conferences and seminars, publications, policy briefs, e-journals, short videos, podcasts, etc.

The Nancy Gallagher Prize for Best Undergraduate Essay in Middle East Studies is given annually for undergraduate papers on topics in Middle East Studies from any discipline. Open to all UCSB Undergraduates. Students applying this year must have attended UCSB for at least one quarter of the 2022-23 academic year. Awards up to $1,000 will be presented to the recipient(s) of the prize. Deadline: May 8, 2023. More information and instructions to submit papers can be found here.

During Spring Quarter 2023, Jia-Ching Chen (Global Studies/EAC) is the host for Write on Site sessions on Thursdays from 1-4 pm in the AGI/Orfalea Commons Lounge, 2326 Girvetz Hall. Faculty affiliates of the Area Global Initiative and Orfalea Center are encouraged to participate.

You are invited to join the Write on Site community for focused, positive writing spaces. We gather for social support and a focused atmosphere. You can stay the whole time or just come by and commit to 30 minutes of focused writing. This space is intended for all UCSB faculty, postdocs, lecturers and anyone else post-PhD. Each session has its own Google Chat channel. To receive the link to the google chat and sign up for reminder emails, please register here.