The Burdick Global Scholars Program helps UCSB students rise to the challenges 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, environmental justice, and urban colonialscapes 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 scholars and their counterparts in the global south and offers students direct experience with the research endeavor. The completed research projects should have scholarly rigor, educational value for the students involved, and a public facing dimension (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 the SOSC and HFA 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 (scholar, activist, or creative) who is rooted in the world region where the research is to be conducted. A co-PI can be from any other 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.
Informational Zoom Session:
Interested faculty are encouraged to attend an informational zoom session with Javiera Barandiarán (AGI Chair and Burdick Fellow) and Shiva Balaghi (AGI Academic Coordinator) to review the aims and logistics of the Burdick Global Scholars Program. This session will be held on Monday April 29 from 4-4:45 pm via zoom. Please find zoom link here.
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 10, 2024. 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.
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, 2024.
If you have any questions about submitting an application, please email sbalaghi@ucsb.edu.
Timeline:
Spring 24 Prospective PI (or PIs) submit a letter of intent and attend zoom informational session.
June 24 Notification of selected Burdick Proposal
Summer 24 Burdick PIs work with Associate Dean of SOSC and AGI Academic Coordinator on a detailed research plan
Fall 24 Burdick PIs select 4-6 UCSB student fellows to join their collaborative research project; work with global south collaborator on developing research project.
Winter 25 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/Summer 25 Conduct 2-week research trip to global site during Spring Break or early summer; Burdick cohort completes final research project with public facing dimension.
Spring/Summer 25 Burdick cohort share their research findings at UCSB and beyond through conferences, publications, policy briefs, e-journals, short videos, podcasts, etc.