Letters of Support

Student Employment Office
86 Brattle Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Meg Brooks Swift
Director of Student Employment and Undergraduate Research Programs
(617) 495-2585
fax: (617) 495-8422

Memo to: Prospective Harvard College Research Program Faculty Sponsors

From: Meg Brooks Swift

Subject: Letters of Support for Program Applicants

The Harvard College Research Program funds student-initiated scholarly research and creative endeavors undertaken with a faculty mentor. It serves all undergraduates regardless of financial need, encouraging academic experiences outside the classroom from scholarly exploration in the freshman and sophomore years to the more focused endeavors of juniors and seniors. Preference will be given, however, to students with a demonstrated background in the subject area. This may include previous study or lab work, work experience or extra-curricular activities, or a bibliography developed with faculty guidance.

Because faculty-student collaboration is the cornerstone of the program, your role is a particularly important one. You will, of course, be responsible for overseeing the work of the student you are sponsoring. In the spirit of the program, we hope you will also encourage your student by suggesting opportunities for presenting his or her research at Harvard or at professional meetings and by helping students to publish worthy results. In some cases, a student might wish to be involved in planning a new course or in working on course modifications with you. The HCRP and the Student Employment Office may provide additional funding for these teaching-related projects.

Please address the following topics in a letter to be included in your student's HCRP application. You may mail your letter separately or fax it to 617-495-8422 to the attention of Meg Brooks Swift.

• Your involvement with the student so far.
• The quality, originality, and worthiness of the student's proposal.
• The arrangements you have made to stay in touch with the student (for example, you plan to meet on a weekly basis, or you see the student often because he/she works in your lab, etc.)
• The student's budget.

If you are not a voting member of FAS but are the faculty member working most closely with the student, please ask the Department Chair or Head Tutor to write a brief note in support of your involvement. If you are a teaching fellow, please have your letter of support cosigned by your departmental advisor.

At the end of the semester or summer, we ask that faculty sponsors write a report on behalf of the students adressing the following subjects:

• The student's progress toward his/her goals
• Your interaction with and supervision of the student
• Whether the experience seems to have contributed to the student's long or short-term academic goals
• The value of your experience as a faculty mentor

Thank you for your support of the student and the program.