What is the Keck Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellows Program?
Over an academic year and alongside a faculty advisor, Keck Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellows conduct original research, scholarly activities and/or creative work that advances the interdisciplinary humanities. Students interested in being Keck fellows should identify a faculty member and topic of interest and develop the project proposal in collaboration with the faculty mentor.
Benefits
- Stipend of $3,000 per semester ($6,000 total)
- Research materials funds totaling up to $1,000 for the year
- Conference travel funds totaling up to $1,000 for the year
- Enrollment in 496 or 499 within the fellow's major or minor, for 1 unit of research or independent study in both the Fall and Spring
Please note, the funding you receive from the Keck Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellows Program will need to be accounted for in your Offer of Financial Aid. If you are a current financial aid recipient, or plan to apply for financial aid, please reach out to the Torero Hub with any questions.
How to Apply
Proposal Requirements
- Undergraduate students in all disciplines and academic units are welcome to apply, and the project should directly engage the humanities.
- The entire proposal should be written by the student.
- Note also that some (or even all) reviewers of the proposal will not be experts in the area of research proposed. Students should seek to make the proposal as accessible as possible to a wide range of faculty members.
Proposal Sections
- Is this project part of a larger project, a capstone or honors thesis?
- Explain the project’s overall significance and how it will relate to identified texts and materials in the proposal in 1,000 words or less.
- Include your research question or topic and two-semester planned timeline of activities.
- How will you communicate the knowledge from your original scholarly project? Keck fellows are expected to present their results at Creative Collaborations in April, but other venues for dissemination of the results should be considered.
- Describe why you are applying for a Keck fellowship and why you are motivated to do the proposed project.
Part of the proposal but NOT included in the word count
- Research materials budget, up to $1,000 and must include a brief justification for each expenditure requested. Research materials funds cannot generally pay for books or other items available through interlibrary loan, or personal expenses. Keck fellows funds also do not generally pay for permanent equipment. The budget can be flexible, but individual purchases must be approved by the research mentor and the program coordinator.
- Outline of planned activities (What do you plan to accomplish each semester?)
- List of References/citations
- Figures or illustrations to support your application (optional)
One letter of support is needed. Please provide a letter written by the faculty member who will serve as your mentor for this project. The letter should document her or his support of your application, describe your preparedness for the project, and specify plans for collaboration/mentorship.
Letters should be emailed directly to Kathryn Statler, kstatler@sandiego.edu.
Application Details
Review Procedures
The review committee is composed of the Humanities Center leadership and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Due to the considerable work of evaluating proposals, no feedback regarding proposals will be provided by the review committee. Reviewers will be using a rubric to evaluate applications. All decisions are final.
Application Process
Complete the online application. For further questions, contact Dr. Kathryn Statler at kstatler@sandiego.edu.
Due Date
Proposals are due Friday, April 24, 2026.
2025-26 Cohort
Jack DeVries
Major: Biochemistry
Mentor: Lark Stephenson Diaz, DM | Theology and Religious Studies
Favorite Book: Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Gianna Eaton
Major: Individualized Major
Mentor: T.J. Tallie, PhD | History
Favorite book: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Madison Harkin
Major: English
Mentor: Maura Giles- Watson, PhD | English
Favorite book: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Carly Senteno
Major: English
Mentor: Maura Giles- Watson, PhD | English
Favorite Book: Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Eleanor (Ellie) Soininen
Major: Business Economics
Mentor: Darby Vickers, PhD | Philosophy
Favorite Book: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Camille Van Bruaene
Major: Political Science
Mentor: Kathryn Statler, PhD | History
Favorite Book: Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life by Arlene Blum
2024-25 Cohort
Erika Atienza
Major: Behavioral Neuroscience
Research Title: Medicine and the Pursuit of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful: An Examination of the Dialectic of Care Toward Eudaimonia
Mentor: Thomas Reifer, PhD | Sociology
Delaney Batter
Major: Art History and Political Science
Research Title: Symbol and Sovereignty: Propaganda, Power, and Medallions under Louis XIV
Mentor: Derrick Cartwright, PhD | Art, Architecture + Art History
Yesika Menera
Major: Psychology and Sociology
Research Title: How Housing Insecurity and Welfare Systems Retraumatize Women in Southern California
Mentor: Odilka Santiago, PhD | Sociology
Grace Moore
Major: English
Minor: Music
Research Title: The Soundscapes of Heaven and Hell in Dante's The Divine Comedy
Mentor: Maura Giles Watson, PhD | English
Patricia Munoz
Major: English and Philosophy
Research Title: The Nature of Metaphysics in Poetry
Mentor: Jack Crumley, PhD | Philosophy
Carly O’Rear
Major: Music and Theatre
Minor: Political Science
Research Title: Rethinking Authenticity in Shakespeare's Musical Comedies
Mentor: Charissa Noble, PhD | Music
Sydney Rios Bruner
Major: Philosophy
Minor: Political Science
Research Title: De-Anthropomorphizing Intelligence: Rethinking Artificial Intelligence Through Baruch Spinoza
Mentor: Darby Vickers, PhD | Philosophy
2023-24 Cohort
Ciara Colgan
Major: Art History
Minors: Philosophy and Visual Arts
Research Title: Lee Krasner: From the Shadow of Her Husband to a Mirror of the Feminist Movement
Mentor: Sally Yard, PhD | Art, Architecture + Art History
Abigail Hinrichs
Major: English
Minor: Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Research Title: “Undesired service requires no hire”: Resistance to Male Entitlement at the Henrician Court within the Devonshire Manuscript
Mentor: Maura Giles-Watson, PhD | English
Jean Jeremie
Major: Architecture
Minor: Art History
Research Title: Haitian Migrants and Their Housing Solutions in San Diego County
Mentor: Juliana Maxim, PhD | Art, Architecture + Art History
Riley Lim
Majors: French and Communications
Research Title: Ying Chen et La Poétique de la Relation: Traverser l'identité par l'écriture/Ying Chen and the Poetics of Relation: Traversing Identity through Writing
Mentor: Sylvie Ngilla, PhD | Language, Cultures and Literatures
Juliana Lo
Majors: International Relations and History
Research Title: Gymnastics in Vogue: Flipping American Popular Opinion in Cold War Narratives
Mentor: Kathryn Statler, PhD | History
Camille Torre
Major: English
Minor: Psychology
Research Title: Abortion and The Metaphorical Imagination
Mentor: Carlton Floyd, PhD | English
2022-23 Cohort
Analleli Villegas Barrera
Major: Ethnic Studies and Sociology
Minor: Spanish
Research Title: Migración Mixteca: De Oaxaca to San Diego, CA
Mentor: Thomas Reifer, PhD | Sociology and Alberto Pulido, PhD | Ethnic Studies
Eden Van Saun
Major: English and Spanish
Minor: Mathematics
Research Title: Decolonizing the Clock: Non-Western Time Narratives in Central American Art and Literature
Mentor: Julia Medina, PhD | Languages, Cultures and Literatures
Mei Flory
Major: English
Minor: Psychology
Research Title: Made in China: Analyzing the Cultural Context and Consequences of Transnational Adoption
Mentor: Atreyee Phukan, PhD | English
Nicholas Segovia
Major: Environmental Studies and Political Science
Research Title: A Paradoxical Threat to Democracy
Mentor: Mark Woods, PhD | Philosophy
Olivia Sutton
Major: English
Minor: French and Francophone Studies and Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Research Title: The Emasculation of Glory: Pestilence, Revolution, and Madness in Mary Shelley’s The Last Man
Mentor: Ivan Ortiz, PhD | English
Yahaira Rodriguez
Major: Music and Political Science
Minor: Spanish
Research Topic: Charles Chavez and Aaron Copland
Mentor: Charissa Noble, PhD | Music
2021-22 Cohort
Fanisee Bias '22
Major: Sociology
Minor: Changemaking
Research Title: Marginalized Communities’ Struggle for Eudaimonia
Mentor: Tom Reifer, PhD | Sociology
Claire Bredar '22
Major: Political Science and International Relations
Minor: Chemistry
Research Title: From Shame to Sovereignty: An Analysis of the Politicized Female Body
Mentor: Karen Shelby, PhD | Political Science and International Relations
Bryson Patterson '22
Majors: Environmental and Ocean Sciences and Political Science and International Relations
Minor: Physics
Research Title: Capturing the Polar Sublime: Burke, Balke, and Photography
Mentor: Brian R. Clack, PhD | Philosophy
Bryanna Rivas '22
Majors: Philosophy and Theology and Religious Studies
Research Topic: Gender Expression and Material Culture within Catholic Theology
Mentor: Susie Babka, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies
Anna Salvestrin '22
Major: Theology and Religious Studies
Minors: Biology and Chemistry
Research Title: Cultivating Compassion in Catholic Teachings: An Invitation to Relationship with Immigrants and Refugees with HIV/AIDS
Mentor: Victor Camona, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies
Thomas Sanbeg '22
Majors: Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Humanities
Minor: Film Studies
Research Title: Cultural Appropriation and Group Authenticity
Mentor: Brian R. Clack, PhD | Philosophy
2020-21 Cohort
Sara Badrani ‘21
Major: Philosophy
Minor: History
Research Title: Why Bother? A Historical and Philosophical Analysis of Motivation
Mentor: Tyler Hower, MA | Philosophy
Presentation - Colloquium
Reijer den Dulk ‘21
Major: Industrial and Systems Engineering
Research Title: Analysis of Fresh Water Hydraulic Engineering Development and Impact Through Ancient History
Mentor: Jae Kim, PhD | Industrial and Systems Engineering
Presentation - Colloquium
Emma Heflin ‘21
Majors: English and Philosophy
Minor: German
Research Title: Where Ethics and Drama Meet: Shakespeare’s Othello
Mentor: Maura Giles-Watson, PhD | English
Presentation - Colloquium
Samuel Hixon ‘21
Majors: Interdisciplinary Humanities and Biochemistry
Research Title: From Sustenance to Decadence: A Literary and Scientific Discussion of Modern Lifestyles Driving Anthropogenic Climate Change
Mentor: Brad Melekian, MFA | English
Presentation - Colloquium
Alyssa Mugavero ‘22
Majors: Sociology and Interdisciplinary Humanities
Research Title: If we could change ourselves, we can change the world': Empathy & the Possibilities for Transformative Education
Mentor: Atreyee Phukan, PhD | English and Interdisciplinary Humanities
Presentation - Colloquium
Rebecca M. Nickel '21
Major: Architecture
Minor: Art History
Research Title: Force, Flex, Dance
Mentor: Shannon Starkey, PhD | Art, Architecture + Art History
Presentation - Colloquium
Delaney Tax ‘21
Major: Ethnic Studies
Minors: Architecture and Gender Studies
Research Title: The Urban Spatial: Bodies, Knowledges, and Transcendence in the Built Environment
Mentor: Josen Diaz, PhD | Ethnic Studies
Presentation - Colloquium
Sienna Todd ‘21
Majors: Visual Arts and International Relations
Minor: Political Science
Research Title: Transformative Empathy: The Power of Art Activism
Mentor: John Halaka, MFA | Art, Architecture + Art History
Presentation - Colloquium
2019-2020 Cohort
Kate Burnite '20
Major: Political Science
Minors: Accounting & Business Administration
Research Title: Have We Sized Out of the Democratic Project?
Mentor: Timothy Wyatt McCarty, PhD | Political Science and International Relations
Julia A. Gonzalez '20
Majors: Visual Arts & Art History
Minor: Women’s and Gender Studies
Research Title: To Plumb Rough Matter: Using the Power of Painting & Photography to Investigate Women’s Embodiment
Mentor: Matt Rich, MFA | Art, Architecture + Art History
Cooper Kent '20
Majors: Theology and Religious Studies & Physics
Research Title: The Ideology and Practice of ‘Thought Control’ and its Contemplative Opposite
Mentor: Rico Monge, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies
Alexandra Mueller '21
Major: Communication Studies
Minor: Visual Arts
Research Title: What Sublime? Southern California Landscape in a Time of Change
Mentor: Farrah Karapetian, MFA | Art, Architecture + Art History
Noah Pallmeyer '20
Majors: History & Communication Studies
Research Title: Purposefully Forgetting: Surveying San Diego’s Founding Narrative During the City’s Bicentennial Celebrations of 1969
Mentor: Colin Fisher, PhD | History
Henry Tran Quevedo '20
Majors: Spanish & Computer Science
Research Title: Using Tech to Reveal the Fictions of Narco Cultural Productions
Mentor: Amanda Petersen, PhD | Languages, Cultures and Literatures
2018-2019 Cohort
Sophie Abber '19
Majors: Behavioral Neuroscience and Anthropology
Research Title: Women, Agency, and Resistance: From the Salem Witch Trials to the #MeToo Movement
Mentor: Kate DeConinck, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies
Kayla Beauregard '19
Major: Philosophy
Research Title: Appropriation of the Women: From Mythology to Philosophy
Mentor: Michelle Grier, PhD | Philosophy
Emma Dickson '20
Major: Theatre Arts and Mathematics
Research Title: Staging Science: Enhancing Scientific Communication through Theatrical Performance
Mentor: Monica Stufft, PhD | Theatre
Rebecca Lancaster '19
Major: International Business
Research Title: Executing Justice: The Influence and Response of the Catholic Church on Capital Punishment in the U.S.
Mentor: Kate DeConinck, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies
DeZell Lathon '19
Major: Theatre
Research Title: Integrating African Culture into Main Stage Theatre Through Concept of a Musical
Mentor: Robin Roberts, MFA | Theatre
Jordan Matuszewski '21
Major: Computer Science and Mathematics
Research Title: Python Regular Expressions and Corpus Preparation: A New Way to Solve an Old Problem
Mentor: Paul Evans | Digital Humanities
Nikta Shahbaz '20
Major: Interdisciplinary Humanities
Research Title: A Legal and Ethical Examination of Photorealistic Videos Created Using Artificial Neural Networks
Mentor: Atreyee Phukan, PhD | English and Interdisciplinary Humanities
Amber Sheldon '19
Major: Philosophy
Research Title: Wittgenstein and Embodied Cognition: A Critique of the Language of Thought
Mentor: Brian R. Clack, PhD | Philosophy
2017-2018 Cohort
Katelyn Allen '18
Major: Art History
Research Title: Women Who Impress: Women Printmakers from USD's Collection
Mentor: Derrick Cartwright, PhD | Art, Architecture + Art History and University Galleries
Emily Bolender '18
Major: History
Research Title: Outlaw and Order: Medieval Norse Approaches to Justice and Society
Mentor: Tom Barton, PhD | History
Lia Fior '18
Major: Philosophy
Research Title: The Human Drive Towards Intoxication
Mentor: Brian R. Clack, PhD | Philosophy
Briana Jurries '18
Major: English
Research Title: Yoga and Women's Conversion to American Buddhism/Hinduism in Southern California
Mentor: Joel Gruber, PhD | Theology and Religious Studies
Tiasha Rogers '18
Major: Sociology
Research Title: Education: An Institutional Battle Front
Mentor: Tom Reifer, PhD | Sociology
Jesus Martinez Saucedo '20
Major: Spanish
Research Title: Exhibiting Racism, Migration, and the (EU)rAfrican Borders: Socially Engaged Art and Activism in Contemporary Spain
Mentor: Martin Repinecz, PhD | Languages, Cultures and Literatures
Keck Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellow Cohorts
Questions? Contact
Kathryn Statler, PhD
kstatler@sandiego.edu
(619) 260-4652