Jane Kahn '77 Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Undergraduate students are invited to submit proposals for the Jane Kahn '77 Undergraduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship awards up to 2 undergraduates a $5,000 stipend for summer semester research examining current and emerging issues in criminal justice reform and the rights of individuals with mental illness, disability, and socio-psychological factors frequently associated with incarceration.

The priority deadline to apply for 2022 summer funding will be March 2, 2022. See the list of 2021 recipients.

This fellowship honors the memory of Jane Kahn, a 1977 graduate of Brandeis University who dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of individuals incarcerated in California prison system. Jane, along with her husband Michael Bien ’77, spent almost two decades litigating a class action civil rights lawsuit on behalf of mentally ill inmates in California. That case, Coleman v. Schwarzenegger, argued that the treatment of mentally ill inmates in California prisons was constitutionally deficient due to extreme overcrowding and inhumane treatment. After prevailing in the lower court, the case made its way to the United States Supreme Court, which affirmed the decision and ordered the State of California to reduce its prison population by 30,000.

Jane and Michael were honored at Brandeis in 2011, and provided the Joshua A. Guberman Lecture entitled "Representing Prisoners with Serious Mental Illness Trapped in a Nightmare: The California Prison Overcrowding Case." It is in the spirit of this work, and Jane’s dedication to her clients, that this fellowship was established.

Eligibility

Undergraduates in good academic standing are eligible. Students who will graduate in December 2022 or later or eligible to apply for summer funding. For summer research students are required to fill out an I-9 in order to receive the stipend. International Students are encouraged to review the steps for beginning on-campus employment found on the International Students and Scholars Office website. Please contact Kathleen McMahan with any questions related to I-9 eligibility or the I-9 process.

How to Apply

Proposals should include the following information:

• the title of the proposal, the applicant’s name, undergraduate class or expected date of graduate degree, major(s) and minor(s), campus mailbox, email address, and additional information as requested on the Google form;
• Research Proposal (2,000 words or fewer, excluding the reference list). Organize your proposal as follows: Background and Introduction to the topic and project, Project aims and goals (specify exactly what you plan to do), Methods or approach (how you plan to do it), and Project significance and impact including how it connects to the spirit of the Fellowship and how it fits into your program of study at Brandeis and beyond.
• Contingency plan
  • If you project involves travel, field- or laboratory-based research, in-person human or animal research, or in-person group studio-based projects or performances, please submit a brief contingency research plan in the event that travel and research restrictions are in effect in Summer 2022.
• Mentoring Plan
  • How often will you talk or meet with your faculty mentor? Will you be able to attend group research meetings or communicate with other researchers or creative professionals in your field of interest?
• resume and transcript (unofficial is acceptable)
• a letter of recommendation from the Brandeis faculty member overseeing the applicant’s research commenting on the feasibility of the proposed project, and the applicant’s ability to conduct the research.
  • Students should direct their Faculty Mentors to submit their Letter of Recommendation via the Faculty Letter of Recommendation Form (Brandeis email required to access).

A URCC committee that includes Faculty in the Legal Studies Program will evaluate submissions and select up to two successful candidates. The awardees will be announced in April 2022.

Questions? Contact Margaret Lynch, Director of Undergraduate-Faculty Research Partnerships