The number of applications for the Swearer Center for Public Service's summer fellowships is expected to remain stable this year, according to Roger Nozaki MAT'89, director of the Swearer Center and associate dean of the College.
According to Nozaki, the fellowships give out between five and 20 scholarships each - depending on the particular program - and there are approximately two to three times as many applicants as awards given. Swearer Center fellowships are generally multi-staged processes, as students come in months beforehand to begin consulting on their projects.
"You have to have a really strong commitment to the project you are working on," Nozaki said.
Alan Harlam, director of social entrepreneurship and director of the C.V. Starr Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship, said students applying to these programs don't seem to be influenced by the economic uncertainty.
"I think most of the people who come through the door are motivated by the work they want to do," Harlam said.
Lucy Stark '10, who is applying for the Starr Fellowship this year, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald that the economy was not a factor in her decision to apply.
The fellowship "seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to stay in Providence and do meaningful work," Stark wrote. "I think the Fellowship, if I get it, will be a good experience for me to learn how to work independently and outside of school."
Stark wrote that her friends who are applying for similar programs are probably not doing so for economic reasons.
"I'd guess ... that most people are applying because they have a project they really want to do - not because of the economic crisis," she wrote.
The Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards program is not expecting a major increase in applicants this year either, said Christina Furtado, assistant dean for Upper Class Studies and director of the program. Furtado said there were over 350 applications for about 200 spots.
Teach for America, a public service program that allows recent college graduates and professionals to work in public schools for two years at a time, is expecting a 60 to 70 percent increase in applicants from Brown, The Herald reported last week.
