The Ruyl Family Fellowship in Global History was established by Marci McTier to allow a rising junior or senior History Major to pursue a self-designed summer research project on any aspect of global history, broadly defined.
Global history takes the connectedness of the world as its point of departure and examines broad processes of historical change. Political borders often define the parameters of historical research. Yet many subjects transcend state boundaries, ranging from imperialism, industrialization, migration, medicine, slavery, war, religion, labor and commerce, gender and sexuality, science and technology, animals and the environment, or popular culture to name just a few. A global approach explores interconnections, interdependencies, and interruptions across multiple scales to determine how such broad processes of historical change have shaped today’s interlinked societies.
The Ruyl Family Fellowship includes a $3,300 stipend, housing, and F11 credit to conduct research on a self-designed project. The stipend covers up to 37.5 hours of work/week at $11/hour for eight (8) weeks over the summer.
The research project will result in a final product (written, recorded, visual, or digital) that the Ruyl Family Fellow will present at the 91¶¶Òõ Symposium in 2027.
The Ruyl Family Fellow will be supervised by a faculty mentor in the Department of History. Any full-time faculty member of the Department of History may serve as a faculty mentor.
Interested students must receive approval from a faculty mentor in the Department of History prior to applying for the Ruyl Family Fellowship.
Eligibility
- Declared History major or History/International Studies bridge major
- Rising senior or rising junior (members of the class of 2027 and 2028)
- Overall minimum GPA of 3.5 and a minimum major GPA of 3.5
To apply, please submit a proposal that is 900-1000 words in length, includes the name of your faculty mentor, and addresses the following questions:
- What specific topic on global history do you intend to explore?
- What question or questions are you seeking to answer?
- How do you plan to explore this topic?
- What is the intended final product?
The priority deadline for applications is Feb 15, 2026.
The recipient of the Ruyl Family Fellowship will be notified in early March.