Enrich. Aspire. Achieve.

Student Fellows Program

Students in the Chellgren Fellowship Program benefit from a variety of extracurricular events designed to broaden cultural and intellectual horizons, ranging from field trips to plays and museums to informal book discussions and current-events programs.

Equally important, Chellgren Student Fellows receive additional advising and assistance in developing individual study plans that will enable you to make the most of your undergraduate years at UK.

The goal of this program is to cultivate extraordinary academic achievement among a group of UK students. The program provides outstanding undergraduates with experiences that go beyond classroom instruction including:

Helping students understand the process of research within their discipline
Finding a research mentor to oversee a spring research project
Prepare for the next phase of their career, which may include applications for prestigious national and international awards (such as the Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, and Goldwater Scholarships); admission into top tier graduate and professional programs in their field, or taking a gap year for service or to pursue other personal commitments

During the students' second year, each Fellow will enroll in courses during the fall and spring semesters linked to academic enrichment and their faculty mentored project. A primary goal of the Fellows Program is to create a learning community consisting of collaborative interactions among students, faculty, and staff affiliated with the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence. Within this context, the cornerstone of the program is a faculty mentoring component in which students pursue individual scholarly projects under the supervision of a UK faculty mentor. These projects typically consist of original research, generation of creative products, or engagement in community service.

In addition to the inherent value of the project itself, the mentorship process is intended to stimulate high intellectual aspirations, confidence, curiosity, and self-initiative. It will help Fellows develop strategies for engaging in the intellectual life of the University and foster a deeper and broader commitment to academic excellence.

Fellows also participate in a number of extracurricular events that provide academic, civic, and aesthetic enrichment.

Am I Eligible?

Are you currently a first-year student?
Are you interested in learning more about working with UK's top faculty and research?
Are you aiming to apply for a nationally competitive award? (ex., the Astronaut Scholarship, a Fulbright Award, etc.)

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then YES! You are eligible and encouraged to apply.

The Chellgren Student Fellows Program is open to all majors and takes place during the student's second year at UK.

Program Requirements

Students awarded a Chellgren Student Fellowship will be required to:

Enroll in credit bearing courses in both fall and spring semesters (times/days are to be determined) and participate in some events that are outside the weekly class time frame.
Agree and sign an Expectations Form.

Please note: The Chellgren Student Fellowship is a non-monetary fellowship.

Ready to Apply?

Applications for the 2025 cohort is now open!

https://chellgren.uky.edu/chellgren-student-fellows-application

The application DEADLINE is Sunday, February 16, 2025.

Check our events page for the upcoming information session on February 4.

If you have any questions about the application process and eligibility, please contact Lynn Hiler at clynnhiler@uky.edu.

The Chellgren Fellows

Representing excellence in academia and research spanning many different interests and colleges at the University of Kentucky since 2007.

Meet our Fellows

Email	chellgrencenter@uky.edu
Phone	859-257-6894