In honor of retired UD History Professor Raymond Callahan, a fund has been established to promote experiential learning. The Department reviews applications each spring for activities during the summer following a student’s freshman, sophomore, or junior year that connect the study of history with experiences outside of the university classroom. Through these experiences, students will:
- engage in historical inquiry outside of the classroom (in an archive, at a historic site, in a non-profit, at a workplace)
- develop collaborative and interpersonal skills
- create something meaningful and worthy of sharing with others (a project, paper, series of social media posts, etc.)
- draw on knowledge or skill developed in the history classroom
All History and History Education majors are eligible to apply. Successful applicants will receive up to $4,500 to support projects that engage in historical inquiry outside of the classroom and will be required to submit a report upon completion of the project explaining how the project fostered historical inquiry, collaboration, creation of a meaningful final product, and connection to their work in the classroom. Recipients are also required to submit a poster about their research experience to the annual internship symposium in the fall. (A template will be provided.) This may be displayed in the History Department.
Application Requirements:
- Cover letter explaining the proposed activities (including identification of a faculty mentor and an external site), experiential component, and proposed final product
- CV/Resume
- Letter of support from the experiential learning site or description of experiential component and target archive (if applicable)
- Letter of recommendation from a faculty mentor, preferably from the UD History department. Letters should be emailed to Ms. Amy Dolbow (adolbow@udel.edu) with the subject line: Raymond Callahan Fund Letter of Recommendation.
Application Closes: May 1, 2025
Application link: 2025 Ray Callahan Experiential Learning Fund Application
Contact Dr. Eve Buckley (ebuckley@udel.edu) for more information.