How to Apply
Initial meeting with Assistant or Associate Dean:
A student interested in becoming a Dean’s Scholar will normally meet first with the Assistant Associate Dean or other designated representative to discuss the student’s general questions concerning the Dean’s Scholar Program.Dean’s Scholar advisors in each college are listed below:
- Agriculture and Natural Resources: Kimberly Yackoski, 104 Townsend Hall, (302) 831-2508
- Arts and Sciences: Patricia Sloane-White, Munroe Hall, (302) 831-1856
- Business and Economics: Rick Andrews, 237 Lerner Hall, (302) 831-1190
- Engineering: Chuck Shermeyer, 141 P.S. DuPont Hall, (302) 831-8659
- Health Sciences: Suzanne Clark, 345 McDowell Hall, (302) 831-8371
- Education and Human Development: Kristine Ritz-Coll, 105 Pearson Hall, (302) 831-2301
- Earth, Ocean and Environment: Frank Newton, 111 Robinson Hall, (302) 831-2841
- Honors Program: Jama Allegretto Lynch, 186 S. College Avenue, (302) 831-1195
At the meeting, the student’s specific educational goals and their relationship to existing academic curricula and programs will be discussed. If the discussion indicates that the student’s needs will, indeed, be best met through an individual plan of study, the student will then be referred to one or more faculty members at the University who would be appropriate advisors to guide the student’s proposal development and work with the student in independent studies, graduate course work, research, foreign experience, internships, and other discovery learning experiences as appropriate.
Work with faculty advisors:
Dean’s Scholar advisors are faculty whose research and professional expertise enable them to further the particular student’s intellectual, academic, and professional goals.They usually come from more than one academic department and/or college, each providing a perspective needed for the proposed plan of study.At least one faculty advisor must come from the academic department whose discipline most closely relates to the student’s desired program.
It is expected that the development of the proposal will involve substantial interaction between the student and these advisors.In consultation with the advisors, the candidate will formally apply to the Program by submitting an application which includes a detailed proposal of the course of study and the names of at least three faculty who each agree to serve as the applicant’s Dean’s Scholar program advisors. Each of these faculty members must submit a Dean’s Scholar Advisor agreement.
The Dean’s Scholar Proposal:
The proposal should present, clearly and cogently:- a statement of the focal question, issue, and/or goals driving the student’s plan;
- an evaluation of why existing options are insufficient in addressing this issue and an explanation of the choice of courses listed in (3);
- a detailed outline of specific courses, independent study, research projects, internships, etc. that will constitute the proposed plan of study;
- an explanation of the role of each individual faculty advisor in the applicant’s Dean’s Scholar program.
What Colleges offer the Dean's Scholar Program?
The Dean’s Scholar Program is available in all colleges.
What evidence is needed to begin such a program?
This evidence may include, but is not limited to, excellent grades at the University of Delaware, as well as information from instructors and advisors that indicates extraordinary motivation, insight, and ability.