We are pleased to announce the Undergraduate Data Science and AI Scholars program for supporting students in Spring 2026. The Data Science and AI Scholars program welcomes undergraduate scholars from multiple disciplines, including non-STEM majors, who will examine all aspects of data and its impact on society. This year, scholars will have the opportunity to be teaching fellows or research fellows. Scholars will be able to work on research projects in Climate Science, Deepfake detection, and other data science-related projects. 

Students selected through this effort will be part of the Data Science and AI Scholars program, which will be run in partnership withthe Center for Women in Technology (CWIT), the Information Systems Department (IS), and the Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3). 

Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3) Responsibilities:

Research Fellows

• Scholars who will work as research fellows will work on a supervised research project and be mentoredby faculty. Scholars will be paid $20.00/hour for specific tasks, for 5 - 10 hours per week.
• Scholars will attend at least two events in Spring 2026 and/or participate in research initiatives andprofessional development for their leadership growth and mentoring. Mentors will coordinate this at CS3. 
• Scholars will also be expected to attend one mentoring meeting with the faculty.
• Scholars will be required to enroll in a Zero-credit Practicum course on research experience (PRAC98C) through the UMBC Career Center.

Background and Skills:

ALL applicants should have knowledge in AT LEAST ONE of the following:

• Analysis of social, behavioral, economic, or geographic data
• Python or one of the data science tools and/or languages (such as R, Rapid Miner, Weka, Orange,Knime, ML on cloud computing)
• Jupyter Notebooks with Python or taken IS 296 in a prior semester.

Interested students should complete the Google Submission Form, OR access the form using the following link: https://forms.gle/FFUAa5RpDNMGYvTY9 by Friday, November 21, 2025.

Please see the attached notice for complete details.   Questions?  Please email our team at DataScienceAIScholars@umbc.edu

For many large-scale grants, funders are aiming to foster cross-sector and community engagement to maximize the impact of their awards and solve complex challenges.

 This webinar will review key considerations and best practices for engaging partners and stakeholders in the grant development process to ensure that impact is realized.

Webinar: Facilitating Stakeholder Engagement in Grant Development

Date: Thursday, November 20th

Time: 12pm ET / 9am PT

Speakers:

• Dr. Kristina Weaver — Managing Grants Consultant, Hanover Research
• Clinton Doggett — Senior Grants Advisor, Hanover Research 

Unable to attend? Register and we will send a copy of the recording and slides after the webinar.

• CAHSS and UMBC resources for research and creative achievement development
• Research support from the CAHSS Research Centers
• When to request a consultation
• Planning for internal and extramural funding proposals
• UMBC's PI Eligibility process
• Strategies for funding proposals - What makes a proposal competitive?
• UMBC's routing process (short overview)

Public Health Researcher Meet-Ups

Friday, October 10 | 12:00-1:00pm | PUP 204

Thursday, October 23 | 11am - 12pm | Webex

To facilitate emerging interdisciplinary faculty research collaborations/teams we are sponsoring meet up events for all CAHSS faculty to gather and share interests/expertise in the broad area of health research. Attendance is encouraged, but not required, for submission to the Public Health Collaborative Grant program.   

RSVP to John Schumacher, Ph.D.    jschuma@umbc.edu

What happens when faculty from different disciplines/fields come together to explore public health? The Public Health Collaboration Grants 2026 are designed toanswer this question!This opportunity invites all full-timeCAHSS faculty from the social sciences, humanities, and artsdisciplines to explore unexpected connections in their interdisciplinary expertise with the aim of developing novel public health research questions. Faculty with ongoing health research projects, as well as those with absolutely no prior health research experience, are welcome to participate.

 Proposal Link:  https://tinyurl.com/ywpfb3x2

The PHRC Collaboration Grants 2026 program offers a supportive cohort model to help interdisciplinary teams of faculty develop and submit competitive proposals for external funding. The five selected faculty teams will meet as a cohort monthly from January through April 2026 for facilitated workshops, writing time, and peer feedback. Team members will receive salary support for summer 2026 and present a project update in a mini symposium to cohort members, PHRC staff, and CAHSS dean's office staff in August 2026. By the end of the program, faculty teams will have both a well-prepared submission ready application and a community of colleagues for future success.

 As part of this initiative, applicants will propose a team of two to four CAHSS faculty who will collaboratively submit a future externally funded public health grant. Need help identifying collaborator(s) for a faculty team? Participate in our October Research Meet-Ups or just contact us.   

For Questions: John G. Schumacher, PHRC Director, jschuma@umbc.edu