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A competitive humanities research fellowship for exceptional high school students, conducted under the mentorship of distinguished university faculty.
The Polk Presidential Scholars Program is a competitive, mentorship-driven research fellowship offered through the Blackwell Research Institute. Selected scholars work alongside university faculty to design, conduct, and present original research in the humanities — exploring questions in history, literature, philosophy, political theory, cultural studies, and related disciplines.
The program reflects a deep belief that rigorous humanistic inquiry is not reserved for college campuses. High school students with intellectual curiosity, a love of ideas, and the drive to pursue original thought are invited to join a community of scholars dedicated to expanding the frontiers of the humanities.
Scholars who complete the program receive a formal research fellowship credential, a letter of recognition, and a body of original scholarly work that sets them apart in college applications and beyond.
Design and execute an independent research project in a humanities discipline, guided one-on-one by a university faculty mentor.
Participate in structured seminars on research methodology, argumentation, scholarly writing, and the ethics of inquiry.
Present your research to faculty, graduate students, and fellow scholars at our spring symposium — a genuine academic conference experience.
Receive a formal research fellowship credential and letter of recognition from the Blackwell Research Institute upon completion.
Scholars pursue original research across the full range of the humanities. Projects may span disciplines or focus deeply within a single field.
Archival research, oral history, historiography, and the interpretation of primary sources across time periods and regions.
Close reading, narrative analysis, comparative literature, and the study of form, language, and cultural meaning in texts.
Ethical theory, political philosophy, epistemology, and the philosophical analysis of ideas, arguments, and systems of thought.
The study of political ideas, democratic thought, justice, power, and the intellectual foundations of governance and society.
Interdisciplinary inquiry into identity, representation, media, race, gender, and the dynamics of culture in historical and contemporary contexts.
Analysis of visual art, architecture, material culture, and the frameworks for understanding images, objects, and aesthetic experience.
Join a community of scholars committed to the life of the mind. Applications for the 2026 cohort open March 15th.