The Chloe Center > Undergraduate > Research Awards

The Chloe Center for the Critical Study of Racism, Immigration, and Colonialism offers annual undergraduate summer research awards of up to $2,000. Applications for these awards open in the spring and are due March 31. 

The Chloe Center supports undergraduate research that falls into at least one of the four tracks of the Critical Diaspora Studies major:

  • Migration and Borders
  • Global Indigeneities
  • Empires, Wars, and Carceralities
  • Solidarities, Social Movements, and Citizenship.

Research projects that consider the history and present of Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore in terms of racism, immigration, and colonialism are also welcome.

Students are expected to offer a public presentation, in addition to a written summary, of their research in the fall semester following their summer research. Summer research awards may be used to extend research completed in a CDS or other course and/or to begin research toward a CDS honors thesis.

Previous Awardees

In 2024, the following students were recipients of the Summer Research Award:

  • Rachel Baffoe-Bonnie (’26): Spirit Possession or Depression? Black Immigrants’ Alternative Mental Health Healing Strategies: A Preliminary Ethnographic Case Study
  • Vanessa Han (’26): The Structural Undercurrents of Korean and Black Relations in Baltimore
  • Ethan Tan (’25): Organizing Chinese Community in Twentieth Century Baltimore
  • Angela Tracy (’25): Filipino Diaspora: Unraveling Colonial Legacies and Military-Industrial Dynamics

Spring 2025 Call for Applications

The Chloe Center is seeking to support undergraduate research that falls into at least one of the four tracks of the Critical Diaspora Studies major: Migration and Borders; Global Indigeneities; Empires, Wars, and Carceralities; Solidarities, Social Movements, and Citizenship. Research projects that consider the history and present of Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore in terms of racism, immigration, and colonialism are also welcome.

Students will receive a grant of $2,000, payable in two halves, to support summer research. Recipients will be expected to present their research findings at a panel discussion during the Fall 2025 semester.

To apply, please send:

  • Proposal explaining the proposed research topic and how the research will be conducted, as well as how the project is related to course work or other work the student has already completed or plans to complete. The proposal should be up to two full pages, double-spaced. 
  • Student résumé 
  • Name and e-mail address of at least one JHU faculty member who can speak to the student’s qualifications 

All 2025 undergraduate applications are due via e-mail to ricjhu@jhu.edu by 11:59pm on March 31, 2025. Successful recipients will be notified around April 21, 2025. 

Rapid Research Grants

Beginning in 2025, undergraduate students are invited to apply for Critical Diaspora Studies Rapid Research Grants. These grants (up to $500) will support research travel outside Baltimore during the semester. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in a Critical Diaspora Studies course or cross-listed course or be engaged in writing a thesis or other project related to core themes of Critical Diaspora Studies.

The Spring 2025 Rapid Research Grant awardee is Acelyn McGowan (KSAS ’27) for her research project “Revolution in the Rockies: How the Black Panther Party Shaped Student Activism in Colorado.”