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Undergraduate Professional Development Awards

Purpose of the Awards 

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at James Madison University offers Undergraduate Professional Development Awards of up to $2,000 to stimulate and advance undergraduate students’ creative or scholarly agendas or assist in developing their service activities. Each award is given with the understanding that the recipient will devote enough time and energy to ensure successful completion of the project.

Eligibility 

Proposals may be submitted individually or on behalf of a team; the principal investigator must be a full-time CVPA undergraduate student. While students may be part of multiple Undergraduate Professional Development award proposals as a research member, they will only be eligible to receive one award as a principal investigator each year. Students are eligible to apply for and earn these awards annually. Each proposal must have a faculty mentor.

Proposal Submission and Review

Proposals will be reviewed two times a year by the CVPA Professional Development Committee.  Proposals should be submitted by 5:00 pm on October 31, 2023, for the fall, or February 28, 2024, for the spring to Associate Dean Wren Stevens (stevenwr@jmu.edu). A limited number of fall or spring applications may be funded for projects that span academic years (summer funding).

Call for Undergraduate Professional Development Award Proposals AY24

Funding FAQ

Valley Business Keynote Entrepreneurship in the Arts and Design Scholarship 

2023 Valley Business Keynote Entrepreneurial Arts Scholarship Winners: Not a Saint Band!

Not A Saint Band is comprised of lead singer Georgia (Gillian) Saunders (Senior Voice, Music Industry and SMAD, Journalism major), co-lead singer and keyboardist Thomas Oxbrough (Junior Voice, Music Education major), lead guitarist Nick Green (Junior Guitar, Music Industry major), saxophonist and backup vocalist Abby Wilson (Sophomore Voice, Music Education major) and drummer Obrine Tamon (Senior Geology major).  The band focuses on the original music written by Georgia Saunders and Thomas Oxbrough and is written in a “funky indie pop” style.  They used their scholarship award to record a full-length album at Sill and Glade Cabin in Mt. Solon, VA.

Valley Business Keynote is a group of local business leaders who seek to help area entrepreneurs fulfill their potential by bringing guest speakers to share their success stories. 

The VBK Entrepreneurship in the Arts and Design Scholarship is awarded annually to a sophomore or junior visual or performing arts major at JMU. It specifically supports entrepreneurial projects that focus on the arts and 1.) has a business component (non-profit or for profit, 2.) develops a product and/or service, and 3.) conforms to entrepreneurial best practices.  AMOUNT: $1,000 

Valley Business Keynote Entrepreneurship in the Arts and Design Scholarship Applications due: Wednesday, January 30th at 5:00 pm. Please send proposals to Associate Dean Wren Stevens (stevenwr@jmu.edu).

VBK Appliciation Guidelines

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