The Office of the Provost is pleased to provide upper-level South Carolina Honors College students with a paid, artificial intelligence (AI) training and work experience that aligns with the University’s strategic goal of advancing digital literacy, preparing students for high-impact careers and enabling cross-disciplinary AI fluency.
The opportunity is designed to pair Honors students with faculty who, together, will create innovative AI-focused pedagogical approaches to incorporate into the faculty member’s courses or develop new research that incorporates AI. Participating students will receive $5,000 in compensation for completing AI training and an AI teaching or research project.
Please contact Courtney Meyer, the experiential learning coordinator with questions.
The Program
The program will focus on incorporating AI into undergraduate courses or conduct research related to AI. Students will complete an AI training badge and be partnered with a faculty member to develop AI-related instructional enhancements to the faculty member’s course(s) or develop research focused on, or enhanced by, AI. USC’s Department of Information Technology will provide the technical expertise and training necessary to equip students with the skills required for successful participation in the program.
Timeline
- The call for applications will open on January 12, 2026.
- Applications will be accepted until February 6, 2026.
- Application decisions will be released on February 13, 2026.
- Selected students will begin work in March 2026 with an end date of July 2026.
Program Details
- Must currently be enrolled in the South Carolina Honors College.
- Must have completed at least 60 hours of coursework at USC.
- To be eligible to apply, applicants must maintain active student status for the full grant period (spring 2026 through the end of summer 2026 term). Students who graduate in May 2026 are not eligible to receive this funding.
- Complete an AI training course and submit the completion badge to the Honors College by March 18, 2026, and prior to working on any project with faculty.
- Collaborate with faculty to define project scope and AI-focused objectives.
- Meet regularly with faculty during the development and/or completion of the project.
- Co-author a closing report with faculty collaborator.
- Submission of final reflection at the end of the spring semester and at the completion of the project by July 31, 2026.
- Presentation with project faculty at Provost AI and Education Symposium (To be held fall 2026).
- Because this fellowship prioritizes meaningful, outcome-driven engagement over fixed hour requirements, project hours are flexible.
- Project hours may vary by topic, and students are not expected to work more than 200 project-related hours over no more than 3-5 months, including training modules. These modules will provide expert training that is spearheaded by the Division of Information Technology (DOIT) at USC.
- As projects will continue into the summer, we anticipate most students will transition to work remotely or in a hybrid capacity with their faculty mentor. However, some projects may require materials, data or devices that are only available in person.
- Student will receive a total of $5,000.
- The total stipend will be split into multiple payments based on project milestones.
- AI training badge that can be added to a resume, CV or LinkedIn profile.
- Structured working relationship with USC’s world-class faculty.
Please note: The Provost Undergraduate AI Fellowship will not be awarded for work related to a student’s Honors College Research Grant, thesis or other independent research project in the same term(s) in which a student is enrolled in SCHC 499, SCHC 497 or departmental research courses. A student must demonstrate that they are pursuing significantly different projects for the Provost Undergraduate AI Fellowship, research grant, thesis and/or research course in order to be considered.
Provost Undergraduate AI Fellowship Application