College of Science Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF)

The College of Science, with support from Glynn Family Honors, Galvin Scholars, Neuroscience & Behavior programs, and many benefactors and foundations, supports Notre Dame undergraduate science students to engage in summer research each year.

Program Activities: 10-week full-time research should be conducted on a project mentored by College of Science (COS) faculty (or NSBH faculty from other colleges). Participants are expected to conduct a minimum of 40hr/wk of research and should not take on any other on-campus/off-campus job. Participants must provide a thank-you letter to donors and a summary of their research experience before the fall semester begins, and present their research at a scientific conference or symposium within one academic year.

Support: $6000 stipend will be distributed to participants via the student employment system biweekly. Up to $500 for supplies expenses could be requested by reimbursement.

Guidelines: If accepted, you will not receive payment in full at the beginning of your summer research. It will be disbursed biweekly by direct deposit. Please plan accordingly. Your payment will be taxed. This position is not hourly. It is considered to be a stipend. You will receive $6,000 divided up over the 10 weeks. It does not matter if you start before June 1 or end after August 15th. Student Employment deems summer positions to start on June 1 and end on August 15th. Your first check will be in the middle of June. Please plan accordingly.

During the 10 weeks of COS SURF, you must fully commit to the research. You are not allowed to take another position during the 10 weeks.

Eligibility:

• Current first-year, sophomores and juniors

• One of the College of Science major

• Taking a “research for credit” course with the same faculty mentor for at least one semester before the summer of research

• Successful applicants are expected to continue working with their faculty mentor beyond the summer of funding

Application: The following needs to be submitted to Submittable:

A. Proposal narrative - a pdf with the following sections:

(1) Previous research experiences including the one with the current mentor (1 page)

(2) Research proposal (project background, description of proposed summer research and its significance) (3 pages)

(3) Career Plans (explanation of how a summer research experience fits into your career plans, both immediate and long-term). (1page)

Format: single-spaced, 12pt font, all margins 1".

B. A Letter of Support from the research mentor.

C. Official Transcript

Deadline: Application materials are due by March 10, each year for the following summer, including the letter of support.

For more information, please contact Undergraduate Research Director Xuemin (Sheryl) Lu, by email or (574) 631-0883.