The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship - UH
Overview
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program at the University of Houston (SURF-UH) seeks to provide funding for rising UH sophomores, juniors, and seniors to participate in a focused, full-time, 10-week research experience under the direction of UH faculty. Current freshmen who will be sophomores in fall 2010 are eligible to apply for the fellowship. However, students graduating in spring and summer are not eligible for this program. No course credit will be offered for participation in this program, and students who have previously participated in the SURF-UH program are ineligible to reapply. This fellowship is open to students of all disciplines. The online application is available at the bottom of this web page.
Specifics of Program
The deadline is March 24, 2010 at 5 p.m. The 10-week program is from June 1st - August 6th. All rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors, from all majors, with at least a 3.0 are eligible to apply. If a student has less than 12 hours from UH, a 3.5 gpa is required. The SURF program provides a $2800 stipend to students and a $500 reimbursement stipend to faculty. All full-time UH faculty are eligible to mentor a SURF student. Please be aware students may not enroll in a course, such as the thesis course or an independent study, and receive a SURF fellowships at the same time for the same research project.
Please be aware this is a competitive program with finite funding, and the Office of Undergraduate Research receives many more strong proposals than they are able to fund. The staff at the Office of Undergraduate Research is unable to share specific information about the assessment of individual applications after the decisions have been made.
Requirements of Program:
- Full-time participation in 10-week program
- It is assumed that student will not take a summer course; if student MUST take a summer course for extenuating circumstances, petitions within this spirit may be accepted on a case-by-case basis by completing a petition form; petition form is due March 24th
- Students who have previously participated in SURF-UH program are ineligible to reapply.
- Attend SURF orientation in April 2010
- Attend weekly Brown Bag Lectures each Wednesday from noon - 1 p.m.
- Complete online survey, which is due on August 6th
- Participate at Undergraduate Research Day (October 7th) by presenting a research poster and submitting an abstract for event program
How to secure a Research Project to Apply for SURF:
- Talk to current and past professors (during their office hours) from courses you have done well in and have enjoyed. Even if the professor is not currently seeking an undergraduate researcher, he or she may know of colleagues that are seeking research assistants within your discipline.
- Consult an academic advisor from your department to inquire about faculty members currently conducting research in your discipline.
- Here is a listing of UH faculty members seeking undergraduate researchers to assist them in ongoing research projects. This list is not comprehensive. There are many other faculty members on campus conducting research. If you are interested in any of these positions, get in touch with the contact person to discuss the potential of working with them over the summer for the SURF program.
Applications:
The online application will include:
- A statement of research objectives and goals not to exceed 500 words,
- Three short answer questions about your academic and research experience,
- A letter of recommendation from the faculty sponsor including a description of how the proposed research relates to their on-going research.
An email version of the faculty letter should be submitted to Office of Undergraduate Research no later than March 24th. The letter should be emailed to Karen Weber.
The statement of research should:
- Be composed in consultation with the faculty sponsor
- Be written in your own words—not in your faculty sponsor's words
- Be written in first person
- Discuss the relative importance of the proposed research within its discipline
- State the specific tasks to be accomplished during the semester program
- Define the scope and goals of the proposed research
- Be checked for any spelling or syntax errors before being submitted
Competitive applications generally include:
- Demonstrations of strong student academic record
- Research proposals that are clear, thorough, within the 500-word limit, free of errors in spelling, grammar, and syntax, and in the student's own words
- Research proposals with clear, realistic goals that help the student focus and indicate that the project will lead to a substantive research experience for the student
- Descriptive and informative faculty letter of recommendation (1-2 pages in length), especially addressing the prospects for results in the project time frame, the value of the research project, and the ability of the student to undertake it
How to Apply:
- Students who wish to apply for this program must first identify a UH faculty mentor
- The student must fill out and application form online.
- The UH faculty member must submit a letter of recommendation that describes the student's qualifications; identifies the area of research, creative or scholarly activities in which the mentor will engage the student; and describes the faculty member's role as mentor to the student.
- The faculty letter of recommendation should be emailed to Karen Weber. If you prefer to mail a hardcopy of the letter, please mail it to:
Office of Undergraduate Research
ATTN: PURS Spring 2009 Program M/C 2001
211 MD Anderson Library
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-2001
Please contact Karen Weber, the Program Director, or Stuart Long, the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Research, if you have any questions or if you require additional information.