The School of Earth Sciences is pleased to announce that it will be offering up to 25 students full-time stipends of $5200 to conduct research over the summer of 2009. Students at all levels and in all majors are welcome to apply.
Visit the "Potential projects" page (see link in the left navigation) to explore projects for which faculty and graduate students are seeking undergraduate students. These projects are not the only possibilities, however: you may design a research project of your own with a faculty member of your choosing in the School of Earth Sciences. Funding priority goes to current and prospective students in any of the departments and programs within the School of Earth Sciences who have not yet received departmental funding: sophomores, freshmen, seniors, and juniors, in that order. Juniors are strongly encouraged to apply for Major Grants.
Students may apply to work with any faculty member in the School of Earth Sciences, which includes the departments of Energy Resources Engineering, Environmental Earth System Science, Geophysics, and Geological and Environmental Sciences. Faculty advisors in the Earth Systems Program who have an appointment in the School of Earth Sciences are also eligible.
The program
Students who participate in the 2009 Summer Undergraduate Research Program are required to:
1. Enroll in Geophys 101A (1 unit) during spring quarter to prepare for summer research. Optional – enroll in directed reading units with your advisor
2. Rewrite your proposal by the end of spring quarter to reflect additional background research
3. Attend a weekly lunch seminar series during the summer (when on campus), which will include lectures by faculty and workshops on poster-making and oral presentations
4. Participate in SURPS by submitting an abstract and presenting a poster
5. Participate in a School of Earth Sciences undergraduate symposium in the fall by giving a 15-minute oral presentation about your work.
6. Fill out program evaluations at the mid-point and end of the program
To apply
In order to apply, you must submit an application form and project proposal (via this website) developed in conjunction with a faculty and/or graduate student advisor. The proposal, limited to 5 double-spaced pages, should include:
- Basic information: a title, your name, and the name of your faculty and/or graduate student advisor
- A description of the project: what is the broad question you will be addressing? How will you address it? What other work has been done in this area?
- A tentative work plan for the summer: when do you plan to be in the field? When will you be on campus? Do you need to schedule lab time?
- A budget: you may request up to $520 per 40-hour week for 10 weeks on campus or equivalent field expenses, plus an additional $500 for laboratory supplies or analysis. (For research during Winter, Spring or Fall quarters, you may request up to $130 per 10-hour week.) Please make a list of expenses and total them. If you are conducting research on campus, you do not need to detail living expenses, you may simply list the stipend and amount.
Proposals are due by midnight, Sunday, March 8, via this website. Keep in mind that your advisor will be prompted to approve the proposal once you submit it; proposals without advisor approval will not be accepted. You and your advisor will be notified of funding prior to spring break.
Interested but don’t know where to start?
Talk to a professor whose class you liked, or visit Anne Egger or Julie Kennedy for ideas. If you are interested in Geophysics, visit Simon Klemperer; if you are interested in Energy Resources Engineering, visit Tony Kovscek; if you are interested in IPER, visit Helen Doyle.
