Summer Research Opportunities
Why should I participate?
- Gain more research experience
- Get paid for your research
- Live in a different state or country for a summer
- Meet people who are as passionate about your field as you
General things to keep in mind if you are interested in summer research:
- Most programs require or strongly encourage at least one year of research experience prior to beginning the summer program.
- Plan ahead! Try to at least spend your junior year doing undergraduate research at MNSU so you can spend your summer before you graduate in a research program. More ideally, however, you would already have one year of research under your belt before applying.
- Programs may require current status as an undergraduate (i.e. if you graduated in May, you may not qualify for the summer program).
- Deadlines for programs usually vary from November through February prior to the summer you are interested in doing research, so have a running list of the programs you wish to apply to and all of their requirements early in the fall.
- Almost all programs will require multiple recommendation letters- be proactive and ask for these very early in the fall semester.
- Apply for many programs (at least 10). It is not uncommon to apply for 10-15 programs and only receive 1-2 acceptances.
Why should I participate in a summer research program?
- Drastically improves your chances of acceptance into graduate programs, primarily those that will involve research (e.g. Master's, PhD, and MD/PhD programs).
- Provides you with greater research experience, tools, and preparation for furthering your education in graduate programs.
- If you research at an academic institution, you can develop relationships with faculty and admissions counselors to improve your chances of acceptance into that institution.
- Expand your job resume in demonstrating your ability to problem-solve and work in a team setting, as well as improve your public speaking skills through dissemination of your project.
- Many programs provide the chance for students to be paid to live in and experience a new city, state, or country.
This is not an exhaustive list of programs. If you don't see one in a university, location, or topic you're interested in, a quick internet search should let you know what other opportunities exist.
Engineering and Math
The Undergraduate Research Center and the Office of University Fellowships have partnered to offer interested engineering students support and assistance with their REU applications. To schedule a time to meet with the graduate assistants in these offices, email the Undergraduate Research Center (urc@mnsu.edu) or the Office of University Fellowships (fellowships@mnsu.edu) or visit their office in Morris Hall 265.
- Integrated Nanomanufacturing, Boston University
- UAV Technologies Summer Research Experience, California State Polytechnic University
- Solid State Devices for Electronics, Photonics, and Magnetics Technology, Clemson University
- Engineering and Computing in Rehabilitative and Assistive Technologies, Cleveland State University
- Summer Programs by Mathematical Association of America
- Department of Applied Mathematics Summer Research Opportunities, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Harvard Mathematics Department Summer Program
- Mathematical Science Undergraduate Research Programs, Carnegie Mellon University
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Health Sciences
- Life Science Summer Undergraduate Research Program (LSURP), University of Minnesota
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington State University, St. Louis
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute Internship Program, Harvard University
- Interdisciplinary Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University of Iowa
- Amgen Scholars Program of Science and Biotechnology - program locations vary (United States- Harvard, UCLA, Washington University, NIH, Caltech, Duke, Columbia, Johns Hospkins, Yale, UT Southwestern, Berkeley, Stanford, UCSF; Europe; Asia; Canada; Australia).
- Marine Sciences Summer Program, University of Delaware
- Medical Education Development Program (MED), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- Program Health Emergency Medicine, NYU Langone Health
- Programs in Biomedical Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Sciences (PIPES), University of Hawaii, Hilo
- Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Microbiology, University of Iowa
- Agriculture and Life Sciences-George Washington Carver Internship, Iowa State University
Psychology
- Summer Psychology Research Internship Program, Pace University
- Arts and Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Columbia University
- Brooklyn College Psychology and Neuroscience REU Program, Brooklyn College
- Michigan Summer Program in Cognition and Early Development, University of Michigan
Art
- Arts and Sciences Summer Research, Columbia University
- Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities, University of Washington
- Arts and Humanities Undergraduate Research Programs, Pacific University of Oregon
- Arts Administration Internship Program, Stanford University
- Summer Research in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Fine Arts, College of the Holy Cross
- Americans for the Arts Internships
- Summer Scholars and Artists Program, Binghamton University, NY
- Research in Arts Scholarship Program, University of South Florida
Geography and Geology
- Geography Research Opportunities, Ohio State University
- Interdisciplinary Geospatial Approaches to Watershed Science, University of Iowa
- Global Studies and Geography Internships, Hofstra University
- Geography, Environment, and Society Internships, University of Minnesota
- National Geographic Society Internships
- Geology Summer Research Opportunities, Amherst College
- NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics Summer Internship
- Earth and Planetary Science Internships
