Summer Research Internships
ABOUT THE SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM:
The 2010 Summer Research Internship (SRI) Program is an 8 week program (dates to be announced) where undergraduates participate in authentic laboratory research in the life sciences (with an emphasis in genomics/ bioinformatics and bioimaging). Students eligible to apply for these internships include all majors whose project is in the life sciences and have an overall GPA of 3.2 or better (preference will be given to sophomore and junior UMass students who are majoring in the life and physical sciences). This program is open to UMass undergraduate students only. National Exchange students do not qualify. Seniors are not eligible to apply.
Students will receive a summer stipend of $4,000 and the host lab will receive $600 for laboratory supplies. In addition to their research responsibilities, SRI participants will attend regular weekly meetings and will present their work to the UMass research community at a poster session at the end of the program. Before applying, students must identify a lab where they wish to conduct research. One of the most important parts of the application is the letter of reference from their faculty sponsor (the person in whose lab the student wishes to conduct research for the summer).
PLEASE NOTE: You will need to have identified a faculty sponsor and lab before applying. You do not need to be currently working in a lab or work in the lab before the summer, but you do need to have a faculty member agree to be your mentor and allow you to conduct research in his or her lab.
To apply for the 2010 Summer Research Internship Program, students will need to submit the following:
1) The SRI Program Online Student Application (available soon).
2) Unofficial copies of your undergraduate transcript(s).
The unofficial transcript can be downloaded from the student's SPIRE account and then uploaded to the SRI Program Online Student Application (see above).
3) An essay (no more than 1500 words) describing:
- your interests in the life sciences and your career aspirations.
- any prior research accomplishments.
- what you hope to gain from the program.
- what are your reasons for choosing/continuing in this particular research laboratory?
Essays can be uploaded into the SRI Program Online Student Application form.
4) Faculty sponsors need to fill out The Faculty Sponsor Application Form. Only the the student's faculty sponsor (the person whose lab the student will be working in during the summer) should fill out the Faculty Sponsor Form.
-The Faculty Sponsor Application form (available soon).
5) The second academic reference should be from another individual who can speak to your potential to succeed in a research internship (other than the faculty sponsor). This person needs to fill out the online Recommendation Form.
-The online Recommendation Form (available soon).
Please note that students will be asked to waive their right to access their recommendations forms and thus, under the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, if you waive your right to access these recommendation forms, the University of Massachusetts may therefore consider them confidential.
**Only completed applications will be considered.**
PROGRAM DETAILS:
Housing:
Finding summer housing is the responsibility of the student. A great resource for finding summer housing in the area is the UMass Off Campus Housing site.
Program Dates:
TBD
Time commitment:
Students are expected to commit full time to their research during the program's duration.
Stipend:
A total stipend of $4,000 will be awarded and the host lab will be given $600 for supplies to support the SRI participant's research.
Application Deadline:
Applications for summer 2010 will be available soon.
PROGRAM GOALS:
The Summer Research Internship program will accomplish five goals:
1) students will become conversant with the techniques and vocabulary of their research area as well as its physical and quantitative aspects
2) they will work full-time on a specific research problem.
3) they will form close and lasting relationships with their mentors.
4) they will communicate their progress and ideas with peers and faculty in weekly meetings.
5) they will learn to present research results and put their projects in the broader perspective of biomedical research in a poster session at the end of the program.
For more information, please contact:
Sebastian Z. Ramos
HHMI Undergraduate Science Program
241D Integrated Science Building
661 N. Pleasant St.
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
(413) 577-4147
szramos@bio.umass.edu
Previous Program Participants