CRA-W/CDC Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Opportunity Description:


DREU is a highly selective program that matches students with a faculty mentor for a summer research experience at the faculty mentor’s home institution.

DREU interns have the opportunity to be directly involved in a research project and interact with graduate students and professors on a daily basis. This experience is invaluable for those who are considering graduate school; DREU will provide a close-up view of what graduate school is really like and increase interns’ competitiveness as an applicant for graduate admissions and fellowships. Faculty mentors will have the opportunity to work on their research project with new students from other institutions and to mentor future graduate students.

DREU was a joint project of CRA-WP and the Coalition to Diversify Computing (CDC). DREU is supported by the National Science Foundation. Additionally, DREU partners with other organizations committed to broadening participation in computing to administer their summer REU programs including, the NSF funded Institute for African-American Mentoring in Computer Sciences (iAAMCS), and the NSF funded Alliance for Access to Computing Careers (AccessComputing).

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number (1840724). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Minimum Qualifications and/or Eligibility Requirements: 

Applicants should be students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree at an institution in the U.S or its territories. Applicants should be interested in doing research in the computing field. International students may apply, however most of the funds for the DREU program are restricted to US citizens and permanent residents, so the number of non-US student participants will be limited. Priority will be given to students who have completed two to three years in a CS or CE major by the program start date, however all applicants are considered

Application Process: 

Students may identify potential mentors they wish to work in their application, although this is not a requirement. In addition, students may indicate a preference regarding the gender and/or the ethnicity of their mentor. However, students are not paired with professors at their home institution.

The application requirements include:

  • Application information
  • Educational history
  • Coursework; research interests; technical skills
  • Mentor, date & location preferences
  • Letters of recommendation (2+)
  • Transcript
  • CV/Resume
  • Brief statements
  • Research statement (include what, if any, research you have already conducted and discuss any new areas of interest. There is no required length or format: 1-2 paragraphs should suffice)
  • Statement of Honor & GDPR questions

Application deadline: December 15 for early action, February 15 for general deadline. 

For more information on this opportunity, please contact:
Website/CV: 
https://cra.org/cra-wp/dreu/#overview