Purdue Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
Opportunity Description:
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program provides an action-oriented research experience for undergraduate students to stimulate their interest in advanced education and research careers. Selected students engage in research this summer on Purdue's West Lafayette, Indiana campus! SURF matches undergraduates with a faculty member and graduate student mentor who introduce them to the research tools used on the cutting edges of science, engineering, and technology. (Open to Purdue students and undergraduate students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities.)
This competitive fellowship is a paid, 10-week, immersive summer research guided by the faculty and graduate student mentors. In addition to research activities, students will also participate in weekly professional development workshops. The program culminates with a student research symposium where all fellows present a technical poster or an oral talk. All participants are required to produce a final report submitted to the P.I. and the Engineering Undergraduate Research Office (EURO) to document their outcomes. SURF students participate in research activities on campus over 10-weeks during a 11-week program in the summer.
Why Participate in SURF?
- Receive pay to conduct hands-on research under the direction of a faculty member and a graduate student
- Attend professional development seminars
- Present research discoveries at the SURF Symposium
- Enjoy social activities with other SURF students
- Network with faculties and students that conduct research that is of interest to you
- Increase proficiency of technical communication
- Gain experiences to work towards your future career goals, with a particular focus on post-graduation education
- Celebrate at the end-of-summer banquet
SURF 2022 Program Dates:
- Application Window: 12:00 AM January 10, 2022 - 23:59 PM February 15, 2022 (US Eastern Time)
- Program Dates: May 23, 2022 – August 1, 2022
- SURF Symposium: July 28-29, 2022
- SURF Awards Reception: 10:30 AM-11:30 AM August 2, 2022
Primary Responsibilities:
The SURF program will use BrightSpace to support the program participants throughout their summer research experience. On BrightSpace, participants will find announcements, assignments, the seminar schedule, and resource materials. In order to successfully complete the program and receive the full summer stipend, each participant must fulfill the program requirements.
While participating in the SURF program, all students are expected to abide by the Purdue University Student Code of Conduct.
The SURF program is a 10-week research experience during a 11-week program. Vacations and time off are to be discussed with the faculties ahead of time and are subject to approval completely at the discretion of the faculties involved in the project.
Full-time SURF students may not enroll in classes while participating in the program. Part-time SURF students (applicable to PURDUE students only) may enroll in classes after gaining approval from the faculty mentor.
Minimum Qualifications and/or Eligibility Requirements:
Applicants for SURF must:
- be a full-time student currently enrolled at Purdue or another U.S. institution of higher education in a bachelor’s degree program
- is an undergraduate student and new to the Purdue SURF program - students can only participate in the Purdue SURF program once
- have completed one academic semester/quarter by the time of the SURF application
- continued to be enrolled as an undergraduate for at least one academic semester/quarter after the end of the SURF program
- have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8/4.0 at the time of application
- participate for the scheduled program period (alternate program dates are not available)
Application Process:
- Complete the application form: Describe your research experience, qualifications, relevant experiences, and career goals in the letter of interest and upload your resume.
- Send unofficial university transcript: Upload a PDF of your original transcript to the application system.
- Explore potential research projects: Talk to Purdue professors about your research interests and potential opportunities in their lab. Review the SURF list of research projects with undergraduate research positions. You can indicate your interest in these projects directly on the application by selecting up to three projects. Additional projects will be posted as they become available. Return to this list frequently to view new project postings but be aware that not every available SURF project will be posted here.
The student-project matching will continue through March, but all application documents must be received in the SURF office by the application deadline.