Thursday, Jan. 9 in the Libraries East Reading Room, Chris Honholt held an information session about two of the undergraduate research funding programs here at Tech; those being the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) which runs during the summer semester and the Undergraduate Research Internship Program (URIP) which runs from the middle of Sep. to early Mar. These programs aim to help students get involved in faculty research with SURF offering 15 fellowships of $4,000 this summer and 15-17 URIP grants which supply $14 an hour for 156 hours of research (approximately $2,194 total). These programs aim to help students get into undergraduate research programs that help build autonomy, develop a professional outlook, and gain exposure to research. In an interview with Chris Honholt who leads both programs, he said that the most valuable thing students gain from these programs is a “pivot from a student to a professional mindset.”
This information session went over the application process for these programs, with the SURF application closing Feb. 7 at 5 p.m., decisions expected to come out Mar. 1; and URIP applications closing Mar. 21 at 5 p.m. Application forums can be found on the MTU SURF and URIP web pages. Both applications have three components– a base application forum where students input their personal information, time commitments, mentor information, etc.; a two-page project description detailing their project purpose, scope, and what they hope to accomplish– which is what a committee will judge to award support; and a faculty letter of support.
For the application, students must seek out and find their faculty advisor. It is recommended that students go onto the MTU webpage to find staff who are actively participating in research and reach out to them via email. If students are already in a research program, they can still apply for either SURF or URIP, and the money will act as an extra funding source for their research. Students who get funding will have to present their research either at a conference or during the spring Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium. The next symposium will be on Mar. 21, 2025, and it is recommended that students who are interested in URIP go to see what other students are doing in their research.
For more information on both SURF and URIP programs or the application process, please visit their respective websites or contact Chris Honholt at cahohnho@mtu.edu.
