Overview of the Summer Fellows Program

This is the chance for you to do something you want to do, and it can lead to truly amazing things: previous Summer Fellows have gone on to get grants, fellowships, and publications—in addition to the satisfaction of completing a project that is truly their own.

Every summer, 70-80 students spend eight weeks on campus working on research and creative projects that they have come up with or working on faculty research. They get invaluable faculty mentorship, a room on campus, and at least $3000 to do it. Unlike other schools, this isn’t just for students in the sciences: at Ursinus, it’s open to any rising junior or senior who has a good idea and the plan to pursue it.

The Summer Fellows program runs from Tuesday, May 28 through Friday, July 19, 2024.  The program closes with the annual Summer Fellows Symposium, where students present their work to a general audience.

Details

The Summer Fellows program at Ursinus allows you as a sophomore or junior to pursue an independent scholarly project under the close tutelage of a faculty mentor, when both you and the professor have more time to devote exclusively to research.

Your project can be undertaken as independent research or a creative or artistic endeavor. You will do eight weeks of full-time study while living on campus and receive a $3000 stipend and a room on campus.

Your faculty mentor will help shape and direct your project, and weekly common hour meetings are scheduled to bring all Summer Fellows and mentors together as an intellectual community. All fellows present their research during the last week of the program, and many fellows present at Family Day, the Celebration of Student Achievement, and at professional conferences off campus.

Application

Applications for Summer Fellows projects have three parts.

1. A completed online application (available here with a deadline of February 9, 2024).

2. A letter of recommendation and support from the Ursinus faculty member who will supervise the project. (The candidate faculty member will be contacted for a rec letter, due February 16, 2024.) If the project is completed off campus, there must also be a letter from the off-campus mentor. If the Ursinus faculty mentor or outside mentor has financial support that can be used to support the Summer Fellow, that support should be detailed in this letter.

3. A second letter of reference from an Ursinus faculty member unaffiliated with your project, attesting to your academic ability. (The candidate faculty member will be contacted for a rec letter, due February 16, 2024.)

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We Challenged 2018 Summer Fellows to explain their research in 60 seconds

View 2018 Summer in :60 Videos