Summer Research Program for Division I and II Students
January 14, 2008
To: Faculty in Division I and II
From: John Gerry, Associate Dean of the Faculty
I am pleased to announce the continuation of a program that enables Division I and II students to engage in summer research in collaboration with Williams faculty. The program is open to current first-years, sophomores, and juniors. We offer a stipend of $3,600 for ten weeks and typically about 20 students are funded.
Many students look for summer work over Spring Break, so we hope to announce funded projects before students leave on March 14. In order to meet this goal, please submit a brief application in hard copy to the Dean of Faculty Office by Friday, February 29. The application must contain the following information:
- Name of faculty sponsor and department/program
- Project title and project description
- Name and class year of student
- Qualifications of the student for this project
- Starting date and number of weeks for the research project (10 weeks maximum, but shorter periods are fine, in which case the amount of the stipend will be calculated accordingly, at $360/week; the stipend level assumes a full-time 40-hour work week).
- Housing required? On-campus housing is available from Monday, June 9 thru Saturday, August 16 and we will pay for this as well. We don’t pay for student meals, even if they decline the free housing, but they can enroll in an economical meal plan with dining services.
- Is this request for a backup or supplement to another grant or fellowship?
Student participation in summer faculty research projects must be substantial and significant so as to provide authentic involvement in academic research. Projects comprised largely of clerical or background work performed by students will likely not be funded. There is no “residency requirement” per se, but it is certainly preferred that students spend a substantial amount of their time on campus, as one of the hopes of this initiative is to foster a student summer research climate on campus. There are clearly cases where research is best conducted elsewhere, in which case we ask that faculty sponsors be in a position to monitor the off-site research. Also, please note that current seniors are ineligible for this program, and that students should not plan to combine this opportunity with another campus job.
This program is not to be confused with the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUFP) or the Williams Undergraduate Research Fellowship (WCURF), both of which also support student summer research and are run out of the Office for Special Academic Programs.
I’d be happy to field any questions.