Research in Sciences Summer Program FAQ
If you have any additional questions about the Research in Sciences summer program, please reach out to Anika (adane@wesleyan.edu).
- Eligibility
The Research in Sciences summer program is open to First Years, Sophomores, and Juniors currently enrolled at Wesleyan University. Students may apply for a fellowship each year and may receive funding for more than one summer.
Fellows work with faculty mentors affiliated with Archaeology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Enironmental Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Neuroscience and Behavior, Physics, Psychology, and the College of Design and Engineering Studies. You must have a faculty mentor and a research proposal to apply.
- Application Requirements
You will be asked to provide:
- A short essay describing your research interests, any previous experience, and how a summer research experience relates to your academic and professional goals (500 words)
- A draft titleof your proposed independent research project
- A concise description of your proposed independent research project (300 words)
- A copy of your Academic History (unofficial transcript)
- The name, department, and email of your proposed faculty mentor
- Faculty mentors will be asked to complete a reference form supporting your proposal
Applications for the CIS Research in Science fellowship are collected through submittable. The application will open in January 2025 and close March 7, 2025.
- Application Help
The application is hosted on Submittable, a social impact platform being used by Wesleyan's Gordon Career Center. Please follow the directions below to begin.
- Create a free Submittable account or sign in
- You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the application at a later date.
- Please note: Mentors will be notified of your request through your application in Submittable, and all must submit their statements by March 7. Your requests can and should be sent through Submittable as soon as you know who you will ask, to give your mentor time to complete and submit the forms by the deadline. As noted above: In Submittable you can send your mentor requests and save a draft of your work at any time, if you would like to finish filling out the application at a later date.
- If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission. Edits can only be made prior to the deadline.
- We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable account regularly. Check out the Submitter Resource Center or reach out to Submittable's customer support team with any technical questions here.
- Program Requirements
Research fellows are expected to:
- complete an independent research project.
- attend all required workshops and complete all assignments.
- participate in the Summer Science Symposium. Most of our fellows will present a poster. Students may also give an oral presentation.
The Research in Science Summer Program is an immersive in-person on-campus research experience. In a small number of select cases, research may be done remotely if required and strongly advocated by the faculty mentor. In many cases, research cannot be conducted virtually.
- Housing
Summer Research students are required to arrange their own housing. On-campus summer housing is available on a first-come first-serve basis. Your acceptance to the Research in Science summer program makes you eligible to apply. We will link the applicatiobn for summer housing when it becomes available. If you have questions, contact the Office of Residential Life directly at 860-685-3550 or submit a ResLife Help Ticket through your WesPortal.
On-campus housing may be available at no charge or at a reduced rate for students with high financial need. If you feel you are eligible for this, please check the relevant box on the summer housing application and the Office of Residential Life will verify your eligibility.
- Dining
- Transportation
Wesleyan's Transportation Department offers a grocery shuttle to two Middletown grocery stores, Aldi and Price Chopper. During the summer program this free service operates every Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. The van leaves from the Usdan University Center to Aldi and Price Chopper and returns.
WesPass Program: River Valley Transit buses are FREE for students! Just show your WesID when you hop on a bus and you're good to go.
River Valley Transit buses stop at the corner of William/High Streets (Route 583, Route 584, and Route 590) and at the downtown Middletown terminal every 50 minutes. Use the Trip Planner to figure out your route, your stop, and when the bus is coming (scroll down below the map). Additional bus stops near campus are now on the Wesleyan map or you can see this handy poster of nearby destinations. Links to bus schedules are on the RVT website.
- Route 581 (Stop & Shop, Bob's Stores, Dollar Tree, Marshalls, Saybrook Rd. medical centers)
- Route 582
- Route 583 (Price Chopper, Big Lots, Chipotle, Goodwill)
- Route 584 (Shop Rite)
- Route 585 (Walmart)
- Route 590 gets you to Meriden Train Station in less than 20 minutes. In Meriden, you can connect to New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Bradley Airport, and beyond via train. Meriden is also home to the Meriden Mall with service on Saturdays. This poster gives more information on how to connect to other transit using MAT, or read more below.
- Route 644 connects Middletown to Old Saybrook, where you can get on an Amtrak or Shoreline East train
- Route 645 connects Middletown to Haddam, Killingworth, Clinton, and Madison (home to Hammonasset State Park)
- Work
The CIS RIS program is intended to be an immersive research experience and fellows should not accept a job during the program without prior authorization from the Director. These requests should be made in consultation with your faculty mentor.
- Fellowship Payment
Research fellows funded through a CIS fellowship will receive two lump-sum payments of $2500, one in June and one in July.
Payments made through AP to students are paid, by default, through a digital payment called Concourse (similar to Venmo). Concourse is a Digital Payment Solution through JP Morgan Chase. Concourse is a secure and easy way to pay our students through supplier invoices where we don't need to collect or store banking information. Students receive an email with instructions on how to easily connect their bank account to the Concourse platform, and funds will be deposited within one business day.
- Hourly Payroll
Research students who are funded through federal grants will be paid hourly at a rate of $17.50/hour for an expected 37.5 hours per week. A student who works all of these hours would receive approximately $5000 (gross).
- Named Fellows
Below are the named fellowships available to summer research students. Please read the guidelines carefully; not all students are eligible for each award. There is no additional application process; CIS assigns these fellowships based on the student's research proposal and faculty reference. Students who are awarded a named fellowship are expected to write a brief report of their summer research experience to be shared with the donor families and the Office of Advancement.
The Hume Fellowship will provide summer research support for two undergraduates each year. The fellowships will be awarded to students in Biology Department laboratories that also have a second student supported by the Research in Science Summer Program of the College of Integrative Sciences.
The Siegel Fellowship specifically supports summer research in neuroscience and behavior.
The Sonnenblick Fellowship supports first through third-year students conducting a summer research project in the scientific fields of astronomy, biology, chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry, molecular biophysics, neuroscience, and physics.
Rockefeller Fellowships are provided to participate in the RockEDU Science Outreach Program. The Rockefeller Fellowships are for students who have no prior research experience, but who have taken some of the introductory courses in Biology, MB&B, and/or Chemistry. Students interested in this program should email scienceresearch@wesleyan.edu for more information.
- CIS Majors
All CIS majors are required to spend at least one summer performing research. CIS majors are guaranteed to recieve a fellowship for their first summer research experience and do not need to apply separately.
CIS majors receive the same payment and credit for their summer research and must fulfill all the same requirements.