Undergraduate Research and Creativity

Summer research programs are held for 8 to 10 weeks at colleges, universities, laboratories, hospitals, and institutes across the country and abroad. They are usually intended for students after their sophomore or junior years of college, but there are an increasing number of programs that seek students after their first year. A student’s time at a summer research program is generally devoted to working in small groups with other undergraduate students on original research projects under the direction of a professional researcher.

Summer research programs usually pay each student a stipend of several thousand dollars to participate. In addition, they often cover travel and living expenses for the duration of the program and fund travel to present research at conferences.

Tips on applying to summer research programs

• Customize your application for each program. Indicate why you are specifically interested in that program.
• Many programs have special niches. For instance, they want to promote graduate school or they want to introduce laboratory skills to students who do not have much laboratory experience. Make sure your personal statement clearly highlights how you fit in this niche.
• Each program has different requirements for its participants, so pay close attention to them. For example, some programs expect their participants to have completed certain classes and the majority require U.S. citizenship.
• Emphasize your potential by mentioning any undergraduate research you have completed and any outstanding projects or term papers you have completed for your classes.
• Indicate any interest in graduate school that you may have. Note that programs in biological or medical fields generally prefer students who have an interest in graduate school rather than students who are strictly interested in medical school.
• Ask a professor in your major to read over your application materials.
• Every application will require recommendation letters. Do not wait until the last minute to request them from your professors!

Links to summer research opportunities on and off campus. 

• On Campus
  • DNA Computing Group
  • Dr. Albert H. & Greta A. Bryan Summer Research Program (Mathematics)
  • Simpson College Ecological Research Program
• Off Campus
  • Education and Social Sciences
    • Collaborations in Discipline-based Education Research 
    • “Hands-On, Minds-On”
    • ICPSR
    • Kentucky P20 Innovation
    • National Opinion Research Center 
  • Political Science
    • Research Experience for Undergraduates in Civil Conflict Management and Peace Science
  • Science, Technology, Mathematics, Neuroscience
    • Biomedical Research Apprenticeship Program (BioMedRAP) at Washington University in St. Louis (International students currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the United States are encouraged to apply)
    • National Science Foundation list – (if you are in a science, technology, mathematics, or neuroscience field, you should start your search for a summer program by searching the NSF list)
    • American Mathematical Society list (AMS)
    • American Physiological Society list (APS)
    • American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology list (ASBMB)
    • Center for Disease Control list (CDC)
    • Department of Homeland Security list (DHS)
    • NASA list
    • Oak Ridge National Laboratory list (ORNL)
    • The Ohio State University SUCCESS (Summer Undergraduate Course Creating Excellence in Scientific Study) Program
    • University of Alabama at Birmingham Summer in Biomedical Sciences (SIBS) Undergraduate Research Program
    • University of Alabama at Birmingham Preparation for Graduate and Medical Education (PARAdiGM)
    • University of Iowa – biological and medical sciences list (UI-B&M)
    • University of Nebraska – Lincoln summer research programs
      • Applied Plant Systems 
      • Bioenergy Systems 
      • Biomedical Engineering 
      • Chemistry   
      • Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) 
      • Minority Health Disparities  
      • Redox Biology 
      • Sustainability of Civil Infrastructures in Rural Environments 
      • Systems Biology of Plant and Microbiome 
      • Virology
    • Virginia Bioinformatics Institute list (VBI)
    • EDGE for Women at Purdue University
    • APS/IBM Research Internship for Undergraduate Women
    • Carleton College Summer Mathematics Program for Women
    • Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates
    • Gulf Cost Research Laboratory Summer Field Program
    • Integrated Biological Sciences Summer Research Program
    • Statewide Land stewardship Internships
    • Mathematical and Theoretical Biology Institute Summer Program
    • Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship
    • MSCS Research Experiences for Undergraduates
    • National Center for Toxicological Research – U.S. Food and Drug Administration
    • National Undergraduate Fellowship Program in Plasma Physics and Fusion Energy Sciences
    • Real-World Research Experiences for Undergraduates (National Weather Center)
    • Rice University Summer Institute of Statistics
    • Roswell Park Cancer Institute
    • Sanford Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR)
    • Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship program (Department of Energy)
    • Stowers Summer Scholars Program 
    • Summer Program for Undergraduate Research in the Biomedical Sciences
    • Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (Mayo Clinic)
    • Tackling the Environmental Grand Challenges of Engineering

We suggest that posters be presented on a 36-inch high by 48-inch wide tri-fold poster board. Lettering should be large enough to be legible at a distance of 5 feet. Presenters will be expected to display their work (Black Box Theatre, Kent Campus Center) during the morning registration session and return to stand with their posters during the Poster and Exhibit Session in the afternoon.  They will discuss their work with judges at this time and answer any questions attendees may have.

Presentations will be organized into sessions grouped by topics or disciplines, with each presenter allotted 12 minutes to speak and 3 minutes for audience questions. For work with multiple authors, the authors can decide among themselves their various roles in presenting within the 12 minute limit.  

Requirements vary according to the medium, so please consult a member of the Symposium committee for specifics. Performances should last no less than 10 minutes and no more than 20.

Research, scholarship and creativity may be defined broadly as any self-directed work that enables individual students or small groups of students to explore an issue of interest to them and to communicate the results to others. The projects involve inquiry, design, investigation, research, analysis, scholarship, discovery, application, writing and/or performance, depending on the topic. Each field may approach research, scholarship and creativity in its own way and with its own emphases. Students are encouraged to consult with a professor in their particular field as to whether or not their project is appropriate for the Symposium.

Visit main RCS webpage for specific dates and locations. For more precise times, see the schedule.

All currently enrolled undergraduate Simpson students are eligible to participate.

As long as it is your work, it is eligible for consideration. If your work involves collaboration with another individual, you must obtain their permission for you to present it at the Simpson Symposium; if your partner(s) is a Simpson student, you may present your work together.  

Presentations may be either individually or collaboratively created; however, though there is no limit on the number of authors involved in a project to be presented, due to time constraints no more than three students may make an oral presentation at the Symposium. Larger groups may wish to consider organizing a panel, but they will need a Simpson faculty member to apply for one.

Posters may present findings of a work that is currently still in progress. All other presentations, performances and exhibits must be in a completed state, according to the standards of their particular field, by the time of the Symposium.

No; each student application is for a single presentation, performance or poster (even if done collaboratively).  Groups that wish to make multiple presentations on a related theme should work with a faculty member, who could apply for a panel with discussion on the topic.

We encourage students to ask the faculty member who helped them with the research to be their sponsor.  If the research was conducted at another institution, we would suggest you connect with a trusted Simpson College faculty member for sponsorship.

You will be notified by email by March 22nd.

A committee of faculty from the Division in which the student’s work is undertaken will review abstracts with the assistance of Symposium organizers.

The unexpected is to be expected with research! Unless something major happens that would prevent you from completing your project, however, you do not need to inform the Symposium committee. When in doubt, consult your faculty sponsor.

No.  If you have a conflict with your scheduled time, please contact a member of the Symposium committee as soon as possible.

Absolutely!

We hope to have an on-line journal in which we will publish select papers presented at the Symposium.

No. The Symposium is free for participants and attendees.

Contact Professors listed on the main RCS webpage within a week of being accepted. Specify the exact audio-visual equipment you will need. 

Attire should be business casual or more formal (jeans are highly discouraged).  The Symposium is open to the public and many members of the Simpson community will attend along with their family and friends, so you should strive to make a good impression.

You are strongly encouraged to arrive at the room in which you are presenting at least 10 minutes before your session starts to introduce yourself to the session moderator.  You should plan on attending the entire session in which you are presenting.  The Symposium committee encourages you to attend as many Symposium sessions as possible to support and celebrate outstanding work completed by Simpson students.

A faculty sponsor is a member of the Simpson faculty who endorses your proposal and work as appropriate for submission to the Symposium. A faculty mentor is directly involved with your work, closely monitoring it and advising you throughout the process. A sponsor may also be a mentor but does not have to be.

All information will be sent directly to your Simpson email address.

Yes, presentations will be evaluated, and feedback sheets will be distributed to presenters in the weeks following the symposium.

Awards will be presented at the end of the day to students who have presented at the symposium for multiple years.

You are encouraged to practice your presentation before friends and your faculty sponsor. Be sure to time yourself. For specific questions about your presentation, consult a member of the Symposium committee.

Yes! Generally this would be under an “Awards and Honors” section of your résumé or curriculum vitae.