Summer Research Opportunities in Engineering

The Summer Research Opportunities in Engineering (SRO) is a fantastic opportunity for students in both high school and attending local community colleges to experience VCU Engineering through experiential learning.  SRO is a very hands on, practical approach that allows students to develop research skills, build relationships with graduate student and faculty mentors, grow professionally through required workshops, and represent their work at a end of term symposium.

What to Expect

The goal of SRO is to give both high school students and students attending local community colleges a research experience resulting in sufficient data to support a presentation. At the same time, the program provides graduate students and postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to develop critical skills in mentoring students. These are skills that will benefit them in their future careers, whether in academia or industry.

Summer Research Fellows

• Fellows will work with a Ph.D. student and faculty member on a research project
• Fellows will be expected to work a minimum of 60 hours during the summer, dates are on the application
• Fellows will prepare a poster based on their research project and will present it at the closing ceremony at the end of the program
• Applicants will be selected based on their academic achievements
• Fellows will receive a fee waiver when they apply for undergraduate admission to VCU
• Fellows will conduct weekly Zoom workshops with relevant VCU professionals to assist with their project

Summer Research Mentors

• Research mentors will design and submit an appropriate research project proposal for the student
• The proposal must also contain a letter from the faculty mentor confirming their willingness to provide support for the project, including any supplies needed
• Each research mentor will receive $300 support for supplies needed to support the research project