Summer Research Opportunities in Engineering program overview

The goal of the Summer Research program is to give high school students 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 proposal writing and mentoring students; skills that will benefit them in their future careers, whether in academia or industry. Therefore, the program requires the participation of the high school research fellows, their research mentors, and the faculty mentor in whose lab they will work.

Summer Research Fellows

VCU Engineering invites high school students interested in engineering or computer science to apply for a six week summer program. Summer Research fellows will be expected to work a minimum of 60 hours during the summer, current dates are on the application. At the end of the summer program, the student will be expected to prepare a poster based on the research project that they have been part of. Posters will be presented at the end of the program

Summer Research fellows will be selected based on their GPA (3.3 or higher), their resume, and their interest in research as evidenced by one letter of recommendation from high school math or science teachers and a personal statement. The application should contain an unofficial high school transcript, and a one page personal statement (single spaced with 1” margins and Arial font size 11). Fellows and mentors will then be matched. See application form for deadlines.

Summer Research Mentors

College of Engineering graduate students and post-doctoral fellows will serve as research mentors for the Summer Research fellows. Research mentors will design and submit an appropriate research project proposal for the high school student. Proposals should state the overall goal of the study, hypothesis to be tested (where appropriate), specific aims, significance and a brief background, and methods to be used. References may be provided on an additional page. The proposal must also contain a letter from the faculty mentor confirming their willingness to provide support for the project, including any supplies needed.

Eligibility

This fellowship is a six week commitment and is open to full time high school students entering their junior or senior year. See application form for relevant eligibility dates.

Contact

For application forms and guidelines, please contact: engrsro@vcu.edu