program

Summer Research Program for CSULB BUILD Students

program

UC Irvine’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program offers undergraduate and master’s CSULB BUILD students an opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors on research projects and provides an intense course of graduate preparation workshops. The program, which is designed for students who plan to pursue a Ph.D.  and enter academic careers, provides the tools needed to facilitate application, admission, and enrollment to graduate school. The SURF program is open to virtually all academic fields at UC Irvine. Qualified students with interest in pursuing their graduate program at UC Irvine are especially encouraged to apply.

Programs Components

Research Mentorship Experience
Scholars secure summer mentorship with UC Irvine faculty members whose special expertise and interests matches those of the student’s research interest and career goals. Faculty members serve as advisors and mentors and assist the scholars in developing and completing a research action plan.

Graduate School Preparation
Scholars participate in a graduate preparation component to provide special training in areas critical to academic success. This includes workshops and sessions on the following:

  • Successfully applying to graduate school
  • Successfully applying for fellowships
  • Academic writing
  • Preparing academic presentations
  • Academic career planning

Summer Research Program Symposium
SURF culminates with the Summer Research Program Symposium. All summer participants will present either an oral or poster presentation on their summer research. Preparation for participation in the symposium focuses on building effective oral communication to a range of audiences and helps participants hone their public speaking skills.

Networking Opportunities
Throughout the Summer Research Program, BUILD  participants will have the opportunity to share information and experiences with participants of other diversity programs including UC LEADS California Pre-Doctoral Program, SURF.  Participants will also be assigned to a Graduate Student Mentor who will help facilitate their participation in the program, and will serve as a peer mentor and point of reference for the student. This is a great opportunity for participants to gain insight into the life of a UC Irvine graduate student.

Expectations of Student Participants

  • Scholars attend and participate in all activities
  • Scholars must commit to working full-time in their assigned labs (35-40 hours per week) for the full 8 weeks of the program
  • Scholars will have individual academic and research obligations with their faculty mentor/advisor
  • Scholars should expect to meet at least once a week with their research mentor/advisor, or more often, depending on the project and the mentor’s arrangement
  • Scholars will be expected to meet with the program coordinator during regularly scheduled meetings to discuss the progress of their research project
  • Scholars will be required to submit weekly assignments, including program evaluation 
  • Scholars will be required to present their research at the University of California, Irvine Summer Research Program Symposium
  • Students are expected to commute to UCI. We are not offering housing.
Interested in Applying?

Application is now open!

Apply now

Contact:

Mariela Menendez
Recruitment Manager
E-Mail: ucigradprospect@uci.edu