program
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
program
UC Irvine’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program offers undergraduate and master’s diversity students an opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors on research projects and provides an intense course of graduate preparation workshops. SURF is designed for students who plan to pursue a Ph.D. or M.F.A. degree 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.
2025 program dates: June 23 – August 15, 2025*
** Program dates are subject to change.
APPLICATION IS NOW OPEN: APPLY HERE
Deadline: January 24, 2025
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, SURF participants will have the opportunity to share information and experiences with participants of other diversity programs including UC LEADS and California Pre-Doctoral Program. 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 in their assigned labs or designated research projects for the full 8 weeks of the program (35-40 hours per week)
- 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
Eligibility
- Must be 18 years or older
- U.S. citizens, permanent residents, AB540 eligible
- Juniors, seniors or master’s students interested in pursuing a Ph.D.
- Must live within 25 miles from UCI and/or have reliable transportation (housing will not be offered). Students are expected to commute to UCI.
- All local students, including CSU Los Angeles, CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Fullerton students encouraged to apply
- Must have health insurance for the duration of the program
- Students who will be enrolled full-time at a college or university during the Spring and Fall 2025 terms
- Students with a 3.0 cumulative grade point average or better (on a 4 point scale)
- Students interested in attending UC Irvine for graduate studies
- Students from educationally disadvantaged or underserved backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply
- SURF is open to students in all academic fields offered at UCI (e.g., arts, humanities, social sciences, social ecology, biological sciences, engineering, education, computer sciences, and physical sciences)
- International students are not eligible for SURF
- UCI students are eligible for SURF
- Seniors graduating Spring 2025 are not eligible for SURF
- Enrolled in courses for Fall 2025
California Pre-Doctoral Program Scholars click here for more information on participating in SURF.
CSULB BUILD Scholars click here for more information on participating in SURF.
Funding Package for 2025 Program:
- Participants will be awarded a $5,000 research stipend. (*Note: Stipend is subject to income tax).
- Commuter parking pass.
- Meal plan
UCI Faculty Mentor Support
A UC Irvine faculty member supervising 8 weeks of summer research for a SURF student is eligible to receive $1,000 in their research account (upon submission of a required post-program questionnaire).
*Only active UCI ladder-rank faculty are eligible to serve as SURF mentors.
U. S Citizens, Permanent Residents and AB540 are eligible to apply. The opportunity is available to enrolled students only.
The program application requirements are a completed application, personal history statement, unofficial transcript, and one letter of recommendation.
No, the program will not offer housing to SURF students. Students will be expected to commute to UCI campus to participate in the program.
Most of the workshops are scheduled in the morning to allow program participants to focus on research in the afternoon.
Varies. This can range between 35-40 hours per week during the summer program.
The goal of the program is for students to acquire research experience full time. Our students are required to participate in research 35-40 hours per week.
Yes as long as they are faculty and can speak to your qualifications, academic success and potential for research.
Students are responsible for securing their own faculty mentor for the summer after being accepted to SURF. Students contact the faculty at UCI to ask about research opportunities for the summer and then take it from there. Information on UCI Faculty can be found here: https://www.faculty.uci.edu/ We encourage students to contact a faculty member whose research interests are aligned to their own.
The program will be held in person for Summer 2025