Our NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates program offers first-year (or the equivalent) students attending the extensive network of two-year colleges within commuting distance of UC San Diego an intensive and integrated early undergraduate research experience in the chemical sciences, at the frontiers of materials synthesis, human health and disease, energy and environmental science. Prior research experience is neither required nor expected. Students will work closely with faculty and graduate students on a research project related to their interests. And “local” has its advantages – including extended time for research, training, and mentoring!
Students will be fully immersed in all aspects of a research project in a faculty’s laboratory over a 10-week summer period, and will be encouraged to continue their work during the ensuing academic year.
Students will be mentored by chemistry faculty (from both UC San Diego and their college), post-doctoral researchers and graduate students, and will engage with their peers and members of the broader research community of the department and campus-wide.
Students will participate in faculty research seminars, academic skills workshops, industrial field trips, and group socials during the summer. Additional activities, including an Information panel on the University Transfer Process, will be featured during the academic year. The program culminates with a final presentation at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, at which travel awards to attend the American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting will be given to the top two research presentations.
Students may earn academic credit for research completed during the Fall quarter through UCSD Extension. (Note that the program does not cover enrollment fees.)
A stipend of $5000 (summer) and $1000 (academic year) will be granted. As participants will commute, the program will also cover the cost of campus parking.
The program spans a year, starting with an orientation to research in the late Spring, followed by a research placement in the Summer and Fall, and enrichment activities that extend to the next Winter.
U.S. citizen or permanent resident
First-year (or the equivalent), full-time enrollment in the physical or natural science (primarily chemistry and biology) at a community college in San Diego County.
Demonstrated interest in chemical research