Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF REU-Site) Program Information

 

What Does the Program Pay For?

  1. Participants are awarded a "take-home" stipend of $5,000 (summer 2012)
  2. All room and board expenses
  3. Participant project expenses
  4. Travel to and from MLBS

Participants pay no fees or tuition charges of any kind.  Project and travel support is generous, but does require approval.

 

What is it Like Living at MLBS?

Program participants live together in rustic eight-person cottages with shared living room and bath.  Rooms are double-occupancy.  All station residents share three meals a day in the main dining hall.  ► More about living at Mountain Lake.

 

Eligibility

Applicants must be current undergraduate students and must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions. An undergraduate student is a student who is enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree. Students who are transferring from one college or university to another and are enrolled at neither institution during the intervening summer may participate. Students graduating in the May before the program are not eligible for the MLBS REU-Sites program. Only applicants who are returning to an undergraduate program after the summer REU program are eligible.  ► More on NSF eligibility information.


Application Procedure and Requirements

Complete application and reference letter must be submitted using the on-line forms by the deadline date. Applications are evaluated based on three components - essay, reference letter, course experience.  Applications must be submitted in English. Incomplete applications can not be considered:

  1. A one-page (600 word) essay written by the applicant, and uploaded with the application. The essay should stress (a) the experiences that qualify you for this research internship, (b) your interests and professional goals, and (c) what you hope to achieve by spending the summer at Mountain Lake. 
  2. Transcript and GPAs. Electronic file of official or unofficial transcript must be uploaded with the application.
  3. One recommendation from a research mentor, academic advisor, or science instructor who knows you and your potential for research well. Nonacademic or "community" referees (e.g. coaches, religious leaders) are much less valuable.  Letter writers must complete the Reference Letter Form and upload their letter before the application deadline.  Link to reference letter form - http://mlbs.org/reureference

 

Academic Credit

REUs can not enroll in courses while participating in the REU program. But up to 12 hours of UVA academic "Research Credit" can be received while participating in the REU program. Applicants interested in this option should contact the station during the application period to make special arrangements.