Chemistry Research for Medicine and Energy REU Program
Apply
The summer 2024 application deadline is February 5, 2024. We will be accepting applications from January 4 to February 5, 2024.
Applications are managed by the NSF’s ETAP website.
Eligibility
The program seeks motivated students with an interest in the chemical sciences who are currently in their first three years of undergraduate studies in chemistry or other program-relevant disciplines, including biochemistry, biology, physics, and engineering.
Competitive applicants should be in good academic standing in their home institutions, as supported by their transcripts and recommendation letters.
Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents.
Students from historically underrepresented groups in graduate education or STEM fields and students from community colleges are especially encouraged to apply. Students from the University of Rochester are not eligible. International applicants are encouraged to apply to our i-Scholars program.
Current University of Rochester students are not eligible to participate in this program.
Application Material
We recommend preparing all the application materials offline before starting the process, so you can submit the form in a single session. Here is the checklist of documents required for the application:
- Personal contact information
- A personal statement (maximum of one page, to be cut/pasted into the online application) containing all of the following:
- Personal justification for participation to the program
- Statement of research interests and long-term professional goals
- Brief explanation for the choice of three faculty mentors of interest
- The ETAP site requests your test scores (SAT, ACT or GRE) but we will not look at that information at all, so feel free to skip it.
- Selection of preferred research areas (Pick two from: organic, inorganic, physical, theoretical, biological, nuclear, or materials) and three University of Rochester faculty mentors of interest
- Copy of your personal resume or CV (as PDF file)
- A scanned copy of your official or unofficial transcript(s)*
- Contact information (including email address) of two professors or other mentors who are familiar with your academic abilities and who are will willing to provide a letter of recommendation on your behalf (for full consideration, recommendation letters must be received by the application deadline)
- Albeit not requested at the time of the application, applicants admitted into the program may be required to provide proof of US citizenship or US permanent residence status, in the form of a scanned copy of your passport or permanent resident card (‘green card’), or other documents allowed by USCIS
*Please note that unofficial copies of academic transcript(s) are accepted for the application review process, but official copies must be submitted if admission to the REU program is offered and accepted.
Application Review Process
Review of applications will begin immediately after the application deadline. For full consideration, complete applications inclusive of the two recommendation letters must be received before the deadline.
Selection decisions will be made and communicated to the applicants who submitted complete application packages by the end of March. Students accepted into the programs are typically given a week to accept the offer or decline our offer.
After admission, the admitted students are put in contact with the faculty mentor and arrangements are made for their orientation, travel, and accommodation to the REU site.
Financial Support
The program provides students with a competitive stipend of $5,500 for the entire 10-week program, which is supplemented with free on-campus housing, and additional funding for travel and living expenses. Housing is provided through dormitories located on campus and equipped with shared cooking facilities.
Students have free access to the University's libraries and other resources available to summer students at the University of Rochester.
Diversity Statement
Our department firmly believes that all individuals interested in pursuing education, research, and/or teaching in the chemical sciences should have an equal opportunity to do so in a welcoming, encouraging, and equitable atmosphere. Please consult our diversity, equity, and inclusion page for more information about our vision, shared values, and efforts toward building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment at the University of Rochester.