Undergraduate Research
The opportunity for undergraduates to perform research by directly working with faculty and graduate students is a feature the faculty in the Division of Engineering cherishes. Upon graduation, it is the early training in the laboratory that provides students with a leg-up on the competition when applying for jobs, graduate schools, etc. If you think outside the box and enjoy tackling broad and challenging problems, interlaced with other disciplines, the Division of Engineering can provide you with those opportunities.
Several faculty regularly hire undergraduate students to participate in externally funded research projects during the summer months. For example, Brown's NSF supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center appoints between 4 and 10 undergraduate students every year (interested students should contact the Center for Advanced Materials Research). Such appointments are made on a competitive basis and are contingent on the availability of external grant support. Generally sophomore and junior year students tend to be better qualified than first year students.
In addition, the DiMase family has generously endowed an annual summer fellowship for an Engineering undergraduate student who is especially motivated to acquire research skills during the summer. The fellowship consists of a merit based internship which provides a stipend to support 10 weeks of research. To apply for the fellowship, students work with a professor to submit a research proposal to the Engineering Executive Committee. The deadline for applications is usually the end of March.
There are also several Brown programs that fund summer internships. Two examples are Brown's Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantship (UTRA) program, and the Royce fellowship program.
The UTRA program supports approximately 200 Brown undergraduate students each year to work on collaborative research or teaching projects. Brown's intent is that each project is shaped by the interests, experience, expertise and skills of the two collaborators. To apply for UTRA support, students and their faculty mentors submit a proposal to a university committee. More details concerning UTRA applications are available from the Dean of the College.
The Royce fellowship program recognizes twenty-five undergraduates who have gained distinction for their scholarship and leadership. Fellows receive individual awards of up to $4,000 during the academic year and/or the summer, and supports research, curricular development or public service programs of each fellow's choosing and confers lifetime membership in the Society of Royce Fellows.
Students interested in arranging internships should seek the advice of faculty who run research programs in their area of interest. They will then need to secure funding for their project, from one of the sources listed above.
