Research Opportunities
Funded Research Opportunities for CLASS Undergraduates — Summer 2023
Most of these opportunities pay for travel and the majority of or all living expenses as well as provide stipends ranging from small to generous. You can get paid to do research or something else amazing!This is only a sample from Fall 2022.
Opportunities at the University of Houston
Note: These programs are coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards.
UH SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship)
- Purpose and benefit: 10-week independent research program; pays a stipend
- Deadline from past year: Mid-March
- What you will need: Independent project proposal (may be working with faculty member in area of his/her interest), faculty member who agrees to sponsor you and work with you
UH PURS (Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship)
- Purpose: Juniors and seniors participate in a research project in spring semester. Receive a $1,000 stipend.
- Deadline from past year: April (for fall), October or November (for spring)
- Purpose: “Supports underrepresented students (Hispanic, African American, Pacific Islander) and other undergraduates with a demonstrated commitment to the goal of building a diverse academy in the humanities. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is committed to training future scholars and supporting scholarship in the humanities." Students engage in summer research between their junior and senior years. Stipend.
- Deadline from past year: November
Opportunities elsewhere in the United States
Most of these opportunities pay travel & most or all living expenses, plus pay stipends ranging from small to generous. You can get paid to do research or something else amazing!
This is only a sample. Other opportunities may be announced later, so keep looking.
If you want to apply for any of these opportunities, discuss them with your professors as early as possible before the deadline so that they can help you prepare the best possible application.
Multiple Fields
Leadership Alliance Summer Research Early Identification Institute
Purpose: 8-week summer research institute for underrepresented groups in academia & medicine. Programs at 22 universities; some of them target Humanities and Social Sciences. Apply to up to three host universities.
Deadline: February 1, 2023
https://theleadershipalliance.org/summer-research-early-identification-program
Purpose: primarily for under-represented groups, for science and engineering, including social science. Intensive research experience.
Deadline for past years: rolling admissions, late October through January (though later applications are accepted).
Program takes place from May 31-August 5
https://www.rise.rutgers.edu/
SROP Multiple Universities
Purpose: promoting diversity in higher education, for students seriously considering graduate school for research degrees. These are mentored summer research opportunities, which give students 1-on-1 experience doing research. All STEM fields. Search under “SROP” for more information, and check if there is a social science option.
Examples:
Iowa: https://www.grad.uiowa.edu/diversity/SROP
Deadline: Feb 10, 2023
U Maryland School of Behavioral and Social Sciences:
http://www.bsos.umd.edu/diversity/summer-research-initiative
Deadline: February 10, 2023
SROP-Gateway to education at Big 10 universities:
https://btaa.org/resources-for/students/srop/how-to-apply
Deadline: February 10, 2023
UC Riverside Summer Mentoring Program
Purpose: To increase diversity of students pursuing doctoral degrees in California universities. Summer research experience.
Deadline for past years: February
https://grad.ucr.edu/register/MSRIP
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Moore Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (MURAP)
Purpose: “MURAP seeks to prepare talented and motivated underrepresented students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, or those with a proven commitment to diversity and to eradicating racial disparities in the academy, for doctoral study in fields in the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts.”
Deadline for past years: February
https://murap.unc.edu/fellow/summer-2023-information-session/
National Science Foundation Summer Institutes:
Including communications, economics, linguistics, political science, psychology, public history, security studies, sociology.
A small sample of the opportunities is listed below. Find full list here: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5054
New Mexico State University
Collaborative Site Program on Immigration Policy and US-Mexico Border Communities
Purpose: this program is designed to provide undergraduate students with training in research methods and opportunities to conduct collaborative projects with community partners on the nature and impacts of US immigration policy in the Paso del Norte borderlands region of Las Cruces-El Paso-Ciudad Juárez.
Deadline: Jan 6, 2023
https://borderreu.nmsu.edu/
The Ohio University
The Science of Language
Purpose: Conduct educational demonstrations at a public science museum and conduct research in linguistics, psychology, speech and/or hearing science. Particularly for students with coursework in Linguistics, Speech & Hearing Science, Psychology, Anthropology, Childhood Development, Education.
Deadline: January 31, 2023
https://u.osu.edu/blnsummer/
Community-Engaged Training for Advancing Health Equity
Purpose: An “interdisciplinary program aimed at conducting cutting edge social and behavioral research into understanding and reducing health disparities and in diversifying minority health researchers... Students will learn basic approaches to network science/SNA in order to employ these skills where possible in their summer research projects.” For students in Sociology, Psychology, Communication Studies, Public Health, Political Sciences, Anthropology, Child, Youth, and Family Studies, Educational Psychology, Ethnic Studies, Nutrition
Deadline: March 1, 2023
https://www.unl.edu/summerprogram/health
Vanderbilt University
Summer Program in Accountability, Behavior & Conflict in Democratic Politics provides mentored social science research experiences on topics related to accountability, behavior, and conflict in democratic politics. Located at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, the 8-week program provides mentored research experiences, skill-building sessions, and networking opportunities. In the program, REU co-directors, faculty affiliates, and selected graduate students will guide participants through two complementary experiences: an independent project and collaboration in a faculty affiliate’s project.
Deadline: Feb 6, 2023
https://lab.vanderbilt.edu/political-science-reu/
Social Sciences
American Bar Foundation Montgomery Summer Research Diversity Fellows in Law and Social Sciences
Purpose & benefits: “summer research fellowship for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds interested in pursuing graduate studies in the social sciences. This summer program is designed to introduce students to the rewards and demands of a research-oriented career in the field of law and social science.”
Deadline for previous year: February 1, 2023
http://www.americanbarfoundation.org/research/Fellowshipopportunities/Summer_Undergraduate_Research_Fellowship_Program.html
APSA Ralph Bunche summer institute
Purpose & benefits: summer institute for students who are considering graduate studies in political science. For minorities and those interested in conducting research on issues affecting minorities.
Deadline for previous year: January 23, 2023
For more information: https://www.apsanet.org/DIVERSITY/Ralph-Bunche-Summer-Institute
Hertog Foundation
Purpose: for students interested in political theory. Extensive courses with distinguished visiting scholars. Deadlines for past years: Feb 1, 2023 (early), March 1, 2023 (final).
For more information: https://hertogfoundation.org/programs/political-studies
International Relations
Charles B. Rangel Summer Enrichment Program
Purpose: 6 week program for students with interest in pursuing a career in International Affairs, held at Howard University, for students from under-represented backgrounds.
Deadline for previous year: February 7, 2023
For more information: https://rangelprogram.org/summer-enrichment-program/overview-eligibility/
PPIA Junior Summer Institutes
Purpose: 7 week summer program to prepare students for graduate study and careers in public and international affairs. Goal is to encourage more diverse perspectives in public service, including from economically disadvantaged. Institutes held at 5 universities, including Princeton, Berkeley & University of Michigan. Small stipend and costs paid. Those who complete the program are eligible for scholarships for M.A. programs.
Deadline for previous year: November 17, 2022
https://ppiaprogram.org/page/junior-summer-institute
Humanities
New York Public Library
Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute
Purpose: “Summer Institute to encourage minority students and others with an interest in African American, African and African Diasporan Studies to pursue Ph.D.s in the humanities”
Deadline for past year: February
https://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/schomburg-mellon-humanities-summer-institute
Library Company of Philadelphia
Mellon Scholars Summer Internship and Mellon Scholars Summer Workshop
Purpose: “to enhance the production of scholarly work in African American history of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries” and to “increase the participation of scholars from underrepresented backgrounds and others in the field of African American history prior to 1900.”
Deadline for past year: March 1, 2023.
https://librarycompany.org/mellon-scholars-internship-workshop-program-2/