DLS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

Overview: 

This fellowship is intended for undergraduate Life Sciences majors pursuing novel, independent research under the supervision of a Division of Life Sciences faculty member. Awardees are expected to work in the lab full-time (35 hrs/week) for 10 weeks and present at our summer poster session in August. 

Award: $4,000 

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM PROCEDURES AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

The Fellowship is open to declared Life Science majors (Biological Science (119), Cell Biology and Neuroscience (146), Genetics (447), and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (694) and Exercise Science (377)) pursuing novel, independent undergraduate research under the supervision of a Division of Life Sciences faculty member from one of the departments listed above. 

You must be eligible to work in the U.S. to be awarded a fellowship.  Preference will be given to students who have not previously been awarded the DLS SURF fellowship.

The SURF committee will also consider the feasibility of the proposed research, the applicant's GPA, and  rigor of their coursework.

Applicants need to have secured placement in a laboratory with a Research Mentor, who is a faculty member from the CBN (https://cbn.rutgers.edu/people/faculty), Genetics (https://genetics.rutgers.edu/people/faculty), or MBB (https://mbb.rutgers.edu/people/faculty) undergraduate programs, or Kinesiology & Health https://kines.rutgers.edu/faculty/faculty ( prior to applying for this fellowship) and must  have previous research experience in the lab.  This fellowship application requires that the applicant's DLS Faculty Research Mentor provides a letter of support for the applicant and the applicant must prepare a 1-2 page research proposal. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

The DLS-SURF program fellowships are  for full-time (35 hours/week) research for a period of 10 weeks starting June 2, 2025.    Full time DLS- SURF recipients are NOT allowed to register for any summer course credits that meet during work hours..  DLS -SURF recipients are NOT allowed to receive concurrent fellowships.

Fellows are required to a create a research poster of their research and present at our poster session scheduled for Thursday, August 7, 2025. Fellows also submit a brief 2 page summary of their results at the end of the fellowship period.  

There is one single application for the  fellowships offered through DLS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program- the  DLS-SURF and HGI-SURF. You may apply for more than one type of fellowship, if eligible. If you have any questions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Review the requirements carefully to ensure you are eligible. Ineligible students will not be evaluated.

(A) Materials to be Contributed by the Student Applicant:

      (1) Application cover page  (download here)

      (2) Current transcript (unofficial)    

      (3) CV or resume

      (4) Research proposal (1-2 pages- do not  exceed 2 pages)

Please have all of above information completed before beginning your application in the portal. Please save the above required items  individually and before uploading, be sure to name each document with: Last Name, First Name, SURF25 and application item name. Upload each item separately.  Example document file names: Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25Coverpage, Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25CV,  Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25transcript, and Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25proposal. Thank you!

Please use the following link to submit your completed application:

DLS Summer Undergraduate Research Program Fellowship Application Portal

(B) Materials to be completed by the Faculty Research Mentor:

      (1) Mentor statement supporting the student’s application, an outline of the laboratory environment, plans for student training and supervision, and certification that the lab possesses sufficient resources to fund the proposed project.

      Faculty should email mentor statements directly to the Coordinator of the DLS Summer Fellowship Program, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Completed applications (including Faculty Research Mentor statements) are due by Monday, April 14, 2025.

Incomplete applications  or applications of ineligible students will not be considered.

Award notification: Fellows will be notified by early May by an award letter emailed to their Rutgers email account. We request a response to the award letter within one week.

Overview:

This fellowship is intended for Genetics majors who are pursuing novel, independent cancer genetics or cancer genomics research under the supervision of a Rutgers-NB faculty member. Awardees are expected to work in the lab full-time (35 hrs/week) for 10 weeks and present at our summer poster session in August.

Award: $4,000

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM PROCEDURES AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

The Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey MacMillan Cancer Genetics Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (HGI-SURF) award includes a $4000 stipend for a 10 week  full-time summer research experience. The Fellowship is funded by the Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey and by a generous endowment from Duncan and Nancy MacMillan.

The Fellowship is open to declared Genetics (447) majors pursuing novel, independent cancer genetics/genomics research under the supervision of a Rutgers–New Brunswick faculty member.

You must be eligible to work in the U.S. to receive a fellowship. 

Preference will be given to students who have not previously been awarded a Division of Life Sciences summer fellowship.

The SURF committee will also consider the feasibility of the proposed research, the student's GPA, and the rigor of their coursework.

Applicants need to have secured placement in a cancer genetics/genomics laboratory with a Research Mentor prior to applying for this fellowship and should have previous research experience.  This fellowship application requires that the applicant's Faculty Research Mentor provides a letter of support for the applicant and the applicant must prepare a 1-2 page research proposal. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

The HGI-SURF program fellowships are full-time (40 hours/week) fellowships for a period of 10 weeks starting  June 2, 2025 and ending August 8, 2025.  Full time HGI-SURF recipients are NOT allowed to register for  summer course credits that meet during the work hours. HGI-SURF recipients are NOT allowed to receive a concurrent fellowship.

 Fellows are required to a create a  poster of their research and present at our poster session scheduled for Thursday, August 7, 2025. If you are unable to fulfill this requirement, you should not apply for the fellowship. Fellows also submit a brief 2 page summary of their results at the end of the fellowship period.

Application deadline and procedures

There is one single application for the fellowships offered through DLS Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program- the DLS-SURF and HGI-SURF. You may apply for more than one type of fellowship, if eligible. If you have any questions, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  Review the requirements carefully to ensure you are eligible. Ineligible students will not be evaluated.

(A) Materials to be Contributed by the Student Applicant:

      (1) Application cover page  (download here)

      (2) Current transcript (unofficial)    

      (3) CV or resume

      (4) Research proposal (1-2 pages- do not  exceed 2 pages)

Please have all of above information completed before beginning your application in the portal. Please save the above required items  individually and before uploading, be sure to name each document with: Last Name, First Name, SURF25 and application item name. Upload each item separately.  Example document file names: Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25Coverpage, Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25CV, Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25transcript, and Carr-SchmidAnneSURF25proposal. Thank you!

Please use the following link to submit your completed application: '

DLS Summer Undergraduate Research Program Fellowship Application 

(B) Materials to be completed by the Faculty Research Mentor: 

   (1) Mentor statement supporting the student’s application, an outline of the laboratory environment, plans for student training and supervision, and certification that the lab possesses sufficient resources to fund the proposed project.

Faculty should email mentor statements directly to the Coordinator of the DLS Summer Fellowship Program, Dr. Carr-Schmid.

Completed applications (including Faculty Research Mentor statements) are due by Monday, April 14, 2025

Incomplete applications or applications of ineligible students will not be considered.

Award notification: Fellows will be notified by early May by award letter emailed to their Rutgers email account. We request a response to the award letter within one week.