VIGRE Internships and Stipends for Undergraduates

The recent VIGRE (Vertical Integration Grant for Research in Education) that was awarded to the Applied Mathematics, Mathematics, and Statistics departments has funds for ACMS undergraduates to work with faculty members (and their research groups) on research projects. This can include work with professors in other departments on campus, provided the work is of a mathematical nature.

Awards will be made by the VIGRE committee based on the preparation of the student to do research, the commitment of the research supervisor to mentor the student, and the potential of the funding to benefit the education and career opportunities of the student. Normally it will be expected that some ground work has already been set, for example by doing a reading course on the research topic.

Students are paid at an hourly rate of $10 per hour. Three types of awards are available:

• An award of $500 maximum for one quarter's work, for a project anticipated to take an average of 5 hours or less per week.
• An award of $1000 maximum for one quarter's work, for a project anticipated to take an average of 10 hours or less per week.
• An award of $2000 maximum, for a summer research project anticipated to take an average of 20 hours or less per week.

The smaller awards are also available during the summer quarter. Normally, a student will not be supported from this fund for more than $2000 over the duration of a single year.

The application deadlines are:

• Fall Quarter: September 1
• Winter Quarter: December 1
• Spring Quarter: March 1
• Summer Quarter: May 1

The application form (postscript ... pdf) should be filled out and signed by both the student and his/her research supervisor and returned to the ACMS Student Services Office, Padelford C-36. Students will be notified by email about the results of the application.

Some suggestions on ways to learn about research opportunities and prepare for such work:

• If you are taking a course that is particularly interesting to you, ask your TA or professor how you might become involved in a research group in that area.
• Do a reading course for credit with a professor for a quarter to learn more about a research area that interests you.
• Attend the ACMS Seminar to find out about research going on in the mathematical sciences.
• At the ACMS Seminar, or when you have other opportunities, talk to faculty, postdocs, and graduate students about their research. Ask about other seminars or journal clubs on particular topics that you could attend in order to begin discussions with people of similar interests.
• Work with a VIGRE graduate student or postdoc on a small project for a quarter in order to learn about a research topic.