The Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) provides a multi-week fellowship opportunity that either connects students with Pomona College faculty research programs or facilitates student-driven projects. The goal of SURP is to support a broad range of activities that will continue to stimulate students' thinking and growth during the summer, including (but not limited to) reading, writing, collecting and analyzing data, and creative expression. We encourage all interested returning students to identify a line of inquiry or a creative project that they are eager to pursue. Projects should be of appropriate scope to be completed in the summer. These projects can be one of two types:
- A Research Assistantship designed by and under the direction of a Pomona College faculty mentor,
- A Summer Project, which is a research, creative, or artistic project designed and led by the student, under the mentorship of a Pomona College faculty member. The level of oversight needed can be determined by the Pomona faculty member and the student. Additionally, unique research opportunities at other institutions can be considered Summer Projects, provided that a Pomona faculty member endorses the student applicant's qualifications and the relevance of the opportunity to the student's academic goals.
Students interested in internships in a professional work environment should consider the Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP).
Please also see the Frequently Asked Questions page and contact grants@zlmmc8.com with any further questions.
SURP General Timeline
- December: Application and program information go live.
- January: Information sessions.
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: The first Tuesday of February.
- February and March: Applications reviewed by the faculty Research Committee.
- April: Awards announced. Students and faculty mentors are notified via email. Students have one week to accept or decline their SURP Award.
- May: Projects can start as early as the week after commencement.
- August: Projects must be completed before the start of Fall Semester.
- September: Intensive Summer Experience Poster Conference, in which all SURP (and PCIP) students are expected to participate.
2025 Program Specifics
- Application deadline is February 4, 2025. Both students and faculty apply via SM Apply.
- SURP research can be conducted between Monday, May 19, and Friday, August 22.
- SURP fellowships can range between 4-10 weeks depending on the nature of each project
- SURP students receive an educational fellowship award totaling $720 per week.
- Awards are paid via stipend in two installments on a standardized schedule, targeted for May 31 and July 10.
- This schedule is independent of each student's specific project length or start date.
- Students are responsible for their own housing arrangements. Summer Housing at Pomona College is managed separately and 2025 rates are still to be determined. Please see Summer Housing and Residential Life Policies for more information.
Faculty Process - Faculty Application
Research Assistantships
Faculty who wish to support one or more student research assistants will complete a Research Assistant application describing the project, the role of the Research Assistant(s), and a training/mentoring plan. Faculty must name and evaluate the student or students they would like to train, and direct these students to complete the Student SURP application. The student application includes a field for the student to describe the research project they are joining, and they are welcome to input text directly from the faculty mentor (for this field only). Faculty are strongly encouraged to be mindful of diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations when selecting student Research Assistant candidates. Research Assistantship SURPs can apply for funding for 4-10 weeks.
- Research Assistantship applications submitted by Faculty will be reviewed based on the following elements:
- Quality of the research project proposal, as determined by its clarity and its effectiveness in showing that the project is original and may yield a significant contribution to the field of study, is based on sound methodology, and offers the potential for significant intellectual or creative growth for the student.
- Feasibility of proposed project.
- Quality of the mentoring plan that ensures the student Research Assistants have a valuable learning experience.
Summer Independent Projects
Students design and submit these projects on their own, but the projects require consultation with, and endorsement by, a Pomona College faculty mentor whose expertise aligns with the proposed field of inquiry. Faculty designated as mentors on student applications will be prompted by SM Apply, after the student application is submitted, to log in to review the student's proposal and submit their Recommendation. Summer Project SURPs can apply for funding for 4-8 weeks.
Student Process - Student Application
Research Assistantships
Students must first approach a faculty member to solicit joining their research team for the summer, and discuss what their role would entail. Upon approval of the faculty member, students apply individually and should prepare the following information:
- Specify the faculty SURP proposal they intend to join. The student application includes a field for the student to describe the research project they are joining, and applicants are welcome to input text directly from the faculty mentor (for this field only)
- Provide a statement on their intended contribution to the faculty research project and how their participation will enhance their Pomona College education
- Explain what coursework and other experiences have prepared them to succeed on the project
- Specify the length of their participation in the project. Research Assistantship SURPs can apply for funding for 4-10 weeks.
Summer Projects
Summer Projects are student-driven creative, artistic, or research projects. Summer Projects require consultation with and endorsement by a Pomona College faculty mentor whose expertise aligns with the proposed project. Students complete and submit the Summer Project application, and then SURP contacted the faculty mentor with a recommendation form.
Students applying with their own Summer Project proposals should:
- Provide a detailed project description.
- Explain the influences or interests that are driving the project.
- Describe what resources will be used to complete the endeavor.
- Describe how the experience will enhance their Pomona College education.
- Specify the length of the project. Summer Project SURPs can apply for funding for 4-8 weeks.
Each student applicant must prepare their own unique application. Students may propose group projects with similar overall descriptions, but each must specify their own activities contributing to the overall project and their individual expected benefits. Duplicate applications (where all parts appear identical) will not be competitive.
Projects involving students working under the mentorship of an external person, program, or institution require both the endorsement of a Pomona College faculty member and a statement of support from the external mentor or program. SURP will contact both recommenders with specific forms, after the student submits their application.
SURP Expectations
- Eligibility: continuing Pomona College students who are enrolled in both the Spring semester before and the Fall semester after the summer of their research project. Students must also be in good academic and disciplinary standing with the College.
- SURP grants are considered “full-time” Research Fellowships and thus, SURP students may not take on other Pomona College leadership roles or student employment concurrently at any point for the SURP project duration. SURP project start dates and project lengths are relayed to Student Employment as a central monitor for this expectation.
- Research involving human subjects must be approved by the Pomona College Institutional Review Board before participating subjects can be recruited. Students are expected to consult with their faculty mentor to determine whether their project involves human subjects and would require approval from the Institutional Review Board. Note that the Institutional Review Board does not meet in the summer, so Research Protocols for SURP projects must be submitted for review in advance! See the Pomona College IRB site for guidance.
- Students are expected to accurately represent the U.S. state or other country in which they are conducting their research, and to notify the SURP program if their plans change. This expectation relates to multiple administrative functions including Pomona College student travel insurance, fellowship taxation possibilities, and SURP aggregate reporting. Students traveling outside the United States, including to their home country, must complete an international travel policy and waiver form to be reviewed by the Pomona College Travel Restriction Advisory Committee (TRAC). Please be advised that TRAC does not currently approve Pomona-Funded travel to countries designated at Risk Level 3+ by the U.S. Department of State.
- International students should check with the international student advisor if they require CPT (Curricular Practical Training) authorization to complete their project.
- Each student must design and submit an academic conference poster that encapsulates what they learned, achieved, or created this summer, to be shared with the Pomona College community during the Intensive Summer Experience Poster Conference in Fall 2025. This is in addition to any other final product(s) that are most appropriate for the project and academic discipline, in consultation with the faculty mentor. Some examples of final products include papers, designs, models, programs, multimedia presentations, images of objects, recordings of performances, video essays, or blogs.
Advice for all Student Applicants
Summer Project applications will be evaluated based on the following elements:
- Quality of the proposal, as determined by its clarity and its effectiveness in showing that the proposed project is focused and based on sound methodology, is original and serves a worthy scholarly or creative goal, and offers the potential for significant intellectual or creative growth.
- Feasibility of proposed project, as determined by the student's preparation and capacity to conduct the research using the methods described.
- Projects should be manageable in scope so that they can be completed within the proposed timeframe.
- Alternatively, the Research Committee may award a SURP project for fewer weeks than requested if, in its estimation, the project can be finished substantially more quickly than proposed.
- Endorsement of the identified faculty mentor via the recommendation form.
- Mentors are contacted by SURP, so students do not need to collect recommendation letters, but should ensure their recommenders are prepared to respond to SURP's recommendation request.
- Proposals should reference the influences driving the project, the resources that will be utilized, how the project is contextualized in the field of study, and how the project outcomes will contribute to scholarly conversations or artistic endeavors.
Student applicants should make use of available campus reources:
- The Center for Speaking, Writing, and the Image; the Quantitative Skills Center; and faculty mentors can provide valuable input as students seek to edit and refine their proposals to develop competitive applications.