Research Funding Opportunities
The best way to secure a paid research position over the summer with a faculty member at the UChicago is to work with them on a volunteer basis during the academic year preceding the summer you want to work full time on research. Whether you plan to do an honors thesis or not, one option is to identify a couple faculty of whose research interests you by reading the description of research of Faculty in Chemistry or Biological Chemistry and then contacting the individual faculty member directly.
Your summer salary can be funded in one of several ways:
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The most common is for the faculty member to pay you from his or her research grants.
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The Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics also often have National Science Foundation REU (Research Opportunities for Undergraduates) programs running each summer that you may apply to for salary support (rather than an individual faculty member having to scrape the funds from his/her research grants). Contact the Chemistry Advisor (chemadvisor@uchicago.edu) about the Chemistry REU site and contact Stuart Gazes (gazes@uchicago.edu) about the Physics REU site.
- First years willing to make a commitment to conducting research in the Department of Chemistry may be eligible for the James Norris, Jr. Grant for Undergraduate Summer Research in Chemistry.
- The Beckman Scholars Program (funded by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation) is available for Second-year and Third-year students working with a Beckman Scholar Faculty Mentor. Read more about the Beckman Scholars Program.
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If you are a second-year student and want to pursue a PhD program, you may qualify for the Mellon Mays Fellowship, which funds a summer Research Training Program. See Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program for more information.
- The Biological Sciences Collegiate Division also has a Summer Research Fellowship Program (deadline for application is usually in April).
- There are several opportunities and programs associated with UChicago Careers in Health Professions (UCHIP) available. A list is available at https://careeradvancement.uchicago.edu/uchicago-careers-in/health-professions/programs
- Grants for unpaid opportunities are available through the Career Advancement office. See Career Advancement for more information on the Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant and the Odessy Metcalf Fellowship Grant.
- The College Center for Research and Fellowships (CCRF) offers funding opportunities through the College Summer Research Fellows Program. More information can be found at http://ccrf.uchicago.edu/undergraduate-research/college-summer-research-fellows-fund