Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships program
http://www.surf.caltech.edu/
Non-Caltech Students
Requirements
Upon receiving a SURF award, students sign an agreement to fulfill the following requirements:
To devote full effort to conducting the SURF project (Fellows are strongly discouraged from taking courses or holding a job).
To submit progress reports signed by their mentors
To submit an abstract of their project
To submit a written technical report approved by the mentor
To give an oral presentation on one of the scheduled seminar day symposia
Compensation
SURF Fellows are considered Caltech student employees and will receive $600/week. Wages will be subject to state and federal taxation. International students may qualify for federal tax treaty exemption. For further information on payroll tax issues, please contact sfp@caltech.edu and we will forward your question to the SURF payroll coordinator.
Payments will be distributed in equal installments on the first business day in July and August.
SURF has extremely limited funding for non-Caltech students. In most cases, mentors will have to pay the full amount.
Housing
Students may live in Caltech housing during the ten weeks of SURF. Non-Caltech students cannot move into Caltech housing before the first day of SURF. Rates will not be finalized until late spring, and there is no board contract. For more information on Caltech housing, click here.
SURF Activities
To enrich the research experience, SURF offers:
Weekly seminars by Caltech faculty and JPL technical staff. Lunch is provided.
A participatory discussion series on developing a research career, graduate school admissions, and other topics of interest to future researchers.
Social and cultural activities coordinated by the SURF Student Advisory Council (SURFSAC).
Weekly SURFSAC Suppers give small groups of students the chance to get together with two to four faculty members for informal conversation at local restaurants.
Special field trips.