Faculty applications for our 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) are due April 4 on InfoReady. Student applications will open on April 18 and be due May 2. Note that all faculty who wish to conduct a SURP project (whether or not they have their own funding) must submit an application. You can read the full Call for Applications on InfoReady, but you can find some key information about the call below:
Who Can Apply?
All College of Engineering (CENG) faculty and Noyce faculty (and affiliates), including lecturers, are eligible to submit applications for the 2025 SURP. Co-advisers are welcome from inside or outside the college.
Dates
Phase I: Faculty Proposals due April 4, Awardees announced April 14
Phase II: Student Applications due May 2, Awardees announced May 16
Funding
Projects are to be scoped for one student for a duration of 8 weeks, with students working approximately 20 hours per week. The 8 weeks need not be contiguous, but it is recommended to follow Cal Poly’s 8-week summer session schedule. Faculty can also indicate the maximum number of students the project could be able to support should funding be available. Each student (who is not funded by an externally funded grant) will receive a $3500 stipend (paid in the form of a scholarship from the financial aid office likely in the middle of the project) and the faculty mentor will receive a $1500 faculty service payment (per student) paid at the end of the summer. If a faculty member would like to co-advise a project with another faculty member(s), the faculty service payment will be split evenly among advisers. Up to $500 per student are available for project expenditures.
Some projects may have their own funding sources — either from DEI funding approved by Dr. Zoë Wood, start-up faculty funds, professor’s individual professional development funds, directed donations or externally-funded grants. All projects that fall under the auspices of SURP will follow the same funding amounts except for students who are funded through external grants. Students funded through external grants will not receive a SURP stipend but, rather, receive hourly pay in accordance with the grant’s terms. If you would like to closely match the SURP stipend, we recommend paying $20/hr with an expectation of 20 hrs/week for 8 weeks plus an additional 15 hours for poster preparation and presentation. The advantage of associating your externally funded research with SURP is the student 1. gets to present a poster in the SURP symposium, 2. gets to be informed and participate in all the SURP workshops and socials, and 3. gets to have the zero unit, zero cost course Summer Undergraduate Research show up on their official transcript.
How will projects be selected?
Projects that already have their own funding are guaranteed selection as long as the PI provides a complete application with a reasonably scoped project. Projects that do not have their own funding will be checked for application completeness and reasonable scope and then enter a lottery with the goal of providing at least one project per faculty applicant. Projects will then be selected at random based on how much funding is available and based on any limitations imposed by the funding source.
Can faculty submit more than one proposal?
Yes. Faculty can submit as many funded proposals as they wish, but can only submit up to two unfunded proposals.
