Summer Undergraduate research program (SURP)
Quick Details:
Organizer: College of Engineering
Award Cycle: Summer 2026
Project duration:
Approximately 8 weeks @ ~20 hours/week plus time to prepare and participate in SURP symposium in Fall 2026. As weeks need not be contiguous, projects may continue into the Fall 2026 semester up until the due date of the SURP poster. Faculty wishing to support remote-projects may do so.
Project Costs:
For each student who participates, the costs are: $3500 student stipend, $1500 faculty stipend, $500 project supplies, $500 facilities and administrative fee
Deadlines:
Phase 1: Faculty Applications Open Feb 2nd, 2026 and are due Feb 17th, 2026 on InfoReady. Faculty projects selected by March 13th, 2026
Phase 2: Student Applications Open March 16th, 2026 on Cal Poly Jobs and are due April 6th. First round of students are selected by April 24th. Additional students may be added after this date if funding allows.
‘Making the Most of Your Summer’ Info Session (discusses SURP and other summer options) : Date TBD
CENG SURP follows a 2 phase Application Process. In Phase 1, faculty members propose projects. In phase 2, students apply to awarded projects. Awarded projects will be listed on this page under SURP 2026 Project Abstracts. Within each abstract will be Application link, where students will be directed to Cal Poly Jobs to apply for the specific project. Students need not be in the same department as the faculty advisor and can apply for up to 3 projects (but can only be selected for one).
Student qualifications for the program are:
- Have at least a 2.5 higher ed cumulative GPA.
- Be registered for classes for Fall 2025 with undergraduate standing (masters students and students in the blended program who will have graduate standing by Fall 2025 are not eligible for this undergraduate program). Lower division students (those who have completed their 1st or 2nd year at Cal Poly) and transfer students who just completed their 1st year at Cal Poly are especially encouraged to apply.
- Be available to work 20 hrs/week, over 8-weeks over Summer 2026 and partially into Fall 2026 (timeline and mode will be set by selected student(s) and advisor(s)).
- Be eager to learn, capable of self-direction, and willing to solve open-ended problems where the answer is not in the back of the book!
The College of Engineering (CENG) initiated a Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) in 2017. The purpose of the program is to provide research experiences for our undergraduate students working alongside our faculty during the summer. This program also supports the scholarly efforts of our faculty through engagement with undergraduate students. Projects lead to student-faculty authored publications in venues appropriate to the area of research conducted during the summer. Further, the program invites industrial and other external sponsors to provide university-industry collaborative research and project activities.
This program supports Cal Poly’s educational mission as both faculty members and students are provided a significant opportunity for their professional growth. SURP students gain valuable training in research methods and practices, professional experience, have opportunities to apply classroom knowledge and theories in a research setting, and work in a team environment. Through collaboration with faculty members and external sponsors, SURP students gain “Learn by Doing” research experience that will support their growth as a student and set a foundation to build on as they pursue their career goals. Depending on the project, students may have tangible products such as data sets, hardware prototypes, software code, other forms of intellectual property, abstracts and/or research posters, and co-authored publications. SURP faculty participants are able to implement the teacher-scholar model while making progress in their area of research. Partnerships with industrial and external sponsors through SURP support the California State University’s mission of preparing significant numbers of educated and responsible people to contribute to California’s economy, culture, and future. Industrial and external SURP project sponsors gain a head start in cultivating professional relationships with talented and motivated SURP students.
Visit the Digital Commons for final posters of some of our past SURP Projects.
See a listing of all past project descriptions at the links below.
