Eligibility and Expectations | Application
Past Participants | Campus Information | Graduate Programs
An Overview of the Summer Research Initiative
The Summer Research Initiative (SRI) was created in 1999 by the Office of the Dean in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) and is supported by the Office of the Provost, the Graduate School, the Office of the Vice President for Research and the College. In addition, SRI is made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Science Foundation (AC-SBE AGEP). The program has a special emphasis on population groups underrepresented in the behavioral, social and economic science fields (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders). The goals of the initiative are to:
- Increase the knowledge of, and interest in, doctoral-level training in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences;
- Provide rising juniors and seniors an opportunity to learn about graduate studies and the range of research and scholarship in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences at the University of Maryland College Park;
- Provide a laboratory experience that enhances basic research knowledge and skills;
- Provide lectures, workshops, didactic exchanges, etc., to enhance students' knowledge of the graduate application process, negotiating the academic rigors and professional and personal challenges encountered in graduate school, and developing career paths in social, behavioral, and economic science; and
- Provide mentoring and networking opportunities for students to advance their training in the social, behavior, and economic sciences.
The SRI is part of the College's longstanding commitment to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities who pursue graduate degrees in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences. According to data from the National Science Foundation, the University ranks 8th in the country in the number of Ph.D.'s and 13th in the number of B.A.'s awarded to underrepresented minority students in those fields. The Summer Research Initiative is an integral part of our efforts.
In 2010 the program will bring 10-12 students to the University of Maryland College Park campus for an eight-week program. Events and activities will showcase five main programmatic themes including lab and research experiences, didactic science lectures, professional development, mentoring, and networking. Participants will work side-by-side with a faculty mentor on a guided research project, attend weekly seminars and visit local research institutions in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area (e.g. the National Institutes of Health). Finally, students will present their work at a poster session at the end of the program.
Summer Research Initiative 2010
The upcoming eight-week program will be held on the University of Maryland, College Park campus from May 31 through July 23, 2010. All departments and centers within the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences have been invited to participate.
Please visit these links for more information:
Departments
*Attention applicants requesting mentors from the Hearing and Speech Sciences Department: The SRI program in HESP gives highest priority to summer applicants who intend to pursue a research doctorate in addition to/rather than the clinical MA or AuD programs in graduate school. Please indicate the relevance of research to your eventual career goals in your personal statement.
Programs and Centers
Further Inquiries
For additional information, please contact:
Dr. Kim J. Nickerson
SRI@bsos.umd.edu
301-405-8761
