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Undergraduate Research Summer Opportunities

Where

A significant component of the research must be conducted at Oak Lake Field Station.

With Whom

Please contact a SDSU faculty mentor about opportunities to conduct summer research at Oak Lake Field Station.

Expectations

Student awardees are expected to work full-time on their research projects during the summer and present their finding in a fall NRM 2022 Departmental seminar series.

Application and Guidelines

  1. Application details
    1. Write a brief one-page or less (single-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font) statement on how the research complements your academic and career interests and, based on conversations with your SDSU faculty mentor, the objectives of the research.
    2. Please include a one-page budget in consultation with your faculty mentor
    3. Submit a current unofficial transcript
    4. Submit a one-to-two-page CV
    5. Submit two letters of recommendation, one must be from the proposed faculty mentor. The letters must specifically address your maturity, work ethic and evidence of interest in the general discipline of biology.
  2. Research funding will be awarded in mid-April and will terminate by the fall semester of the same year.
  3. Interested students should meet with a potential university faculty advisor.
  4. Students must be working FULL time throughout the summer and as needed during the following fall semester to complete their projects.
  5. A final research report with accompanying raw data must be submitted by December 1st of the same year.
  6. The student is expected to present their results (in person or virtually) either during the annual Oak Lake Research Retreat, or in the NRM Department seminar series. Presentation of results at additional meetings and conferences is strongly encouraged.
  7. Copies of all published abstracts, presentations and manuscripts resulting from this research must be submitted to the field station director, Dr. Charles Fenster.
  8. Utilization of funds from this grant may be directed toward stipends, supplies and travel necessary to complete the project. Grant requests will be limited to total amounts of $1,500 to $4,500 and must be justified in the budget within the application.

Available awards you can apply to

  • Jon Haertel Endowment for Work on Vertebrate Animals 
    Application Form
  • Charles and Marcia McMullen Endowment for Undergraduate Research in Natural Resources
    Application Form

Applications are due on the first Monday of April and announcement of awards will be made two weeks later.

Contact for More Information:
Dr. Charles Fenster, Director, Oak Lake Field Station
Dr. Bruce Eichhorst, Assistant Director for Education and Outreach, Oak Lake Field Station

NRM Faculty General Research Interests

Please contact the individual faculty in the list above to discuss a project. Student awardees are expected to work full time on their research projects during the summer and present their finding in the following fall semester NRM Departmental seminar series.