Oak Lake Field Station Undergraduate Summer Research

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

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

Student awardees are expected to work full time on their research projects during the summer and present their finding in a fall 2025 Department of Natural Resource Management seminar series.

1. Application details
   1. Write a brief one-page or shorter (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 adviser.
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 Dec. 1 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 Department of Natural Resource Management 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, 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.