Funded Research Opportunity Deadline Looms

Already volunteering in a lab? Would you like to get paid for you time?

The Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program (URMP) at Portland State is operated by the Maseeh College of Engineering and funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). This program is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate students to receive funding for participation in research. The ideal candidate would be female, under-represented minority, or a first-generation college student (though all students may apply). The candidate must be a current PSU student who will maintain undergraduate status through at least the end of spring term 2013, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and have a mentor who is willing to provide lab space and guidance. This opportunity is open to students who are majoring in semiconductor-related fields such as Chemistry, Physics, or ECE. A full list of majors along with more information and directions for applying can be found at the URMP website.

Put this on your to-do list right now, the application deadline is December 18th!

This is a stellar opportunity for students who are planning on going on to graduate school and eventually work in the semi-conductor industry. The SRC Education Alliance tracks participant's progress throughout their education, potentially providing additional funding and opportunities for specialized training.

Participation in the URMP, which runs during the academic year, does not preclude you from applying for and participating in the REU summer program.

New Academic-Year Program

Thanks to a no-cost extension, we are able to offer limited research positions during the academic year. The application is available on our website: http://www.reu.pdx.edu/Pages/apply.php. The positions are limited to engineering fields and pay $10/hour with a 10 to 15 hour per week commitment. It helps if you already have a research project/mentor in mind when applying (include in your cover letter or short essay). For more information contact Amy Jackson at reuga_at_pdx.edu.

AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY

The Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program at Portland State University (PSU) works with motivated and talented undergraduates who want to pursue PhDs.  It introduces juniors and seniors who are first-generation and low-income, and/or members of under-represented groups to academic research and to effective strategies for getting into and graduating from PhD programs. This mission aligns very well with our REU goals.

I encourage all REU alumni who attend Portland State to apply for The McNair Scholars Program. The deadline is November 2nd to start in the program this coming winter term (2013). Dr. Jiao and faculty mentors are a good resource for the required letters of recommendation as well as assistance with the required essay.

The McNair Scholars Program has academic-year activities and a full-time summer research internship. Scholars take academic and skills-building seminars and workshops during the year, and each scholar works closely with a faculty mentor on original research in the summer.  Scholars present their research findings at the McNair Summer Symposium and at other conferences, and are encouraged to publish their papers in the McNair Journal and other scholarly publications.

The Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program was established in 1986 by the U.S. Department of Education and named in honor of Challenger Space Shuttle astronaut Dr. Ronald E. McNair. The program, which is in its tenth year on campus, is funded by a $1,155,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education and institutional cost-share funds.

The McNair Scholars Program's student-centered approach relies heavily on faculty and university commitment. Activities and opportunities provided by the program focus on building a positive academic community for the scholars while they are undergraduates at PSU.
More information as well as application instructions can be found at the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program Website. 

2012 Program Selection Complete

All ten of our REU intern positions have filled for this summer. Thank you to all applicants. We look forward to meeting all of our participants in June.

Student Participants for 2012: Selection Nearly Complete

I have been getting a lot of email inquiries about application status in the last week or so. All candidates on the short-list for selection have been contacted and offers have been made and responded to for eight out of ten of the positions. Some of you have been notified of your alternate status--that status remains open until I have all ten slots filled. If you have not already been interviewed, you will not be offered a position with your REU this year.

 There were many factors that had to be considered beyond just the strength of the application. Some mentors listed on the site had changes in plans and will be unable to host a student in their lab this year, so new mentors had to be identified. Some disciplines were more competitive than others due to the sheer number of applicants in particular fields. Some mentors were looking for particular skills. I encourage all of you who will still be undergraduates next year to apply again in December.

Best wishes to everyone who applied; we had many, many qualified applicants this year and it was difficult to narrow the field . It was a pleasure reading all of the application packets and letters of recommendation--I wish I had more spots to fill than just the ten.

I expect to announce the names of all participants by the end of Spring Break.

Application Tips

One of the things that we look for in reviewing applications is whether or not the applicant would be a good fit with one of our faculty mentors. All of the project descriptions are posted on the Projects page of our REU website. It is definitely worth your while to review these projects and mention at least one (three is ideal) of the projects/mentors in the "Why PSU" section of the application. This not only demonstrates that you have done your research into our program, but also helps us place participants in a lab where they will gain the most benefit. 

Housing

There are always lots of questions about housing, particularly since many REUs provide student housing for all participants. Our site has a limited budget for a number of reasons. We have chosen to provide more student opportunities with a slightly higher stipend rather than use the money to provide housing. We do reserve enough funds to sponsor one student per year for travel and housing. However, by requesting housing in your application, you reduce your odds of selection dramatically (or to put it a different way, your application must be ten times more competitive than the other top applicants).

Housing opportunities are abundant in Portland. PSU is located in downtown Portland and is easily accessible through several modes of public transportation including, MAX train, streetcar, and bus. Although we do not provide a housing-locator service, past participants have had good luck in finding affordable short-term rental arrangements in the Portland area. Staying with local friends or family is encouraged.

Application Deadline Extended for 2012

The application deadline has been extended for the 2012 program year to March 5th. We are still trying to find an ideal length for our application window. In years past, our application window has been over four months long. The result was that many of our top-choice candidates had already committed to another REU before our application window even closed. We shortened it to just over two months, but our number of applications is not where we would like it to be only one week out from our original 2012 deadline.
Priority will still be given to those candidates who submit their application by the original February 10th deadline in that we will begin interviews of our short-listed candidates after that date but before the extended deadline.