SURF at Caltech
Forecasted
SURF at Caltech supports undergraduates in ten-week, mentor-guided summer research projects, building experience in developing research, carrying it out, and communicating results through reports and presentations.
Funder: California Institute of Technology
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027 (Application and recommendations)
Funding Amounts: $8,110 per fellow for ten weeks (2026 award)
Summary: SURF supports continuing undergraduates undertaking ten-week, mentor-guided summer research projects with technical reporting and presentations.
Key Information: Applicants must secure mentor approval before applying; fellows must research in person without courses or another job.
Description
Caltech’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program has supported undergraduate research since 1979. Students collaborate with experienced mentors to define a project, write a research proposal, and carry out the work over ten summer weeks. Modeled on the grant-seeking process, SURF uses faculty review to recommend awards and concludes with a technical paper and an oral presentation at a SURF Seminar Day.
Projects should have significant intellectual and creative content, with potential for publication in refereed literature. Students may explore fields beyond their academic options. Alongside research, fellows are invited to faculty and JPL seminars, research-career and graduate-school programming, communication workshops, social and cultural activities, and student-faculty dinners.
