Funding of the Program for the Student:
Hayden Summer Scholars will receive an award of $5,500 for a minimum of 10-week summer internship. Scholars can also apply separately for additional funds for research materials and expenses, research travel and/or travel to present research results at national or international conferences (e.g., AGU, GSA, etc.). Please note that currently no travel funds will be provided by the university; see coronavirus.upenn.edu for more information.
Eligibility:
Preference is given to declared or prospective Earth Science (EASC) and Environmental Studies (ENVS) majors intending to do research with faculty associated with the Department of Earth and Environmental Science (EES). Non-majors working with EES faculty, or EASC and ENVS majors working with non-EES faculty will also be considered. Emphasis will be placed on independent research that is to be initiated, designed and executed by the student rather than the placement of students into existing faculty research programs. A committee consisting of the Undergraduate Chair and a faculty member of EES will review applications and select students each year.
Application:
Applications to the Hayden Scholars Program consist of:
- Research Proposal: Describe the project you intend to undertake. With whom will you work? What is exciting, new, or valuable about your project? What scientific contribution will it make? What do you plan to do? How do you plan to do it? What are the project’s goals, and why is it important? How is it similar to different from your mentor’s ongoing research program? (max 500 words, excluding a list of references)
- Personal Statement: Describe how this project fits with your academic, personal, or career plans for the future, and with your current academic, personal, and career interests and activities. (max 500 words)
- Copy of your unofficial transcript
In addition, you will need to request a letter of recommendation from your research mentor through the application process above. The letter should acknowledge their support and the relationship (if any) between the proposed work and the mentor’s ongoing research program.
Components of the Program:
Research mentorship. This will involve working for an EES (or other) faculty member, sometimes under the direct supervision of a graduate student or postdoc to execute the proposed independent research project.
The Hayden Summer Fellowship. Hayden Scholars will meet regularly with a rotation of EES faculty and the other undergraduate research fellows to discuss their research, provide peer review and support, learn best practices, and grow as scientists. At the end of the summer, a small symposium will take place with students and mentors. Examples of summer informational sessions during weekly meetings could include:
- Getting started with… (Excel/R/SPSS/Python/Matlab, …)
- Best practices in… (data management, record keeping, …)
- Making a research poster
- Designing a research talk
- Publishing research in the scientific literature
The Summer Fellowship meetings will emphasize “soft skills” such as data/statistical analysis, GIS/remote sensing, computer programming, scientific writing, presentation skills, networking and other workforce skills.
Expected outcomes. Upon completion of the Fellowship, students are expected to present the results of their research at the Penn Undergraduate Research Symposium. Presentation of the research at a conference (e.g., GSA, AGU) or publication of the research in the peer-review literature is a goal, but not a requirement.
Eligible fields of research:
The Hayden Summer Scholars program will aim to train undergraduates in a wide range of geoscience fields, including Dynamics and Structure of Earth Materials; Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate Sciences; Biogeochemistry and Global Environmental Change; Paleobiology/Geobiology. Students are encouraged to consult with the EES departmental research webpage and faculty profile pages. Students may also propose projects that are not immediately within the scope of faculty research but induce sufficient interest to generate mentorship.
*Please note: this application is not mobile-friendly and should only be accessed using a computer web browser.*
Hayden Summer Scholars
Funding of the Program for the Student:
Hayden Summer Scholars will receive an award of $5,500 for a minimum of 10-week summer internship. Scholars can also apply separately for additional funds for research materials and expenses, research travel and/or travel to present research results at national or international conferences (e.g., AGU, GSA, etc.). Please note that currently no travel funds will be provided by the university; see coronavirus.upenn.edu for more information.
Eligibility:
Preference is given to declared or prospective Earth Science (EASC) and Environmental Studies (ENVS) majors intending to do research with faculty associated with the Department of Earth and Environmental Science (EES). Non-majors working with EES faculty, or EASC and ENVS majors working with non-EES faculty will also be considered. Emphasis will be placed on independent research that is to be initiated, designed and executed by the student rather than the placement of students into existing faculty research programs. A committee consisting of the Undergraduate Chair and a faculty member of EES will review applications and select students each year.
Application:
Applications to the Hayden Scholars Program consist of:
- Research Proposal: Describe the project you intend to undertake. With whom will you work? What is exciting, new, or valuable about your project? What scientific contribution will it make? What do you plan to do? How do you plan to do it? What are the project’s goals, and why is it important? How is it similar to different from your mentor’s ongoing research program? (max 500 words, excluding a list of references)
- Personal Statement: Describe how this project fits with your academic, personal, or career plans for the future, and with your current academic, personal, and career interests and activities. (max 500 words)
- Copy of your unofficial transcript
In addition, you will need to request a letter of recommendation from your research mentor through the application process above. The letter should acknowledge their support and the relationship (if any) between the proposed work and the mentor’s ongoing research program.
Components of the Program:
Research mentorship. This will involve working for an EES (or other) faculty member, sometimes under the direct supervision of a graduate student or postdoc to execute the proposed independent research project.
The Hayden Summer Fellowship. Hayden Scholars will meet regularly with a rotation of EES faculty and the other undergraduate research fellows to discuss their research, provide peer review and support, learn best practices, and grow as scientists. At the end of the summer, a small symposium will take place with students and mentors. Examples of summer informational sessions during weekly meetings could include:
- Getting started with… (Excel/R/SPSS/Python/Matlab, …)
- Best practices in… (data management, record keeping, …)
- Making a research poster
- Designing a research talk
- Publishing research in the scientific literature
The Summer Fellowship meetings will emphasize “soft skills” such as data/statistical analysis, GIS/remote sensing, computer programming, scientific writing, presentation skills, networking and other workforce skills.
Expected outcomes. Upon completion of the Fellowship, students are expected to present the results of their research at the Penn Undergraduate Research Symposium. Presentation of the research at a conference (e.g., GSA, AGU) or publication of the research in the peer-review literature is a goal, but not a requirement.
Eligible fields of research:
The Hayden Summer Scholars program will aim to train undergraduates in a wide range of geoscience fields, including Dynamics and Structure of Earth Materials; Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate Sciences; Biogeochemistry and Global Environmental Change; Paleobiology/Geobiology. Students are encouraged to consult with the EES departmental research webpage and faculty profile pages. Students may also propose projects that are not immediately within the scope of faculty research but induce sufficient interest to generate mentorship.
*Please note: this application is not mobile-friendly and should only be accessed using a computer web browser.*