Overview
OURI offers competitive summer funding opportunities for VIP students to continue their research over the summer.
Summer funding requirements include:
- 100-500 hours of VIP team activities
- Spring cohort orientation
- Final written reflection
Summer funding is only available to active VIP team members.
FAQs
See below for answers to frequently asked questions.
When can I apply for summer funding?
OURI distributes the summer funding application at the end of February each year.
How can I find the summer funding application.
OURI distributes the summer funding application directly to faculty. Ask your VIP faculty lead for information.
What's in the application?
The application requires some general information (name, VIP team, description of your role), along with two short essays and a letter of support from your VIP mentor.
The first short essay is a description of the time and scope of work you intend to complete over the summer. The second short essay varies each year.
Do I need a letter of recommendation?
Yes, you need a letter of recommendation from your VIP mentor. The letter should include: information about how your summer engagement will benefit both their VIP project and team; specific outcomes expected from you, the student; and their plan to help you develop as a researcher.
Acceptable mentors include the faculty member listed on the VIP team website, or a postdoc or graduate student who directly supervises your VIP work.
When you complete the application, an autogenerated email will be sent to your mentor with a prompt to write a letter.
Can more than one VIP team member receive summer funding?
Yes, it's possible! The number of students awarded summer funding will depend on the number of applications that we receive and time commitment from students, but we don't limit funding to one student per team.
I was awarded summer funding! What happens next?
Awesome! You will receive instructions on how to retrieve your summer funding stipend.
Additionally, You must attend an in-person orientation at the end of the spring semester and you must write an end-of-summer reflection. You must participate in these two cohort activities or risk your summer funding.
How do I coordinate and log my summer work?
You will work with your VIP mentor to determine your hours and scope of work; you do not need to report your hours or work to OURI after the initial application.
How much money can I receive?
Summer funding is between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on time commitment and scope of work.
I have more questions.
Contact Dr. Walston (lw160@rice.edu) with additional questions.