Abstract Proceedings can be downloaded here
Photos from 2024 Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium can be seen here
The Weiss Summer Research Program in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Holy Cross will fund a number of student researchers and provide associated programming using funds from various institutional grants. Student research projects eligible for this program are in mathematics, statistics, computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, and neuroscience. The program is scheduled to run for 8 weeks, beginning on Monday, June 2 and ending on Friday, July 25, 2025. Only students from the classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028 are eligible to apply.
Students accepted into the program will receive a weekly stipend, a meal subsidy, and a room on campus. In addition, each student will receive up to $500 for research supplies, and will be eligible to receive up to $850 for travel to be used in presenting research findings at regional or national conferences. Student participants will perform campus-based research under the direction of a Holy Cross faculty member. A remote informational meeting about this summer's science research program will be held at 6 pm on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. A recording of that meeting will be made available.
PLEASE NOTE: Students may take a summer course at Holy Cross while also doing research, as long as the faculty mentor supervising the research project has agreed. If you are interested in a Holy Cross summer course contact Professor Ronald Jarret, Director of Summer Sessions (rjarret@holycross.edu) for more information.
BEFORE YOU CAN APPLY FOR SUMMER SCIENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM you need to do the following:
First, you need to find a faculty member who will mentor you project and work with you this summer. Many, but not all faculty are willing to support research students in the summer. Your first order of business is to find out which faculty members will be doing research this summer.
Who should you approach? Start with a faculty member who may know you from a course you took together. If that faculty member is not supporting students in research this summer, perhaps they can suggest who in the department might be willing to take you on.
Ask for a meeting. The least effective way of establishing contact with a faculty member about research is by email. Visiting with a faculty member during office hours is always a better approach. Office hours are listed with the administrative assistant of the faculty member's home department. Some members of the faculty may be holding office hours remotely; you may need to email the faculty member requesting their office hours Zoom link. But keep the email short - simply state your interest in discussing summer research. Leave the details for your meeting.
Do your homework! Before your meeting, find out what the faculty member is working on. You may do this by looking them up on Google Scholar for recent publications. You may also look at the archives from past summer research programs. These are searchable pdfs allowing you to quickly find out their most recent research projects. Your meeting is going to be more productive if you have something substantive to contribute to the discussion.
Consider doing research during the academic year. If you are unable to establish a connection for this coming summer, consider getting involved during the academic year. You may use your meeting to discuss the possibility of volunteering or getting course credit for doing research. In any case, doing so would get you in great shape for applying for the summer of 2026!
Now you are ready to complete an application. The application is short and simple - it consists of a personal statement of interest and a description of your research project. The application must be accompanied by an unofficial copy of your most current transcript (available from STAR). In addition, a letter of recommendation should be sent by your summer research faculty mentor.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Your completed application with transcript are to be completed by 11:59 PM on Friday, February 21, 2025. Apply online beginning February 1. Make sure to choose the Natural Sciences and Mathematics summer research program option.
Selection Process
The award is made to the student, so the primary mode of selection will be based on the application of individual student. Other factors will be considered, however. Factors (not necessarily in order of priority) that will weigh in the selection process include: academic record, faculty recommendation, plans after graduation, interest in the research project, whether participation in the research project will continue during the academic year, and how many students have applied to work with a particular faculty member or within a particular department. Traditionally, this has been a competitive program, with more qualified applicants than can be funded.
If you have any questions concerning the Weiss Summer Research Program in the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, please contact the science coordinator, Prof. Daniel Bitran, at dbitran@holycross.edu.