summer undergraduate research experience (SURE)
UM-Flint offers paid Summer Undergraduate Research Experience opportunities funded through the Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation (RRG) initiative. SURE is designed for undergraduate students who are interested in full or half-time paid summer research opportunities mentored by UM-Flint faculty advisors.
Faculty advisors propose mentored research projects and students apply for placements with the available research projects. Faculty with approved projects will be allowed to select one or more students from the pool of applicants. Faculty interested should visit SURE Faculty Guidelines for more information.
Applications
Each prospective student must apply for the program online via UM-Flint’s competition space, umflint.infoready4.com. The application requires you to use your umich email address (i.e. [email protected]). This email address will also be used for all communications regarding your application and for employment-related matters.
In addition to all the required fields, your application must include an unofficial transcript (which you can access from your University SIS account) and a 1-page cover letter, describing your research experience and achievements, explaining your specific motivations for participating in SURE and detailing what you hope to learn from the experience. Your application will be added to the pool of prospective fellows from which faculty sponsors must seek out applicants.
SURE faculty sponsors will select and interview students they identify as good candidates to work on their proposed projects. If you are selected to interview for a fellowship, you will be notified about the interview process via email.
Offer Letter and Onboarding Process
Those candidates selected as SURE fellows will receive an offer letter drafted for signature by the faculty sponsor and the student(s). The offer letter will include the terms and conditions of the summer fellowship, mutually agreed upon with your faculty mentor.
All accepted SURE fellows must be certified in the “Research Practice Foundations” module of the University of Michigan’s online certification for the responsible conduct of research known as PEERRS (Program for Education & Evaluation in Responsible Research and Scholarship). Additional modules may be required by individual faculty sponsors, based on the nature of their projects.
Upon receiving an offer letter, the SURE fellow will be required to complete any and all necessary University hiring steps. These steps include:
- Certification in the “Research Practice Foundations” module of the University of Michigan’s online certification for the responsible conduct of research known as PEERRS (Program for Education & Evaluation in Responsible Research and Scholarship). You may assign additional modules, based on the nature of your project.
- The online application from the University’s Career Site
- A mandatory criminal background check
- I-9 documentation, confirming their work eligibility.
SURE fellows cannot begin work until the University’s hiring process is completed and are cleared to work by the Office of Research.
Recording Student Time
SURE fellows are required to report hours worked on a bi-weekly basis through Wolverine Access. Assistance navigating the university’s timekeeping system is available upon request from the Office of Research. Both you and your faculty sponsor will be notified regarding the number of hours submitted during each pay cycle. Unless your sponsor raises questions about the hours reported, via email, reported hours will be approved as entered with each pay cycle.
Timesheet reminders will be sent out prior to the deadline. In addition, a spreadsheet with your remaining payable hours for that semester will be included.
Students are not allowed to work more than 40 hours per week (or 80 hours during a bi-weekly cycle). This includes accumulated work hours from other campus employment they may hold in conjunction with their SURE fellowship.
Funding for this program will not extend beyond the Summer semester.
SURE Evaluation and End-of-Project Reporting
Prior to the termination of your summer fellowship, the Office of Research will conduct an exit interview, collecting information about your experiences, project outcomes, faculty interactions, and overall satisfaction. This information will be used for reporting purposes, to assess the impact the program has on a number of key areas of focus.