Summer Opportunities

Research Outside Davidson

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

Description: Research in small groups under faculty at different colleges throughout the country 

Funding: National Science Foundation (NSF) usually. Typically stipend is $3,000-­$6,000, sometimes housing paid for or reimbursement for travel/living expenses.

Deadline: ~February-­March 

Prerequisites: Some programs require American citizenship to apply (see link at bottom for list of some programs that non-­US citizens can apply to). 

Applying: statement of purpose, 2-­3 academic recommendation letters, transcript, online application, sometimes CV

• American Mathematical Society REU program listing
• NSF search for a REU site

"I would highly recommend doing an REU if you are even considering graduate school or a research career. They are great and fun opportunities to meet new people and learn about math research, and they happen all across the country and focus on a wide range of topics. Admissions can be as competitive as graduate school programs so apply to at least 10 (there is no application fee)." - Courtney Cochrane '16

National Security Agency (NSA) - Directors Summer Program exceptional undergraduate students put their problem-solving skills to the test in mathematics, cryptology, and communications technology

Institute for Pure and Applied Math (IPAM) 1,2, or 3-­week "summer school" about different topics

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) 10-week research under research mentors at Caltech and JPL

WAVE (Caltech) Aims to foster diversity in science and engineering Ph.D. programs, research, academic/professional development, social and cultural events, "underrepresented minorities, women, first-­generation college students, geographically underrepresented students, educationally and financially disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities" particularly encouraged to apply

National Research Experience for Undergraduates Program The NREUP is administered by the MAA through its SUMMA (Strengthening Underrepresented Minority Mathematics Achievement) Program and made possible via a grant from the Moody's Foundation, the NSF, and the National Security Agency. These research experiences are similar in nature to REUs, but are designed to reach out to minority students at the midpoint of their undergraduate programs.

Summer@BSME A 6-week long study abroad program in Budapest. For undergraduate students interested in the learning and teaching of secondary mathematics.

Summer Program for Women in Mathematics Hosted by George Washington University, this intensive five-week program is for women who have finished their junior year of college and may be considering graduate work in the mathematical sciences.

Summer Undergraduate Applied Mathematics Institute Held at the Center for Nonlinear Analysis at Carnegie Mellon University, in addition to a stipend participants receive credit from Carnegie Mellon for this 7-week learning and research experience.

Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry Undergraduate Fellowship Program This program focuses more on chemistry and physics, however those with strong math and programming skills are welcome to apply.

Park City Math Institute Summer Program for Undergraduates A 3-week summer program where students learn about an advanced topic and work on an individual project.

Research in Industrial Projects for Students (RIPS) Summer Program This program involves applied mathematics problems from industry.

University of Nebraska Summer IMMERSE Program A six-week summer program to help prepare students who are about to enter graduate school in mathematics.

EDGE Summer Program for Women For women who are entering graduate school or who have completed one year of graduate studies.

Other opportunities An excellent source of summer programs and other opportunities can be found at the AWM's site.

Teaching Experiences

Ross Mathematics Program

Description: six week program at Ohio State University where you grade for courses, take two courses and are a counselor

Funding: Room and board plus stipend of $3,000

Deadline: January

Prerequisites: prefer juniors/seniors, need strong social skills, know basic abstract algebra and number theory, must pass background check/be able to work in U.S.

Applying: Send an an email to ross@math.osu.edu for an application

Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS)

Description: six week program at Boston University where you grade for classes, are a counselor, supervise research projects, take advanced seminars and work with professors

Funding: Room and board plus stipend around $3,000

Deadline: ~February-­March

Prerequisites: need to have permission to work in US if you're international student

Applying: transcript, two faculty recommendations, CV

Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics

Description: six week program at Hampshire College where you have many different duties

Funding: not sure

Deadline: end of January

Prerequisites: prefer rising juniors or seniors and some experience with number theory, graph theory and/or combinatorics

Applying: mathematical background, 1-2 recommendation letters, suitability working with teens

Summer Institute for Mathematics at the University of Washington

Description: six week program at University of Washington, work with high school students in classroom, join them in social activities, work on mathematics

Funding: at least $3,500, room and board

Deadline: February 1 priority deadline

Prerequisites: rising juniors or older (graduate students eligible too) and some experience working with high school students

Applying: application, one recommendation letter, personal statement, math background

Breakthrough

Description: teaching low-income students

Funding: No, but stipend for living expenses and possible financial aid

Deadline: January 12 early action, February 23 regular

Prerequisites: eligible through summer after senior year, non-U.S. citizens must have authorization to be an intern in U.S.

Applying: application, transcript, three essays, video, and interview

ID Tech Camps

"Over the summer of 2014, I was an instructor at iD Tech Camps. I taught kids how to program in Scratch (the fundamentals) and Java (the actual coding). I also taught kids how to do game design in Minecraft and also how to write code to program their own mods (modifications to the game's supplied software). I also taught some level design in a few games. iD Tech is alright but you have to be really good with kids, and the rules are pretty strict" - Xan Stoddard '17

Internships/Jobs

Internships

Pratt & Miller

Description: Statistical modeling work interning

Prerequisites: have completed a statistics courses

For more information, speak with Prof. Chartier.

Tresata

"Four days a week last summer I interned at a Big Data company in Charlotte called Tresata. The summer was heavy on computer science, but Tresata is a really cool company that I highly recommend people apply to, as they have a really good internship program that is unrelated to sports." - Grant McClure '17

For more information, speak with Prof. Chartier.

Red Ventures

For more information, speak with Prof. Chartier.

ESPN's Sport Science

For more information, speak with Prof. Chartier.

NBA League Office

For more information, speak with Prof. Chartier.

Deloitte/Boston Consulting Group

Software Engineer Intern at IBM

"During the summer, I had the chance to learn new technologies such as Node.js and MongoDB, and work on a team to deliver a product. I would recommend this opportunity to students who are interested in Software Engineering and web development and who want to see what working in the industry can be like." - Micah Brown '16

Actuarial Analyst Internship with Aon Hewitt

"I enjoyed learning about insurance and health & benefits industry. I would recommend it to others who are interested in pursuing an actuarial or consulting career path. It would be helpful if a candidate has passed one or two actuarial exams. The first actuarial exam, Probability, aligns closely with Davidson Math Probability course MAT 340." - Kai Jia '16

Marketing/Client Services Intern at Luquire George Andrews

Programs Specifically for Women

Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education (EDGE)

Description: four week program at Purdue University to strengthen the ability of women students to successfully complete PhD programs in the mathematical sciences and place more women in visible leadership roles in the mathematics community

Funding: $3,000 stipend plus travel, room and board

Deadline: March 1

Prerequisites: summer before graduate school or first year graduate students

Applying: transcript, application, resume, two recommendation letters

 

Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) 

Description: 11-day mentoring program: lectures, seminars, and panel discussion on a wide range of topics of interest to women mathematicians

Funding: support for lodging, meals and transportation

Deadline: February 19

Prerequisites: all levels (undergrad-postdoc)

Applying: transcript, CV, one letter of recommendation

Programs for Underrepresented Groups

Computer Science Opportunities

Distributed Research Experiences for Undergraduates (DREU)

Description: 10-week program that matches promising undergraduate women and underrepresented groups with a faculty mentor for a summer research experience at the faculty mentor's home institution

Funding: $700/week and travel funding

Deadline: February 15

Prerequisites: most of the funds restricted to U.S. citizens/permanent residents, priority given to students who have completed 2-3  years of CS

Applying: transcript, letters of recommendation, etc.

For more information, speak with Prof. Ramanujan.

Mathematics Opportunities

Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Undergraduate Program (MSRI-UP)

Description: six-week REU particularly aimed at Black, Hispanic/Latino and Native American citizens at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in Berkeley, CA + additional workshops to "maximize students likelihood of admissions to graduate programs/fellowships"

Funding: $3,100 stipend, lodging, meals and round-trip travel

Deadline: February 15

Prerequisites: U.S. citizens/permanent residents only, completed two years of college mathematics courses and haven't graduated by the time the program runs, need to know introductory proof material/have taken linear algebra

Applying: transcript, statement of interest, list of math courses and grades, list of previous math research (if any), reference letters

Advice on Asking for Recommendations

When to ask?

• Ask well in advice of the deadline (~one month), and in person if possible.

Who to ask?

• Ask professors who know your work and know you well enough to write about you
• It's best to specifically ask, "Would you feel comfortable writing me a strong letter of recommendation for (insert program)?" If for some reason the professor does not feel as though they can strongly recommend you, its better to ask someone else then get a mediocre letter from them.
• For mathematics/computer science programs, stick to mathematics/computer science faculty unless otherwise specified
• Note: All other things being equal (your performance in their classes, your relationship, etc.) tenure track professors pull more "weight" as letter writers than assistant professors do. Likewise with assistant professors and postdocs.

I have my letter writers, now what?

• Supply them with a transcript, any writing samples requested by the program, the recommendation letter prompt
• If you would like them to mention certain achievements of yours, supply them with a resume or list of accomplishments
• Send frequent, but courteous, reminders! Professors are busy, and welcome the reminder about upcoming deadlines