Maryland Summer Scholars

Maryland Summer Scholars (MSS) provides funding support for undergraduate students to enhance their academic experience by spending the summer working closely with University of Maryland, College Park faculty mentors on scholarly research or artistic projects.  Students who have earned a minimum of 60 credits by the end of spring semester 2013 (typically those who will be juniors or seniors during the 2013-2014 academic year) are eligible.  Maryland Summer Scholars may research on the College Park campus or elsewhere in the U.S. or abroad as required by the nature of the project.

For the summer of 2012, the program provided scholarships of $3,000 to approximately 34 outstanding undergraduates. Awardees are expected to participate in MSS activities over the summer, either in person (for students conducting research on the College Park campus) or online (for students elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad), submit research reports at the end of the summer, and participate in Undergraduate Research Day the following spring.

Maryland Summer Scholars gain a competitive edge when applying for graduate study, national scholarships, and other awards.  Many of the Scholars turn their research into an independent study or honors thesis during their senior year.

Deadline for 2013 Grant Application: Monday, February 4, 2013.

Application requirements:

1. A completed online application form (see “apply now” link in box to the right).

2. A student-written summer research proposal.

3. An official Maryland transcript (and an official transcript from any prior transfer institution).

4. A letter of recommendation from a Maryland faculty member addressing the merit of the proposed summer research and the student’s qualification to undertake that project, and a brief description of their plans for providing suitable mentoring/advising for the project.

5. A second letter of recommendation which may be from a secondary mentor/advisor for the summer research project or a general academic reference addressing the student’s academic abilities and potential.

Instructions for submitting these items are available on the online application form.

**Please note – when you attempt to access the online application form you may get a message saying “The site's security certificate is not trusted!” You may safely use the “proceed anyway” button to login without fear of harm to your computer.

Note:  If you will be otherwise compensated for this research, you are not eligible for this award.  By applying, you agree that the Maryland Summer Scholar fellowship will be your sole funding source for this project.