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The Program - Experience at a Top Research Institution
The Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) provides an opportunity for direct involvement in research and a taste of graduate student life at a world class university. Throughout its 24-year history, the mission of the SROP has been to increase diversity among students pursuing graduate education and to provide a valuable academic research experience for students. The program is eight weeks in length, from June 21 through August 13, 2010, and includes faculty-supervised research, enrichment activities that prepare students for the graduate school application process (i.e. GRE workshop and application workshop), and a research conference.
Each student selected to participate in the program will work with a faculty member in the student's area of interest (click on the 'current faculty mentors' link above to view the research foci of SROP faculty mentors). Some faculty mentors have agreed to work with students to craft an independent research project based on the students interests, and the other mentors will have students contribute to an ongoing research project.
A conference for SROP participants and supervising faculty members from all the CIC institutions (the "Big Ten" universities plus The University of Chicago) will be held in July on the campus of The Ohio State University. This conference, provided at no cost to SROP participants, offers an opportunity for students and faculty from Northwestern to learn from and network with students and faculty from other universities.
It is expected that SROP participants be prepared to make a full-time commitment to their research, work energetically on their projects, and develop a professional attitude toward their research, their faculty supervisors, the SROP administrators and their fellow researchers. During the eight-week period of the SROP, each participant is expected to work at least 30-40 hours per week on their project.
 
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Benefits and Conditions
Each student chosen to participate in the SROP will receive:
- a $4000 stipend
- access to $500 for research supplies
- round-trip air travel to Chicago
- University housing (single rooms)
- a campus meal subsidy of $450 (not intended to cover all meals)
SROP participants who choose to live off campus will be responsible for their housing expenses during the summer.
Early Admission Decision Program
Rising seniors who demonstrate that they are prepared for graduate study at Northwestern University, based on the work completed during the first 4 weeks of the program, will be invited to participate in our Early Admission Decision Program (EADP). This program provides an accelerated and early admission process that enables qualified rising seniors to apply for admission to a Northwestern PhD program before returning to their home institution and without submitting GRE scores. Those who participate in the EADP will be given an admission decision by the department/program of interest in early fall of 2010 (with the exception of a few programs).
Rising juniors who successfully complete their 2010 SROP research projects may be invited back for the 2011 SROP. If they choose to accept the invitation and the first 4 weeks of their second summer experience go well, they may be invited to participate in the EADP.
Course Credit
Course credit is available for the Northwestern SROP; however, you will need to communicate with the registrar's office at your home institution to determine if they will accept the credit.
Restrictions
SROP participants may not register for any classes (i.e. summer school, MCAT prep, GRE prep, etc.) or accept a job for additional pay without prior approval from the SROP Coordinator.
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Who May Apply
To be considered for acceptance into SROP, you must:
- be a current sophomore or junior
- have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale
- be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- have an interest in pursuing a doctoral degree at Northwestern University
Those belonging to groups who have been traditionally underrepresented in graduate schools (e.g., certain racial and ethnic minorities, first-generation college students, etc.) are encouraged to apply.
Current juniors who applied to the SROP in 2009 are eligible to apply for the 2010 program.
Please note: applicants interested in pursuing MBA, JD, or MD degrees are not eligible for this program. Also, Northwestern University students are not eligible to apply for this program and should contact Mario Craigen (m-craigen@northwestern.edu) for information about programs to which they may apply.
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Application
The deadline for application submission is February 10, 2010. We will begin notifying applicants of acceptance into the program via e-mail no later than March 1, 2010, and offers will continue to be made until all available spots are filled. Please note that you will not be able to save your work on the application, and it would be best to take the following steps:
1) review the application to determine what is required, and
2) prepare the required statements and gather all of the necessary information before clicking the submit button on the application Web page.
Also, please note that the application calls for two letters of recommendation from professors and a transcript. Letters of recommendation should contain an assessment of your academic abilities and potential for success in a doctoral program.
Applications will be considered incomplete until all of the information required on the application is submitted and the letters of recommedation and transcript(s) have been received. Letters of recommendation can be sent to the address below or as PDF files to m-craigen@northwestern.edu . Official transcripts should be sent to:
Mario Craigen
The Graduate School
Northwestern University
633 Clark St. Room 1-502
Evanston, IL 60208
Please click on the following link to access the application: http://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/srop/
Further Information
For further information on the Summer Research Opportunity Program, please contact Mario Craigen at m-craigen@northwestern.edu.
Support for the Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)
at Northwestern University has been provided by:
The Graduate School
Abbott Laboratories
Ariel Capital Management
CNA
Ford Motor Company
MARC/Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
Microsoft Corporation
Nycomed Amersham Imaging Inc.
The Omron Foundation
The National Institutes of Health
The National Science Foundation
The Vice President for Student Affairs
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Last updated: Jan 25 2010 11:37AM
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