St. Olaf REU
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I do in the St. Olaf REU program?
You will work closely with your faculty mentor to develop and implement a research project that interests you. While daily tasks/schedules will differ from project to project, you are typically required to be working on the project as if it were a full-time summer job. You might find yourself out in the field sampling one day and spending the next day in the lab processing your samples – it all depends on your project! Each week, you will participate in a “lab meeting” with the program coordinator and will also participate in career development panels/lectures. Weekly social activities are planned for the you and your faculty mentors that include BBQs, a camping trip, bowling, and a field trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota. At the end of the summer, you will present your findings at a poster session and program celebration.
What is the cost to me?
We provide students with a stipend for the 10 weeks ($4800), free housing on St. Olaf Campus, and travel costs to and from St. Olaf at the beginning and end of the program. Your only cost will be food and your own entertainment during the 10-week program.
I’m really interested in this opportunity, but I have a family that I can’t leave for 10 weeks. What can I do?
We recognize the difficulties of going to school full-time and raising a family. Because we want to make this opportunity accessible to a wide range of students, St. Olaf will provide housing (at no additional cost to the student) for families in one of our on-campus houses. Please be sure to indicate on your application form that you will need family housing. Email Stephanie Schmidt (stolaf.reu@gmail.com) if you have any questions about the family housing option.
I’ve never heard of St. Olaf – where and what are you?
St. Olaf College is a small, liberal arts school located in Northfield, MN. Northfield is a vibrant small-town only 45 minutes from Minneapolis/St. Paul. There is a regular bus that runs from the Twin Cities to Northfield daily for only $10 one way.
St. Olaf does not have a graduate program, so all of our students are undergraduates. For this reason, you can be sure you’ll have lots of direct one-on-one time with your faculty mentor. We recently moved in to our brand new LEED Platinum Certified Regents Hall of Natural Sciences, which provides students state-of-the-art facilities for studying science and completing scientific research. We may be a small school, but we offer the high quality mentoring of a small school combined with the state-of-the-art technology and research instrumentation typically found at large research universities. For example, we recently acquired a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer that will allow us to complete a wide range of research projects using stable isotope analysis. We also offer direct access to a diverse set of natural resources, including a field station on the Mississippi River and several hundred acres of beautiful restored prairie and wetlands.
I'm interested. What do I do now?
The first thing you need to know is the deadline: March 1st, 2011.
You'll need to make sure that all of your materials (including your college transcript and letters of recommendation) are in by the due date.
Think about what sort of research you are interested in and check out the project descriptions to identify a couple of projects at St. Olaf that interest you. You will work with your faculty member when you arrive on campus to develop a realistic research project that interests you.
Am I eligible to apply if I am not a U.S. citizen?
No. To be eligible for NSF/REU grant support, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Am I eligible to apply if I am not an undergraduate student?
No. To be eligible for NSF/REU grant support you must still be enrolled as an undergraduate during the summer of your REU experience. For most, this means you must be returning to an undergraduate degree program in the fall. Students can be enrolled in 2-year Tribal/Community Colleges or 4-year college/university programs.
When will I find out if I am accepted?
Notification of acceptance will be March 18th.
I have a question that isn’t listed here.
If you have any questions about the program or the application process, please email Stephanie Schmidt at stolaf.reu@gmail.com.
