Summer 2007
VANDERBILT UNDERGRADUATE
SUMMER RESEARCH PROGRAM (VUSRP)
Summer 2007 |
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VUSRP FAQ Sheet
Questions:
1) How do I find a potential sponsor?
2) Who can serve as a VUSRP Faculty Sponsor?
3) To apply, am I required to attend an informational session, and does it matter which session I attend?
4) I will be a rising junior this summer, should I apply?
5) My mentor has already agreed to sponsor another applicant, can s/he sponsor me as well?
6) Should I submit letters of recommendation, or other supplementary materials, with my application?
7) I have a conflict (e.g., a planned family trip) with some of the dates of the program. Is this a problem?
8) Does the VUSRP Fellowship include housing?
9) Does the VUSRP Fellowship include research funds?
10) Is the VUSRP Fellowship considered taxable income?
Answers:
1) How do I find a potential sponsor?
Finding a Sponsor for the VUSRP program is primarily the student’s responsibility. The members of the VUSRP Coordinating Committee do not have a master list of potential sponsors, nor are they equipped to search out such sponsors and match them with potential applicant’s interests. There are however, a number of steps a potential applicant can take to identify a research mentor/sponsor.First, many potential applicants will already working with a faculty member as a research assistant, or in the context of an independent study, directed research, or honors project. In many cases this faculty member would make an ideal VUSRP Sponsor.
Second, many departments have web-pages or bulletin boards listing research opportunities for undergraduates, and the faculty offering such opportunities are good candidates to serve as VUSRP Sponsors. If such listings of opportunities are not readily available, it is worth inquiring in the relevant department’s main office about whether such opportunities exist.
Finally, perhaps the most common method of finding a sponsor (or of linking up with a faculty member in the first place) is through word of mouth and the student’s own initiative. Talk with other students in your major about which faculty are working with students, what they are working on, what it is like to work with those faculty members, etc. You also might talk to professors in the department who you know about your interests, and they will often be able to link you up with an appropriate colleague, or they may even be interested in having you work with them, themselves. Then make appointments to talk with faculty whose research sounds interesting to you to discuss your research interests.
2) Who can serve as a VUSRP Faculty Sponsor?
All faculty, regardless of rank, having an appointment in one of the four undergraduate schools (A&S, Blair, Engineering, or Peabody), as well as faculty who are core members of the VU Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS), are eligble to serve as VUSRP sponsors. As in the past, faculty with appointments in the Medical Center are not eligible to serve as VUSRP sponsors unless they also have an appointment in one of the undergraduate schools, or are affiliated with the VUIIS. Although in some disciplines VUSRP fellows, under the supervision of their VUSRP sponsor, will often work closely with postdoctoral fellows and research staff on their VUSRP projects, such non-faculty persons are not eligible to serve as a VUSRP sponsor. Instead, eligible VUSRP sponsors must have an eligible faculty appointment.
3) To apply, am I required to attend an informational sessions, and does it matter which session I attend?
All the information needed to apply for a VUSRP fellowship is available through the VUSRP web site. Thus, although it is often helpful to attend a VUSRP informational session, attendance at these sessions is not recorded or required. The primary purpose of these meetings is simply to allow potential applicants have their questions about the program answered by a member of the VUSRP Coordinating Committee. In addition, although there is sometimes some preference to attend an informational session sponsored by one’s own school, all potential applicants are invited to attend any of the informational sessions that are offered. All of the informational session leaders are on the VUSRP Coordinating Committee and are very knowledgeable about the program. For some questions that are specific to the disciplines housed by a particular school (e.g., what is the best way to frame an application involving an engineering project versus a project in the humanities versus a social science project, etc.) your school’s committee member may be better able to answer such questions than the other committee members. However, in the main, students should feel free to attend whichever informational meeting that best fits their schedule, etc.
4) I will be a rising junior this summer, should I apply?
If you are interested in pursuing full-time research this summer, and think you can submit a strong application, absolutely. As noted, there is a preference given to rising seniors. Thus with applications of the same quality, a rising senior will receive an award before a rising junior. However, each year the committee receives a number of very strong applications from rising juniors, and each year a number of these applications are funded. On average, about a third of the awards made in any given year go to rising juniors. Although very rare, it is even possible to receive a VUSRP Fellowship as a rising sophomore. It doesn t happen very often, but about every three years or so, a rising sophomore will submit an application that is so impressive that the committee will fund it in spite of the clear preference for rising seniors.
5) My mentor has already agreed to sponsor another applicant, can s/he sponsor me as well?
Yes. New, this year, each faculty mentor can sponsor up to two VUSRP applications. It should be noted, however, that just as the Coordinating Committee has a preference to distribute awards to rising seniors (see the previous question), the committee has a preference to distribute the VUSRP awards as broadly as possible among qualified candidates across the university. Therefore, in order for two applicants with the same faculty sponsor to be funded, both applications would need to be extremely strong. It should also be noted that a faculty member sponsoring two applications will not hurt the likelihood of funding for the application evaluated by the VUSRP Coordinating Committee as the stronger of the two.
6) Should I submit letters of recommendation, or other supplementary materials, with my application?
No. The VUSRP application is intentionally kept brief. Submitting materials beyond those explicitly requested on the application (i.e., the application itself, and your academic transcript) is likely to be interpreted by the members of the Coordinating Committee who evaluate the applications as an attempt to gain an unfair advantage over other applicants. Thus, such materials are highly unlikely to be viewed favorably. In cases in which the applicant or mentor would like to call attention to special or extenuating circumstances around the application, they should contact the Chair of the Coordinating Committee (Craig Smith) to discuss the issue, and to determine the best way of fairly communicating this information to the committee.
7) I have a conflict (e.g., a planned family trip) with some of the dates of the program. Is this a problem?
It depends, but probably not. The official dates of the program coincide exactly with Vanderbilt's full summer session. For any number of reasons, these exact dates may pose problems for some Fellows, who might want to start the program a bit late, end it a bit early, or take some time off in the middle. Unless the deviations from the official dates are not too severe, shifting the dates of one s participation in the program somewhat from the official ones is often not a problem, as long as the following two conditions are met:
First and foremost, any deviations from the official dates must be discussed with, and approved by, the Fellow's faculty Sponsor, and
Second, arrangements should be made to ensure that the Fellow is engaged in 10 weeks of full-time research over the course of the summer (e.g, by starting the program a bit early, or ending it a bit late, etc.).
Deviations from the official dates that only involve a couple of days need only be discussed with the Faculty Sponsor. More substantial deviations should also be discussed with the Chair of the Coordinating Committee (Craig Smith).
8) Does the VUSRP Fellowship include housing?
No. The stipend associated with the VUSRP Fellowship is intended to defray the Fellows' living expensesses (including room and board) so that they can work on their research full time. Due to a lack of demand, the program currently does not offer on-campus housing. Virtually all recent Fellows have preferred to live off-campus, and in the summer suitable sublets are readily available. In mid-April, after the awards are announced, there will be an orientation meeting for all of this year's VUSRP Fellows. Fellows often use this meeting as an opportunity to join up with other fellows to arrange for housing. If housing is going to be a problem for you, let the chair of the Coordinating Committee (Craig Smith) know, and he can possibly arrange for on-campus housing for you (at standard on-campus housing rates).
9) Does the VUSRP Fellowship include research funds?
No. The stipend represents the only funds associated with the VUSRP Fellowship. If your proposed project requires research funding, it is expected that these funds will be provided by the Faculty Sponsor, using her or his research funds.
10) Is the VUSRP Fellowship considered taxable income?
The answer to this seemingly simple question is actually rather complicated, and it depends in part on your personal circumstances and how the funds are used. Although a definitive answer cannot be given here, there are resources you can use to help determine whether and how much of the VUSRP award should be reported as taxable income. For instance, here is a link to the most recent version of IRS Publication 970 - Tax Benefits for Education (listed on the linked page under "scholarships and fellowships"). One thing to note is that the VUSRP award is considered to be a non-service stipend, and thus, it is not reported to the IRS, and you will not receive a W2 from Vanderbilt reflecting this income.
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Any questions or comments about the presentation of this material should be directed to craig.a.smith@vanderbilt.edu