Summer Scholars Program
The 2025 Summer Scholars Program is open for application!
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Department of Pediatrics sponsors the Summer Scholars Program in order to enrich the experience of students conducting research in the Department. All students conducting research with Pediatric faculty are invited to participate and all faculty in the Department have the opportunity to participate as mentors. Students are also invited to apply for the paid Summer Scholars Program.
Directors:
Xiao Wang, MD, PhD
Molly Martin, MD
Overview Heading link
BEFORE applying, students must obtain mentor commitment:
Students are responsible for reaching out to potential mentors and establishing their mentor’s commitment to supervise them on research before applying.
Finding a project and mentor:
- All UIC Department of Pediatrics faculty are eligible to be research mentors.
- The research mentor must commit to:
- Supervise the student on a project during the summer months,
- Ensure participation in the Summer Scholars Program, and
- Help the student to prepare for the Summer Scholars Poster Symposium.
- Some faculty have specific opportunities for students. Please see list of summer research opportunities here. The other option is to search the faculty labs and research here and here.
- Students email faculty, ask to meet with them. If they agree to take you on their project or to apply for funding to take you on, then you can apply.
Eligible students:
Students who wish to be Summer Scholars must meet the following criteria:
- Have established a UIC Department of Pediatrics faculty member as a research mentor.
- Must be available to attend the program for a portion of time between June 1 – August 15, 2025.
- 18 years or older
- All types of students (high school, undergraduate, graduate, medical) are eligible as long as they meet the other criteria.
- International students are not eligible.
Duration:
Most students will commit 6-8 weeks over the summer of 2025. The exact program dates will be set once the UIC College of Medicine schedule is final.
Summer Scholars Program Outline:
In addition to the research they do with their mentors, Summer Scholars will participate in weekly sessions/workshops. The exact topics are determined at the start of the program to align with the student interests, but the following are topics frequently covered: research careers and planning, research design, translational research, survey design, mixed methods and qualitative research, CVs and letters of recommendation. Students also present their summer work to department faculty mentors and each other.
Payment:
Students are encouraged to request funding from their mentor and to apply for funding from other sources, such as the Craig Fellowship. Some departmental funds are available as well. Payment amounts and route vary by level of student and other factors.
- The deadline for applications for payment using departmental funds is March 7th, 2025, at 5:00PM.
- The deadline for application for payment using non-department funds is April 1st, 2025.
To Register for the Summer Scholars Program:
After establishing a Pediatric faculty mentor, students must register for the program. There is no cost to register for the program.
The following information is required when completing registration for the Summer Scholars Program:
- Your name, contact information, university/school/campus and level of training
- Your mentor’s name and contact information (email or phone)
- A title for your project (made in partnership with your mentor)
If you are applying for funding, you will also need to provide the following:
- Description of the research project (500 words)
- Student’s specific duties (250 words)
- Student’s personal interests and motivations to conduct research (250 words)
- Summer research timeline (250 words)
- Mentor letter that includes:
- Student’s name
- Student’s role on project
- What research funds (including amount) the mentor is willing to contribute. If the mentor has no research funds to contribute, that should be stated.
- Justification for funding this study, why the student and funding is needed.
- Affirmation that the mentor will supervise the student on a project during the summer months, ensure participation in the UIC Department of Pediatrics Summer Scholars Program, and help the student to prepare for and present at the College of Medicine Research Day in the fall.
Funding is determined by the following criteria: Effectiveness of mentorship, quality of proposed research plan, adequate explanation of interests and motivations to conduct research, reasonable timeline for summer project, and funds availability.
For more information, click here and to apply please click here.