STARS Summer Research Program

The STARS Summer Program provides summer term support for select undergraduate students who live on campus and participate in laboratory research with Yale faculty members. Students selected for the program work as full-time research assistants who support the research of their mentor and/or faculty advisor.  In addition, enrollment in SCIE 101 Scientific Research: Process and Presentation and active participation in weekly journal club sessions are required. These sessions provide STARS scholars the opportunity to discuss their individual lab journals as well as other journal article samples selected for the program. At the conclusion of the summer program, each student will submit his or her research results in a written publishable format and will conduct a formal presentation of their research at a public symposium.

Between course work and research, the STARS Summer fellowship will do much to establish the analytical and research skills necessary for academic and professional success. Each summer fellow will be paired with a mentor who will supervise the fellow in substantive laboratory research and expose the fellow to academic life in their specific field.  Mentors and summer fellows are encouraged to meet regularly to assess the progress made as well as to discuss other issues such as academic and career development.

Summer fellows must live on campus in one of the summer residences. The purpose of this arrangement is to foster an exciting and challenging academic environment where summer fellows may come together as a community to exchange ideas and information. The program includes evening activities and occasional weekend trips.

STARS summer fellows are awarded a total stipend of $2,500. The program also covers participants’ room and board, as well as the course tuition. Students are not allowed to enroll in any other summer course if they are participating in the STARS Summer Research Program.

Summer Fellow Responsibilities

1. All STARS Summer fellows must live on the Yale campus from for the duration of the nine week program. Summer Fellows are required to:
2. Work with a mentor in designing a mutually beneficially research project that will further develop the summer fellow's research and analytical skills;
3. Write a 6-10 page paper on his/her research project to be presented at the end of the program.  This paper/presentation will be evaluated by the mentor and course instructor.
4. Present the findings of research projects before all their peers, mentors, and invited guests from the larger Yale community at the Summer Research Internship Program Symposia in August;
5. Attend and participate in a weekly evening discussion regarding scientific issues. Some reading and preparation is required;
6. Attend class sessions of the summer course.

Thirty students are chosen to participate each summer.  The Yale STARS Summer Research Program does not accept applications directly from students enrolled at other universities.

Application Information

• Summer 2012 Application

Information Session: January 17, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Latino Cultural Center, 301 Crown Street and on January 20, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. in SSS, room 410.

Application Deadline: February 17, 2012

Applications should be submitted via email to, donalee.slater@yale.edu, or hand delivered to the Yale College Science & QR Center, SSS, room 20.

For application questions please contact Dean Rodney Cohen at rodney.cohen@yale.edu