Yale College Dean’s Research Fellowship & Rosenfeld Science Scholars Program

Both the Yale College Dean’s Research Fellowship and the Rosenfeld Science Scholars Program seek to promote the academic development of promising students through engagement in original scientific research and provide fellowship support for undergraduate STEM research projects. Awardees will be selected from among currently enrolled sophomores and juniors.  Applicants may be pursuing a degree in any major offered by Yale College, but must be proposing research in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. Clinical research projects will not be considered for funding. For those interested in doing basic research in mathematics, please consider applying to the Summer Undergraduate Math Research at Yale (SUMRY) program, https://sumry.yale.edu/sumry.  If you are interested in neuroscience, psychology, computer science, or engineering, please consider applying to the Wu Tsai Undergraduate Fellowships Program, Undergrad Fellowships (yale.edu).

Stipend support of $5,000 is granted for 10 weeks minimum of summer research which should be consecutive and full-time, with no other time commitment, such as employment or courses.  Research must be supervised by a member of the Yale faculty (including the Graduate and Professional Schools), and must be conducted at Yale University. In consultation with the research mentor, students are expected to generate a well-developed proposal for a research project with substantial pedagogic and scholarly merit.   

A review committee consisting of Yale Professors and Deans will select qualified students for receipt of fellowships. Students with little or no prior research experience will be considered for the Yale College Dean’s Research Fellowship. Last year, approximately 70 students received funding.

Students with significant prior research experience and demonstrated exceptional potential through their coursework (must have a 3.8 cumulative GPA or higher) will be considered for the Rosenfeld Science Scholars Program. Last year, 19 students were awarded the Rosenfeld Science Scholars’ fellowship.

Students awarded a Rosenfeld Science Scholar fellowship will have the opportunity to: 

  • present their summer research projects to their colleagues and mentors at the RSS Symposium (Sept/Oct) *Rosenfeld Science Scholars Symposium, Monday, October 30, 2023, 5:30-8pm, Davies Auditorium
  • Up to $2,000 funding is available to all RSS to present research data at one national or international science conference.   *Requests for funding must be made 3 months prior to the conference date(s) by submitting a CONFERENCE - TRAVEL REQUEST FORM to donalee.slater @yale.edu.  Please read the Conference Travel Policy before submitting your request. 

View an example of a research proposal (PDF) submitted for the Yale College Dean’s Research Fellowship and the Rosenfeld Science Scholars Program.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for Yale College Science & QR-administered Fellowships, Yale College students must be enrolled (that is, not withdrawn) both at the time of submitting the fellowship application and at the time of receiving an award. Yale College students who are on a leave of absence are eligible to apply.

Deadline for submission

  • Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 3:00pm ET

Applications must be submitted online through the Student Grants & Fellowships database http://studentgrants.yale.edu/

Applications should include the following materials

  • A description of the proposed research project.
  • A copy of the applicant’s transcript. An unofficial transcript is acceptable.
  • A CV/resume, including a description of relevant experience.
  • A recommendation letter from the proposed Yale faculty mentor, including evaluation of the qualifications and potential of the student, the scholarly and pedagogic merits of the proposed project, the student’s role in the development of the proposal, and a detailed plan for the supervision of the project.  View the instructions on what should be included in the letter.
  • A second letter of reference is required.  The letter should speak to the applicant’s abilities and propensities to succeed in research, and can be from a previous PI (within or outside of Yale) or other mentor or professor.