Eligibility

The EERREC REU will consist of cohorts of eight students in summer 2021, 2022, and 2023. Each cohort will include students from our partner institutions -- Howard University, California State University Fullerton, California State University Sacramento, and Sonoma State University -- and students from other institutions across the US. 

Because of federal funding restrictions, participation in the REU is open to US citizens or permanent residents who are college sophomores or juniors (including community college students and "4th year" juniors on the 5-year plan). We welcome applications from students from groups historically excluded from academic research in ecology and evolutionary biology, or who attend institutions with limited research opportunities.

How to apply

In the EERREC REU, we evaluate applicants using holistic review, which is an evidence-based approach to identify people who are likely to be successful in ecology research, regardless of what research opportunities may have been available to them prior to their application. 

As you consider options for EERREC research in your application, keep in mind that the EERREC REU offers you a unique opportunity to acquire skills that might otherwise not be available to you and to explore the boundaries of your curiosity in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Please use a word processor to prepare your responses to the questions below, then go to the application button on the bottom right and open the form. Paste your work into the text box or upload your statement, as appropriate. The form will not save work in progress.

If you encounter difficulty, please email Carole Hom, clhom@ucdavis.edu, with "help EERREC application" in the subject line.

• in case this helps: one applicant had trouble with the form when using the Safari browser but the application form worked fine in Chrome.

Components of the application

An application to the EERREC REU consists of the following.

1. Basic information about...

a. You

b. Your thoughts about approaches to science: characteristics of research projects and research methods; preferences for study systems or research questions. Please note that we don’t expect you to come with experience in any of these; we just seek information to help us match you with a research mentor.

2. A list of courses that you have taken (or will complete by the end of this academic year) and that you think are relevant to the EERREC REU. If you wish, you may briefly explain why each course is relevant. Please use the filename LastNameFirstName_courses and save it as a .pdf.

3. Responses to the following prompts, each using no more than half a single-spaced page. We encourage you to consider sharing a draft with a faculty member at your institution to provide feedback. Assemble your responses into a single file, use the filename LastNameFirstName_app and save it as a .pdf.

a. Describe a previous research experience. In your response, please include the name of the institution where you did the research and the name of the faculty member who oversaw the project. What research question did you address and what was your role in the research? (if you have no prior research experience, please answer this question using an experiment or project from a class, and include the title of the course)

b. The purpose of this essay is to learn something about your academic interests. Please describe your academic and career goals and how the EERREC REU program will help you achieve those goals. 

c. The purpose of this essay is to get to know you as an individual and potential scholar in our REU. Please tell us about how your life experiences, including any challenges that you faced, brought you to apply for the EERREC REU.

d. A statement of your contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

4. Two letters of recommendation submitted via email. Please ask your references to address your creativity and innovation, commitment to long-term goals, resilience and adaptability, academic preparation, contributions to broader impacts, leadership and work experience, and research experience. Please ask your references to send their letter to Carole Hom at clhom@ucdavis.edu with your name in the subject line.

We will begin application review on 1 February 2023; for full consideration, please submit all your materials by this date. 

NOTE: 1 Feb is a target date rather than a deadline. If your application has been delayed for reasons beyond your control (illness, vagaries of winter storms and power outages, etc.), please contact us to let us know.