Any undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park may apply, provided they meet the minimum GPA, credit and course requirements and are proposing to engage in faculty-mentored research in biology or a related discipline. In the past we have awarded fellowships to students from the Colleges of Engineering, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Behavioral and Social Sciences and Health and Human Performance, in addition to Life Sciences. Mentors can be in any college. The research they propose to supervise must be in the life sciences or a related field, however. Many current mentors have more than one HHMI Undergraduate Research Fellow in their laboratories.
Students benefit from a collaborative atmosphere and being able to interact with other lab members.
It can be, but it is not required. It is up to the faculty mentor and student to work out how much input the student has into the design of the research project. Many students pick their projects from a selection of projects proposed and designed by the mentor. Students with previous research experience may have a larger role in concieving and designing projects. The fellowships are intended to support research mentored by our campus faculty.