FIRE SUMMER RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS
A faculty-mentored summer internship experience that helps you develop broad research capabilities and leadership potential.
RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS
Introduction
FIRE is excited to announce the 2023 FIRE Summer Research Internships, a summer research internship and professional development opportunity built for a wide range of University of Maryland (UMD) students. This opportunity is available to UMD undergraduates - both affiliated with and independent of the FIRE program at UMD.
FIRE Summer Research Internships provide:
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a research-intensive, faculty-mentored 8-week summer experience
AND
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3 credits of transcript-impacting FIRE199: FIRE Research Internship course credit
FIRE Summer Research Interns work closely with our FIRE Faculty Leaders and a small group of their undergraduate peers on focused research projects in FIRE stream locations across campus.
All FIRE Summer Research Interns will participate in a broad range of potential research engagements:
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receive fundamental research, technology, and method training (no previous experience is required for all participants),
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learn, test, and implement new research methodologies and protocols,
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design and pilot experiments,
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gather and analyze data,
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and develop and share a finalized project or other research accomplishments.
All FIRE Summer Research Interns will strongly develop their leadership potential and other professional capacities through weekly program-wide seminars and professional development discussions.
Each of our FIRE streams has a small number of FIRE Summer Research Interns, ensuring selected students get a focused, faculty-mentored research experience.
Eligibility
The FIRE Summer Research Internships is the opportunity through which FIRE is able to offer its resources to students who are currently in FIRE, those who have already completed FIRE, and other UMD undergraduate students who are not affiliated with FIRE.
To be clear on this issue of eligibility for FIRE Summer Research Internships - the following groups of UMD undergraduates are encouraged to consider this exciting opportunity and apply:
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Current FIRE students
Enrolled in FIRE Semester 2, Spring 2023.
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Current FIRE Peer Research Mentors
Enrolled in FIRE Research Leadership, Spring 2023.
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Completed FIRE students
Those who have already completed FIRE, not currently FIRE Peer Research Mentors, at UMD completing their degree. Do you wish you could come back to FIRE and have an additional mentored internship experience to broaden your research portfolio? You can!
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All currently enrolled, full-time, degree-seeking UMD undergraduates.
We welcome all currently enrolled, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students to apply to become a part of our research community. Even if you have no previous research experience, the FIRE Summer Research Internships program is for you!
How to Apply
Due to space limitations, FIRE Summer Research Internship positions are by application through March 30, 2023.
Our application purposefully does not ask about your grades, GPA, or previous academic and/or research accomplishments. We simply want to know more about you, and your motivations for pursuing a research and professional development experience with FIRE.
We will use the perspectives you share to find students we think are a good match for the opportunity we offer.
The Process After Application
After the application period ends, the following process will occur:
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Application Evaluations & Decisions:
March 31, 2023 - April 6, 2023
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Decisions Communicated to Applicants:
by April 7, 2023
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Enrollment in Summer FIRE 199 Course:
by 5:00 pm on April 21, 2023
The FIRE Summer Research Internships have been designed to include course credit that impacts your transcript and degree progress.
Students who confirm their acceptance with the FIRE Summer Research Internships are expected to enroll in FIRE199 and will need to pay the tuition and fees that are required for this course credit. Failure to do so will result in the loss of acceptance into the summer program.
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Waitlist Enrollment Period
On April 24, 2023, we will begin the open enrollment period of our summer program.
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All sections of FIRE199 with available seats will be open for enrollment by an interested UMD undergraduate student including those on our application waitlist. No additional approvals or assignments are needed to grab a final spot in our summer program if interested!
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Each section of FIRE199 is connected with a specific FIRE stream. If you are able to enroll in a section with open seats, you will join that FIRE stream.
Please see the FAQs to the right for more information about enrollment, tuition, and fees required for FIRE 199.
Questions about the FIRE Summer Research Internships should be sent to Dr. Carol Vieira.
FAQs
What are the essential dates I need to know?
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Applications Close:
03/30/2023 (end of day) -
Decisions Communicated to Applicants:
04/07/2023 (end of day) -
Enrollment in Summer FIRE199 course: 04/21/2023 (by 5:00 pm)
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Waitlist Open Enrollment Period Starts:
04/24/2023
When are the FIRE Summer Research Internships scheduled?
FIRE Summer Research Interns commit to 8 weeks of research over the summer. The internship period lasts from May 30 through July 21, 2023 (which overlaps with the 8-week UMD summer session).
How many hours per week are required?
FIRE Summer Research Interns commit to 15 hours per week of on-site research engagement. Exact schedules will be determined by each FIRE stream and will generally overlap business hours (8:00 am to 5:00 pm).
Can specific days and/or weeks be missed if I have a short commitment this summer?
We seek to work 15 hours per week for 8 weeks with all FIRE Summer Research Interns. We recognize you might have short plans that could interfere with just a few days or up to one week of this period. We will work with you to distribute the required hours to the other weeks in the internship period.
Specific week-to-week and day-to-day schedules will be determined by each of our research groups when the internship period begins on May 30, 2023.
Is this a paid research position?
We are not able to offer paid positions. While the FIRE Summer Research Internships promises an immersive and professional research opportunity, this is a UMD summer course - not employment with FIRE.
Can you provide more information about tuition and fees for the FIRE199 course? As a participant, am I required to pay tuition, and are scholarships or financial aid available?
While FIRE is able to operate in the Fall and Spring semesters without requiring any fees or additional tuition for our research-based FIRE courses and experiences, our FIRE Summer Research Internships require enrollment in a 3-credit UMD summer course (FIRE199) that has summer-based tuition and fees.
Information about tuition and fees for FIRE199 is available on the Extended Studies website:
We are not able to offer scholarships or financial aid to cover these course costs at this time.
What will the FIRE199: FIRE Research Internship course require? Will there be assignments, quizzes, and exams?
The FIRE 199 course will allow all FIRE Summer Research Interns to earn transcript credit for their summer commitment and accomplishment.
The FIRE199 course has been designed to facilitate the research process and will not have quizzes, exams, or final exams of any kind.
The course will have short assignments that require students to communicate about their research progress and challenges at regular intervals throughout the 8-week experience and report on final findings and accomplishments.
Who is eligible to apply?
FIRE Summer Research Internships are available to all currently enrolled, full-time, degree-seeking UMD undergraduates. Membership in the FIRE program is not required.
Students of other first-year programs including the Honors College and College Park Scholars (and any other first-year program) are encouraged to apply.
If I am currently a FIRE student in FIRE Semester 2, why should I apply?
This is an opportunity for you to advance, accelerate and deepen your FIRE experience.
While the three-semester FIRE experience focuses most heavily on research training and accomplishment, FIRE Summer Research Internships brings an additional focus on research leadership development that will advance your training and make you a strong candidate for FIRE Leadership Opportunities.
Additionally, this is an opportunity for you to potentially work with a different FIRE stream for just the summer period (you would return to your current FIRE stream for FIRE Semester 3 in the Fall 2023 semester). Please see more information in the question below about stream preferencing for summer.
If I am a completed FIRE student or current Peer Research Mentor, why should I apply?
Much like current FIRE Semester 2 students, this is an opportunity for you to both deepen and broaden your FIRE experience. Your best opportunity might be to spend time with a FIRE stream and faculty member different from the one you had during your FIRE experience.
For those familiar with life in a FIRE stream, how does the FIRE Summer Research Internship experience differ?
The answer is that it does not - it expands. You get more time, more community with your FIRE Faculty Leader and peers, deepened research training, more research results, and purposeful leadership training to broaden your professional development and story.
If I am a UMD undergraduate not at all affiliated with FIRE, why should I apply?
We would love to welcome you to the community of research at UMD! This is an opportunity for you to gain fundamental research training with a FIRE Faculty Leader.
Advance and open doors earning course credit!
Will early applications have an advantage?
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For current FIRE students and Peer Research Mentors - no, all applications will be evaluated equally, independent of the submission date.
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For completed FIRE students and all other current UMD undergraduates - yes, the order of applications will impact acceptance into the FIRE Summer Research Internships. We encourage you to apply early.
Does FIRE provide housing?
We are not able to provide housing. However, FIRE Summer Research Interns can find on and off-campus housing resources through The University of Maryland's Department of Resident Life and Off-Campus Housing Services.
Do FIRE Summer Research Interns need to be able to come to campus during the summer?
Yes, FIRE Summer Research Interns need to be able to come to campus to perform the research engaged and attend professional development seminars. FIRE is not able to offer this opportunity remotely.
The application asks me to communicate which FIRE streams most interest me. Which one will I be assigned if I am accepted into the FIRE Research Internships?
We will attempt to place all current FIRE students and Peer Research Mentors with their current FIRE stream (unless an alternate preference is communicated in your application). If FIRE stream capacity is reached, applicants will be offered a spot with other FIRE streams of communicated interest that have not yet reached capacity.
Completed FIRE students and other UMD undergraduates will be offered positions with FIRE streams with a focus on giving each prospective FIRE Summer Research Intern their highest preference possible.
Whom should I contact if I have issues adding or dropping the FIRE199 course?
Please contact Extended Studies (EXST) regarding any issues adding or dropping the FIRE199 course. Please be aware that if FIRE199 is your only course for the summer term, you may have to work with EXST to drop the course (it might not be possible to do so through TESTUDO).
Will COVID-19 policies impact plans for the FIRE Summer Research Internships?
FIRE Summer Research Internships will be on-campus and in-person. FIRE will be in compliance with all UMD health and safety policies through the entirety of the FIRE Summer Research Internship period.