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Science Center Summer Research Program for Wellesley Students

About this Web Application

This web application was written during the spring of 2008 by three students in CS304 as part of a course project, though it has been extensively updated since. It was first used to handle summer research applications in February of 2009. If you run into any technical difficulties, or have any questions, comments or suggestions, please email us at scrgrant@cs.wellesley.edu. (Notice that our email address is on the CS server; it's not a FirstClass email address.)

This web application supports both students who are applying for funding and faculty who are supervising projects, writing letters of recommendation, or reading applications. Just scroll down to the relevant section.

I am a student applying for funding
I am a faculty member
I am uploading a letter of recommendation

Deadlines

Deadline for students submitting applications is midnight on March 4th, 2011.
Deadline for submitting letters of recommendation is midnight on March 18th, 2011.
Deadline for project supervisors to evaluate students expressing interest in their projects is midnight on March 25th, 2011.

What's New

This web application is undergoing some updates and improvements. We know the aesthetics leave much to be desired, but there isn't time for the whole renovation it really needs. We apologize for its shortcomings, and we thank you for your understanding. If you have specific suggestions, please feel free to email us at the support address on every page.

You can now set/reset your own password
The list of funding sources has changed. Faculty are now required to specify the funding possibilities for their various projects. Students no longer have to say what they are eligible for.
Faculty must specify whether a project may involve mentoring of local high-school students. (This is just a simple yes/no.)
Students must specify whether they are willing to mentor local high school students if the project involves that. (Again, this is just a simple yes/no.)

Current Projects

The following projects have been entered into the system. To learn more about them, follow the links from the Science Center for Students page, or contact to the associated faculty member.

Faculty Access

Faculty play three different kinds of roles in this process: they are supervisors of projects, they are recommenders of students, and they are readers of applications. In every case, faculty login here. If you've forgotten your password, you can have it emailed to you by clicking a button on the login page.

If you don't already have an account, please contact scrgrant@cs.wellesley.edu, and we will set one up for you.

Note:

For security reasons, the application doesn't take your word for it that you are a faculty member; an administrator needs to "approve" your account and grant you access as a recommender, a supervisor, or an application reader, or some combination of those privileges.
You can't upload a letter of recommendation for a student until she submits her application, because that submission creates a folder that will hold your letter. We understand this can be inconvenient, and we apologize for that.
When a student has submitted her application listing you as a recommender, you will get an email asking you to submit a letter on her behalf.

If this process seems to have gone wrong, please email scrgrant@cs.wellesley.edu, and we'll look into it.

Recommenders

To upload a letter of recommendation, go to the login page and enter the required username (your email address) and password (which was sent to you). If you don't have your password, you can have it emailed to you by clicking a button on the login page.

Note that you will not be able to upload a letter of recommendation for a student until she actually submits her application.

Student Applications

This software handles both on-campus and off-campus applications. Make sure you read the correct instructions, below.

Submitting an application takes several steps.

First, you register for an account, using your Wellesley email address as your username. You will also supply a password. This should probably not be the same as your FirstClass password or any other password you use. If you applied last year, you do not have to re-register.
Later, if necessary, you login using your username and password.

You then fill out the form and submit it. The form is actually in several parts:
1. The first page allows you to enter a lot of info, including such as you address, Banner id, project preferences, and so forth.
2. The second page allows you to review the info from the first page, then allows you to upload files for résumé, personal statement, and transcript. These files should be either MS WORD (.DOC but not .DOCX) or PDF. The form also includes an honor code statement that your application is honest and valid.
3. Submitting that second form completes your application.
4. The people you asked to write letters of recommendation will not be able to upload a letter on your behalf until that last step, when you submit your finished application.

General Notes and Frequently Asked Questions

The website now handles on-campus and well as off-campus applications. You can submit one of each, if you need to.
You can save your form data (step 1) and return to it as many times as necessary. You should put off uploading your files (step 2) until the end, since they have to be re-uploaded every time (we may try to fix this someday).
The validate button checks your form for certain kinds of oversights, but it can't know if you mistyped your wrong banner id, chose the wrong project, or mispelled the email address of your recommender, so use it, but don't rely on it alone.
Once you submit your application (as opposed to save), you are done and can't edit it anymore.
Your recommenders can't submit a letter until you submit your application. This allows you to change your mind about who you're going to ask.
An email is sent to each of your recommenders when you submit you application. (There's no way to notify you if the email bounces, so try to avoid that.) However, there is no reason not to personally contact your recommenders earlier than that.

On-Campus Applications

An on-campus application must include the following: (This information is copied from Science Center – for Students; in the event of any discrepancy, that page is authoritative.

Completed on-campus application form
Personal statement, as PDF or MS Word file (type DOC, not DOCX).
Two letters of recommendation. The form will ask you for the name and email address of two recommenders. You will have an opportunity on the form to waive your access to these letters.
Recommendations are preferably written by Wellesley College science faculty.
Resume (one page), as PDF or MS Word file (type DOC, not DOCX).
Chemistry and Physics, Biological Sciences, Neuroscience, and Computer Science project descriptions are available. Students desiring to work on Astronomy, Geosciences, Mathematics or Psychology projects should contact faculty with whom they would like to work to discuss potential projects.
List three faculty members whose project(s) you are interested in, in order of preference, and describe how these projects fit in with your experience and goals. If you want additional information on any project, faculty members will be happy to discuss them with you. These discussions do not represent a commitment to accepting you into their laboratories for the summer. It is always to the applicant's advantage, however, to have spoken to the prospective supervisor before applying.
A copy of your downloaded transcript (a PDF file, most likely)
Whether you are willing to mentor local area high-school students, should any of the projects involve that.

Off-Campus Applications

An off-campus application must include the following:

(This information is copied from Science Center – for Students; in the event of any discrepancy, that page is authoritative.

Completed off-campus application form
Contact information for supervisor of off-campus project.
Personal statement, as PDF or MS Word file (type DOC, not DOCX).
Two letters of recommendation. The form will ask you for the name and email address of two recommenders. You will have an opportunity on the form to waive your access to these letters.
Recommendations are preferably written by Wellesley College science faculty.
Resume (one page), as PDF or MS Word file (type DOC, not DOCX).
Description of off-campus project: This description should be aproximately two double-spaced pages in length and must be written in the student's own words. It should be written for the non-specialist, so that a person with a general background in science could understand what you will do. It should be sufficiently detailed so that the readers will gain an idea of the scope of the project and its goals. Also, include a statement of how the project fits your interests and goals. Give a copy of the description to each person asked for a Recommendation. (The software doesn't do this for you; you have to do it separately.)
A copy of your downloaded transcript (a PDF file, most likely)