DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
FIELD STUDIES PROGRAM
 

Each of the past ten summers, the Department of Biology has offered a summer research opportunity to Stanford undergraduates who are at an early stage of their careers, the VPUE Field Studies Program . More than 140 Stanford students have participated in hands-on ecology and behavioral research projects through the VPUE Field Studies Program. We are now accepting applications from students for Summer 2009.
 


 

 

Why participate in this program?
As a Stanford student in this program you will learn the basics of ecological and behavioral research techniques, including observation methods, mapping, and sampling procedures. More importantly, you will begin to understand how much careful planning -- and how much data -- are required to test hypotheses in behavioral and population biology. Faculty are eager to work with Stanford undergraduates who could build on the summer experience and go on to further research in their labs. These summer internships offer that possibility. Ecology field work is an exciting, hands-on way of delving directly into the research process. The intensive experience will equip you to undertake an honors project back at Stanford during the academic year. Using the techniques learned during the summer, you can undertake field research at nearby locations like Jasper Ridge, or far away locations like Costa Rica, and then analyze your field work data in a laboratory.

Who can apply?
The VPUE Field Studies Program requires that participating students be Stanford undergraduates in their first or second year of studies.  Many of the Sophomores will have completed at least one quarter of the Bio core or Hum Bio 2A.  Many of the faculty are eager to welcome especially well-prepared Freshmen.  The program is designed to introduce students to research at an early stage of their undergraduate education.  Consequently, the basic design of the research projects is provided by the faculty who will guide you - you don't need to have in advance a concrete plan of what you would like to do.

Is this program right for you?
Fieldwork usually entails outdoor activities, and many of these field internships will require hard work in rugged environments. You will need to learn the details of each internship from the project descriptions, talk to the research sponsors, and decide if it is right for you.  The general expectation is that you will be working long days without many (any?) of the comforts of home. Will you be willing to get up at 5:00 in the morning if that's what it takes to observe a certain species? Can you be out in the sun for several hours at a time? Can you pay close attention to small details every day?  Can you get along with other people well? Are you able to deal with difficult situations?

Who are the research sponsors?
A number of Biology faculty members will participate in the program in the summer of 2009, including but not limited to: Barbara Block, Carol Boggs, Rodolfo Dirzo, Deborah Gordon, Elizabeth Hadly, Hal Mooney, Joan Roughgarden, Shripad Tuljapurkar, Peter Vitousek, and Ward Watt. In some cases the projects involve working closely with graduate students or postdocs as well.

What do you need to do to apply?

  1. First read over the descriptions of the research projects planned by the various faculty sponsors. A distinguishing feature of our Field Studies Program is that you are not expected to have a project "of your own" or a hypothesis "of your own" but are more likely to be working with a faculty member, graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or research associate on research that had been previously planned. This differentiates these internships from the major grants offered by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities office which are mainly designed for juniors pursuing an honors thesis. 

 

You might find it useful to read some student research experiences from interns who participated in previous summers.

  1. Secondly, submit an application for participation in the VPUE Field Studies Program. 


 

To fill out the application, please copy the form from the application web page, fill it out, write your application essay and email it back as instructed on the form. 

What does it cost?
Nothing!  All your internship expenses will be covered, including travel, housing, food and necessary research supplies.  There should be sufficient funds for a small stipend for each student participant, as well. 

What else is required to participate in the program?
Beyond submitting the application, completing any requested interviews, and actively participating in the summer research of your sponsor, you will be required to write a short project review at the end of the summer related to your field research. We would also really like to have a photograph or two of you working on your project. Finally, we will be sponsoring lunch meetings both before and after the summer so that you can get to know the other interns and research sponsors who are involved in the program.
   

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