Prepare these items in advance, before you begin to fill out the application form. You'll be asked to upload your resume, but the questions will need to be submitted in plain text.
Resume
Your resume is how you provide faculty reviewers information about your research experience, academic strengths, skills, and other relevant experiences that make you an appealing candidate for the Summer Research Program. For this program, your resume may look more like a curriculum vita (CV) than a traditional resume, since it's not necessary to spend a lot of time describing work experiences unrelated to research. Be sure to include:
- Lab and research experiences with details about your role in the research
- Conferences attended, presentations, and publications
- Awards, honors, and scholarships
- Volunteer and extracurricular activities
- Relevant work experience
Resumes should be one page (500 words) in length.
Questions
The form asks three questions — two required and one optional — to take the place of a personal statement. If you've already composed a personal statement, it most likely addresses these topics and you'll be able to simply reformat parts of it to paste into the SRP application.
- (Required) How would this research experience help you to meet your educational goals?
- (Required) Please describe your previous research experiences and personal strengths that would benefit a research team.
- (Optional) Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about yourself or your interests?
The optional short answer question is an opportunity for you to share anything unique about yourself or your experiences that would help faculty get to know you better. You may also use this space if there is something that needs further explanation not addressed in the two required short answers, such as an academic deficiency.
Keep your answers succinct. Each should be approximately 250-300 words in length, as there is a 2,000 character maximum.
Research Rankings
The application form allows applicants to rank up to three research programs, so you need only complete the application form once. Because of the competitive nature of the application process, accepted students are usually offered a position by the program ranked first. Research program rankings are important, so be sure to review the programs before completing the online application.
You'll also be asked to preference projects or faculty mentors. If you're interested in working on a specific project or with a specific faculty mentor, indicate that in this section of the application. Some research programs will have an option of selecting "no preference," which does not negatively affect the likelihood of an admission offer.
Program-level rankings are very important, while rankings at the level of projects and faculty mentors are less important.
Corrections
If you discover a mistake after completing the online application, do not complete the application form again. Instead, send an email to ccoleman2@unl.edu providing details on the correction needed and we'll be happy to make the correction for you.
All communication regarding the Nebraska Summer Research Program is sent to the email address provided on the application, so use an email address you check frequently. If you need to update your email address, email ccoleman2@unl.edu with the old and new email addresses and we'll update your file.