Herchel Smith Undergraduate Science Research Program

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Continuing student in good academic standing: first year, sophomores, juniors, off-cycle seniors who are graduating after the Fall 2026 semester
• Preference will be given to students who have not previously received Herchel Smith funding
• Research must be in math, life and physical sciences, engineering, computer science (not clinical research)
• Read and abide by URAF's Principles and Policies for Applicants

The program includes a stipend to cover living expenses and other expenses to enable the student to pursue their independent research and share this work (i.e. attend and present at conferences)

The award does not provide paid-for on-campus housing though Herchel Smith fellows who are intending to stay to pursue research with Harvard labs may opt-into URAF-managed Harvard housing. This housing plan includes dining hall access. The cost of this housing and dining plan for the duration of at least 9-10 weeks, would be deducted from fellows’ summer stipend.  

Awardees cannot concurrently pursue summer school courses, internships, or public service projects while doing their proposed research and committing to the activities of the Herchel Smith fellowship, as specified by Harvard College’s Summer Funding Policy.  

A committee of broadly trained academics in STEM will be evaluating applications on the following criteria:

• Strength of the research project – showing independence
• Academic preparation and achievements
• Research and work experience that point to promise and/or a trajectory of increasing autonomy and contribution in the research field
• Strongly positive endorsement from Harvard faculty recommender in their research field or near-STEM field  
• A commitment to full-time research of ten weeks duration
• Convincing argument of the value of this research experience in the pursuit of their short-term and long-term professional and academic goals

Complete applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed during the month of February. Applicants will be notified about their status in early March.  

The Herchel Smith Summer Undergraduate Science Program application consists of several required components. All materials must be submitted through the Harvard University Funding Portal and are due by the deadline. Components include:

APPLICATION FORM: Complete the all of the application sections on the application portal in the order that they are presented. Complete the sections labeled "COMPLETE FIRST" and "Supplementary Questions", first, as these will determine future sections (e.g. like budget) you may/may not need to complete

CURRENT RESUME (1 page maximum): Indicate significant activities, achievements, and experiences in college that demonstrate your interests and potential achievements. Formatting: 11pt font at the very smallest; Arial or Times New Roman font; 1-in margins. Resumes that do not follow the formatting guidelines risk not being reviewed.

CURRENT UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT: Download your unofficial transcript from my.harvard.edu, including your fall course grades and spring course listing.

APPLICATION STATEMENTS: Submit one document containing the two statements below. Label each statement clearly and observe its respective word limit. Write for educated readers who may be broadly familiar with your field but likely do not work in your specific research area. Formatting: Essays should use 11- or 12-point font (Arial or Times New Roman); 1” margins; and be single-spaced.

• Statement 1: Research Proposal Statement, (Up to 1500 Words, Including Figures and Tables). Include project title, research host name, location (department and institution) in the header. This title and research group information is not included in the word count.   
  • Purpose, Significance, and Implications. Explain the purpose of your project and provide the background needed to understand it. Identify the gap, question, or challenge it explores and state your central argument or objective. Explain why the work matters within your field and more broadly, and what contribution or insight you hope it will.
  • Your Role and Preparation. Briefly describe the experiences and skills that have prepared you for this project. Explain which parts you developed or will carry out independently. Distinguish your own previous work and findings from those of others. State whether this is a new project for you or a continuation of existing work. If it is a continuation, summarize your progress so far and what you plan to accomplish during this award period.
  • Detailed Research Plan and Timeline. Even if working on a larger project, please focus your proposal on the smaller part(s) that you intend to complete during the program’s timeframe. Describe the methods you will use, the steps you will take to execute the project, and how long each step will take. Explain why the plan is feasible. Identify any challenges you might anticipate and how you will navigate them.
  • Faculty Involvement. Describe how your faculty mentor will support and supervise your project. You may also include details about additional advisors or members of your support network, if relevant.
  • Outcomes and Next Steps. Describe the results, insights, or information you hope to glean from project and any concrete materials you expect to produce, such as a report, dataset, presentation, or other scholarly or creative work. Explain how you might share the work and what you foresee may be next steps for the project, including additional research.
• Statement 2: Personal, Academic, and Professional Trajectory Statement (Up to 250 Words). Briefly describe why this research experience an important next step for you. What do you hope to learn about your interests, abilities, or goals through the work? Explain how will this research experience may shape your personal, academic goals, and career goals both in the short- and long-term.

WORKS CITED/BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES (1 page maximum). Citations are not included in word count.

BUDGET: If your project is taking place in a location other than Boston/Cambridge, complete the appropriate budget information request lines, including a brief budget narrative, found in the Budget tab of your funding source application in Harvard University Funding Portal application. 

ONE LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION via application portal.  Using the Request section within the online application, solicit a letter of reference. This letter should be written by someone in the Harvard academic/research community who can comment on your initiative, motivation and determination to pursue research and your research potential, as well as provide examples of such. This letter should include brief examples of how you will benefit from the Herchel Smith Fellowship.  

• If the letter writer is also the faculty/research host for your proposed project, the letter writer should also confirm your lab placement in the letter.  In this case, this letter of recommendation will doubly count as a letter of confirmation. A separate letter of confirmation is not needed.
• Letter writers should be sure to comment on the following: 1) The capacity in which you know the applicant 2) Applicant's preparedness for the proposed research and for future advanced studies in their fields and pursuit of research careers.  Where relevant, include, brief examples of initiative, motivation, determination, independence, and promise in an academic and/or research activity that have shaped your conviction about this applicant. 3) How the proposed project is well-suited to the current applicant’s trajectory, interests, motivations, and preparations and why this activity is appropriate and necessary to their training. 4) Describe the mentorship that will be provided by the host research group, as well how the training environment will assist the student's research endeavors, as well as academic and professional goals

Additionally, if the recommender is the research host for the summer project, they should do the following in the letter upload section of the application:

• Confirm the applicant’s placement within your research group and describe the project that they will be undertaking
• Confirm details related to project merit, feasibility, and safety

ONE RESEARCH PLACEMENT CONFIRMATION via application portal (if host ≠ recommender). If research host is different from writer of the letter of recommendation, applicants must be sure to request this confirmation via the application portal. Hosts will be asked to provide the following information in their confirmation:

• a confirmation of your placement/mentorship with a research group,
• a brief description of the project you will be pursuing, with dates
• an explanation on why the research host sees this as an appropriate step for the applicant’s academic and professional goals and interests and/or their preparedness.
• a brief description of mentorship you will be receiving, e.g. to what extent and by whom you will be directly mentored
• aspects about a research group, its resources, the training environment that can serve to assist you in your research endeavors and further your development as a researcher.

In conducting research with human subjects, fellows must be fully compliant with the research policies set by the Committee for the Use of Human Subjects before beginning their research and for its full duration. For students conducting research outside of the U.S., fellows must also abide by travel and safety requirements for Harvard college sponsored research travel put in place by Global Support Services and Harvard College. 

Expectations for Herchel Smith Fellows include, but are not limited to, the following. Fellows must:

• Commit to 10 weeks of full-time effort on their research projects.
• Submit mid-term and final reports on time and a final research poster PDF that discusses their Herchel Smith supported work.
• Present work for Harvard community - at HUROS fair (Fall semester) or URAF’s Undergraduate research showcase at VISITAS (Spring semester).  

Throughout the summer, fellows are expected to communicate with the program and their research mentors should there be any issues that hinder the faithful execution of the terms of the award. Fellows who fail to comply to award terms risk part or all of their award being reclaimed.