Summer Recruiting Programs Summer may seem far away, but we are gearing up for our exciting summer research programs. Summer research programs are a great recruiting tool to support diverse and inclusive cohorts of students. Some are aimed at talented undergraduate students to encourage them to pursue graduate education, others are tailored to incoming doctoral students to help them start strong. Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) The Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) is for undergraduate students interested in exploring careers in research. SROP at Illinois provides undergraduates from across the US and its territories with an experience that will help strengthen their knowledge, skills and understanding of graduate school. Participants conduct graduate-level research under the supervision of an Illinois faculty mentor. The program dates for 2024 are June 3 through July 26. For full consideration for participation in the 2024 Illinois SROP, applications and all supporting documents must be submitted no later than February 10, 2024. ASPIRE Illinois Summer Webinar Series Our ASPIRE Illinois Summer Webinar Series is for students who are considering applying to graduate school at Illinois. ASPIRE provides an opportunity for students with diverse experiences and goals, and who come from many educational, socio-cultural, geographic, and familial backgrounds to explore and consider graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Participants will learn the process of selecting a graduate program and how to create competitive applications. The 2024 series will be held on Thursdays from June 27 to August 8, at 7 p.m. (central time). There is no cost to participate. Further details and registration are forthcoming and will be posted on our website. Summer Predoctoral Programs For incoming doctoral students, we offer two Summer Predoctoral Programs: Our Summer Predoctoral Institute (SPI) and our Summer Emerging PhD Program. SPI is an 8-week program for newly admitted doctoral students to help them get acclimated and immersed in the campus and departmental community as they begin their studies. SPI participants will also have an intensive research experience and will share their work at the Illinois Summer Research Symposium in late July. The Summer Predoctoral Institute will be held June 3, 2024 – July 26, 2024. The Summer Emerging PhD Program is a shorter option that provides incoming doctoral students an opportunity to learn about graduate school culture, network with current graduate students, spend a day with their department, and attend graduate school sustainability seminars over 2.5 weeks. It will be held July 10, 2024 – July 26, 2024. Both summer predoctoral programs provide a stipend, housing, meals, and travel. Here is what past participants have to say: “I’ve been enjoying [SROP] a lot. Coming from Navajo Reservation from a very small community, it is very different. So just being part of a larger university itself is amazing and being able to get a taste of what we could possibly experience going into graduate school and then also just getting different aspects of the possibilities that we have when we continue our education.” – 2023 SROP participant “SPI has been instrumental for me to build community. It’s really easy to ostracize yourself during graduate school and that’s a major concern I had and one of the main reasons I applied to SPI in the first place. I wanted to be sure I had my support system available to me that’s filled with people who are likeminded who also come from underrepresented backgrounds, are in a similar age group and are also going to be here for the long haul.” – 2023 SPI participant
For other general questions about our recruiting and diversity programs, please contact GradDiversity@illinois.edu. |