ABOUT UMEB:
Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology (UMEB) is an interdisciplinary program in Environmental Biology. The UMEB program at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The program is designed to encourage students to consider careers in environmental biology.
OBJECTIVES:
The main objective of NSF's program is to educate and train undergraduate students and so as to gain research experience in biological sciences related to the environment within a culturally diverse, research-rich learning environment. Students participating in this program are designated UMEB Fellows. A second UMEB objective is to enable faculty members to become better mentors.
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MENTORING:
Projects involve year-round mentoring by faculty members at UIUC and includes major emphasis on direct student participation in research. Students conduct research with a faculty member of their choice from the Program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and participate in career development activities. UMEB Fellows enter the program during a nine week summer program of full-time research supplemented by evening workshops, field trips, and social events.
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PROGRAM GOALS:
This program is designed to enable academic institutions and their partners, as well as professional societies, to enhance access to careers in environmental biology (broadly defined) for undergraduate students.
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FUNDING:
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Research-Mentoring grants provide support for undergraduate students to gain research experience in biological sciences related to the environment within a culturally diverse, research-rich learning environment, while enabling faculty members to become better mentors.
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Travel to Meetings of professional societies by undergraduate students may be supported through grants to or on behalf of the professional societies.
Funds from the National Science Foundation provide summer stipends and cover the costs of all career development events. UMEB Fellows are encouraged to live together in university-approved housing during the summer, with the costs of housing and dinner also covered by the National Science Foundation. UMEB Fellows are encouraged to travel with mentoring faculty to off-campus field sites, and the National Science Foundation also covers all or some of the costs of travel to field sites and scientific meetings. Tuition waivers provided by UIUC permit students to receive 5 units of academic credit for their summer research. A graduate student coordinator works with the Program Co-Directors to ensure a productive experience for all UMEB Fellows.
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HUGHES PROGRAM:
A special feature of this program is a partnership with the ongoing UIUC Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellows (HURF) Program, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. UMEB Fellows share housing with HURFs and can participate in many HURF activities and field trips. This builds a summer living-learning community of nearly 40 undergraduates interested in research in the biological sciences, with representation of every level from whole ecosystem to molecular structure!
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ELIGIBILITY:
The UMEB Fellows Program is open to all UIUC students interested in environmental biology, regardless of college or major. Students may apply with a specific PEEB mentor in mind, or may work with the graduate student coordinator to find a match appropriate to his or her interests. Approximately 8 students will enter the program each summer. Applications will be available in January of each year, with an application deadline in late February. A committee consisting of PEEB faculty members and program staff will review applications, with special emphasis placed on the required personal statement. The 2005 application can be downloaded from this web site.
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OTHER USEFUL UMEB INFORMATION:
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UMEB is focused on environmental biology (ecology, global change, biodiversity etc.):
This is not a program for students with interests strictly in clinical medicine. But it is a great program for pre-meds who are interested in infectious diseases and the environment. Several UMEBS have done important research on West Nile virus and Lyme disease.
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UMEB creates community: UMEB students participate in joint activities with students in the Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellows Program and can live in the same housing with HURFs. This gives you a group of over 30 of the most dynamic undergraduates on our campus to live and work with over the summer! The opportunities for networking are outstanding.
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UMEB at UIUC is a small, personal program: Only 8 new students enter each summer.
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UMEB is part of a national network of NSF-funded undergraduate research programs: There are comparable UMEB programs on many US campuses. Graduate schools etc. will respond positively when you list UMEB on your resume.
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UMEB fosters diversity: All students are welcome to apply to UMEB. The National Science Foundation specifically welcomes underrepresented minorities to apply.
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UMEB will make your family proud: Parents and siblings (and even grandparents!) are
invited to see you present your work at the fall poster session. We even give them a nice meal!
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