WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
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. Please note that eligibility for this program is not restricted by major or college of enrollment, but you must demonstrate an interest (either long-term or recent) in environmental science in your personal statement when filling out the application form. A committee consisting of PEEB faculty members and program staff will review applications, with special emphasis placed on the required personal statement.
HOW DO I APPLY?
Applications will be available in January of each year. The application can be downloaded from this web site. Do not forget to include your college transcript(s) with your completed application.
SUMMER 2005 Program
Applications must be received by:
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APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
Applications can be typed or printed legibly in BLACK ink. Incomplete applications and ineligible applicants may not be considered.
- Make direct contact with two or more faculty participants with whom you might like to work. You should email, write, or phone the people that you might like to work with, and talk about what you would like to do. However, you may apply to the program with no specific mentor in mind.
- Complete the downloadable Application Form (in PDF format) . The information requested on this form is: Personal Information, Academic Information and a Statement of Purpose written by you.
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STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
The personal statement is the single most important element of your application. There are no “right”
answers, but please do not rewrite or rephrase information in the application information to answer
the questions. Do your best to answer the question about your career plans, based on your current
plans. One goal of the UMEB Program is to help you learn about career opportunities related to the
environment.
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How did you become interested in environmental biology?
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Career Information:
- Why are you interested in participating in this research program?
- How does it fit into your career plans?
- List, with dates, any previous activities you have participated in that are related to the environment. Include educational, service, research, and teaching, and list both high school and college activities. (Note that field or lab /research experience is not required; we are interested in students at all levels of experience).
- Return completed form, with personal statement and official transcript, to:
Carol Hall, Secretary
Program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
286 Morrill Hall
505 S. Goodwin Ave.
Urbana, IL 61801
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PROGRAM DATES
SUMMER 2005 Program
Program runs from June 4 - August 6
Applications must be received by:
Friday, February 18, 2005
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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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WHAT TO EXPECT
The faculty member with whom you work will help you to write a proposal about the research you will do. Most of the projects will involve field work, which will generally be initiated at the outset of the project. Flight arrangements, funds, etc, will be made through communication with your faculty mentor.
Student Mentor Team:
You can choose a faculty member to work with by direct contact over email. Or you can select someone during the orientation week, after hearing presentations from the different faculty involved in the program. Additional faculty would work with you to determine the optimal faculty-student match.
Mentoring During the Program
During your time in the UMEB program, you will be involved in 3 separate mentoring activities:
- Monitoring Progress:
Meetings focusing on updates of your research will be held every second week during the Summer.
- Career Opportunities:
Throughout the year, those of you that are not involved in field work at the time will attend monthly meetings. Someone at one of the state environmental agencies will be invited each month to give a brief presentation of their current focus and/ or investigations, and to give you some insights into their background that led to their present research career. It is hoped that these meetings will provide you with an opportunity to meet and understand the goals of faculty from different departments, as well as environmental biologists actively involved in research outside academia.
- Research:
During the Fall and Spring semesters you will be able to attend seminars at your respective universities/campuses. You will also be able to give a short seminar presentation yourself, once your work has progressed to that level. During the Summer, instead of the weekly seminars, monthly journal clubs will be held by all faculty involved in the program within each institution. This will allow you to interact with other students in the program, and to talk about issues in environmental biology.
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POSTER SESSIONS:
There will be an end-of-summer poster session where the participating students and faculty will have the opportunity to get together to inform each other of their projects and progress. Family and friends are also invited to share in your achievements over posters and lunch. Browse previous year's poster sessions.
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