Science Collaborative Research Program (SCRP)

Eligibility and Selection

All students who will be returning to Willamette for the Fall semester are eligible and encouraged to apply.

Application Procedure

The application procedure consists of the following steps:

• Meet with one or more of the participating faculty and discuss possible research topics of mutual interest. If you are interested in pursuing participation in SCRP, the faculty member will assign you a problem or topic to research.
• Submit an application to the potential faculty collaborator consisting of: your name, year in school, major, faculty letter writer (see below), an unofficial transcript.
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member who can address your abilities in the laboratory and classroom, and your enthusiasm for doing research.
• A one-page statement explaining why you want to be part of the program, and what your qualifications are (e.g., relevant course work, previous research experience, and computer skills).
• A three to five page essay addressing the problem or topic assigned by your potential faculty collaborator. Include important literature and appropriate documentation in a literature cited section.
• Turn your application in to your potential faculty collaborator.
• The SCRP faculty collaborator will review the applications, make  the final selections and notify the applicant(s).

Application Deadline

Application deadline for 2009 is February 13, 2009 by 5:00 pm. Awardees will be announced by February 27, 2009.

2009 SCRP Schedule

The informational meeting will be held in early December 2008 in Collins 205.

Successful applicants will coordinate with their faculty collaborators by May 15, 2009 regarding responsibilities, schedule of experiments, data analysis, presentations, etc.

Experimental work will start (for most groups) on June 1, 2009.

All students and faculty attend the weekly SCRP picnics, each organized by a different research team every Friday for the duration of the SCRP activities.

Students will present their results during the in-house research conference traditionally held on Thursday afternoon during the second week of classes.

Students will prepare posters by early October, and will present their work to the members of the Rogers family during their traditional mid-October visit.

Students will travel to the Murdock Regional Science Conference at Gonzaga University at a date to be determined (usually early November).

Stipend/Food Allowance Payment Schedule

The housing stipend ($1,000) will be paid in two installments: half will be included in the June 2009 paycheck and half with the July 2009 paycheck.

The food stipend ($500) will be paid with the June 2009 paycheck.

The stipend ($4,000) will be paid in three installments: two equal payments of $1,750 in June and July 2009, and a final payment of $500 after the student has completed all SCRP-related obligations. All students should also become familiar with the Student Agreement for additional clarification.