Funding for SRI
In 2022, student researchers in SRI receive a stipend of $6,000 and access to subsidized on-campus housing for the 10-week program. Student financial support for the Summer Research Institute is derived from a combination of grants and programs, as well as the generosity of many individual donors. Students should remember:
- All students accepted to SRI receive funding for their research. The source of that funding varies from student to student.
- Some funding sources have specific application deadlines, while others have rolling acceptance.
- Some internships are limited to students in specific science disciplines (e.g., biomedical sciences), whereas others can be used by students in any science discipline.
- Some internships are offered by the College, some by departments, and others by individual faculty.
- Students can receive SRI funding to work in laboratories at Barnard or other colleges, institutions, and universities.
- All students should discuss whether their mentor has funding to support them when talking about the possibility of joining their lab.
- Details about all of these funding streams are below.
If you are at all concerned about the process, we encourage you to stay in touch with your department’s Faculty SRI Representative (and to ask questions at sri@barnard.edu)!
Securing Funding for the SRI
Most students in SRI receive funding directly through their affiliated department. The faculty in each department allocate and make decisions about these funds (which are provided to the departments by the Office of the Provost), based on the availability of slots for SRI students.
Many students working with Barnard faculty receive funding directly from their faculty mentor, typically because the mentor’s research is supported by an individual grant. You can talk with your mentor to ask if this is the case.
External mentors—that is, faculty whose academic home is somewhere other than Barnard—may be able to fund their students directly (either partially or entirely). They may be funded by a grant that provides support for undergraduate research assistants; or perhaps they have access to funds through their home institution. In all cases, if you are approaching an external faculty mentor to ask about the possibility of mentorship, you should always feel comfortable asking whether the mentor has the capacity to fund all or part of your research.
When you apply to SRI as the mentee of an external mentor, we'll ask whether that faculty mentor has the ability to support your work. The availability of external funding does not affect your application. It merely helps the Planning Committee understand what funds might be coming from external sources. See our FAQ on Finding a Mentor for tips on having this conversation about asking for funding.
As we note below, there are a few other awards and programs that students annually pursue to fund their research. These are distinguished awards and we always encourage students to apply! You can ask questions about these programs at sri@barnard.edu.
Selected Funding Sources with Additional Applications
Funds up to 8 students per summer to perform biomedical research. For details, visit the SURF website.
Fellows must be from under-represented communities and be conducting research in New York City. For details, click here. You may also contact Jemima Gedeon in the Dean of Studies Office (jgedeon@barnard.edu).
The Lamont-Doherty Summer Intern Program offers the chance to experience scientific research as an undergraduate.
Applicants should have an interest in conducting research in the Earth or ocean sciences. Two previous Earth- or ocean-science courses are desirable if they are available to the student. All students are required to have at least one year of calculus. Students choosing research in geochemistry and chemical oceanography are required to have at least two semesters of college-level chemistry. Students choosing research in marine biology are required to have at least two semesters of college-level biology. Students choosing research in geophysics should have at least three semesters of college-level physics.
The Program to Inspire Minority and Underserved Undergraduates in Environmental Health Science Research (PrIMER) is a research program for full-time, undergraduate underrepresented minority, and underserved students who are typically underrepresented in STEM fields. PrIMER is funded by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and provides research trainees the opportunity to gain valuable research experience in environmental health sciences. Students from Colleges and Universities in the New York City area are eligible to participate.