Apply
This opportunity is funded by the National Science Foundation, providing internships abroad for four undergraduate and one graduate students annually.
Apply to the IRES program below
Selection Criteria
Undergraduate Students
Required
- A personal statement
- Previous research experience
- Quality of transcript and accomplishments
- A letter of recommendation
- US citizenship or eligible non-citizenship status (permanent resident)
Preferred
- Juniors or sophomores
- GPA ≥3.0, enrollment in a Midwest institution
- Primarily undergraduate institution
- Status of underrepresented minority
Graduate Students
Required
- Previous research experience
- Quality of transcript and accomplishments
- A letter of recommendation from the advisor
- US citizenship or eligible non-citizenship status (permanent resident)
- Enrollment in UND or NDSU
- A personal statement showing interest and relevance of the projects
Personal Statement Instructions
The selected graduate students are expected to provide on-site support abroad when either the PI or other senior personnel are not present. Thus, priority will be given to those students from UND and NDSU who have demonstrated leadership skills. For graduate students, this experience may affect their program of studies and the overall path toward Ph.D. or MS degree. Thus the personal statement must include plans on their degree accomplishment and the recommendation letter(s) has to be from the research advisor and/or director of graduate studies addressing the impact on student’s studies.
In the ideal case, the research project should contribute to the thesis or dissertation. However, effort and plans leading to a sizable contribution to a peer reviewed publication will be acceptable as well.
Application Preparation
Prepare the materials to fill in applications. You will need to have:
- A transcript of your academic record to be uploaded or emailed (may be unofficial copy)
- Your top two projects of interest (see below)
- A personal statement that discusses:
- Your previous research or scholarly experience
- Your interest in this program
- Your long-term career goals
- Contact information (name, E-mail and phone) and a letter of recommendation from at least one professional reference preferably from someone you have worked on a research project.