Students will work full-time (40 hours/week) on their summer project for the full eight weeks of the SURF program. Students are expected to concentrate on their scholarly or creative work during this time and to participate in the community of scholars on campus. Given the time commitments and cohort experience of the SURF program, student participants may not have outside employment during the program or enroll in any summer classes, and must attend the entire program (May 12 - July 2).
Attendance is mandatory at the two weekly program meetings, and all SURF fellows will present their work at a SURF Research Symposium on the final day of the program. Students may also be asked to present their work to the St. Mary’s community during the following academic year and are encouraged to present their projects in professional venues as appropriate.
As part of the SURF experience, students are encouraged to live in SURF housing during the program, abide by SMCM residence hall requirements, and contribute to the out-of-class life of the cohort through weekly social activities.
SURF Fellows have an obligation to engage consistently and earnestly with their mentors; this includes being mindful of timelines, asking questions, voicing differences of opinion, being open to direction, and valuing the role of experience in your conversations.
Each faculty mentor can only support one SURF Fellow; only one application per faculty member.
Mentors receive a $1,200 stipend for their work with a SURF Fellow.
Mentors are expected to be in regular contact with their SURF mentee during the eight weeks of the program. Mentors are also expected to attend each week's Wednesday lunchtime meetings with the entire mentor/student cohort. These meetings are designed to be research-in-progress meetings to assist all students in making timely progress with their projects. There will not be remote/hybrid meeting options.
If mentors must be absent for >1 week during the 8-week session, the dates should be clearly disclosed and a co-mentor must be identified and able to mentor the student in their absence. To facilitate this, the mentor and co-mentor must describe a mentoring plan such that two mentors share mentoring responsibilities (see below).
Occasionally not all of the proposed project can be completed within the 8-week period. In this case, mentors are expected to guide their SURF mentee in accomplishing as much of the proposed research as possible in ways that promote productive outcomes and material for further work.
Mentors must attend the SURF Research Symposium in July and help their mentee prepare for the presentation. In the spirit of creating as broad a range as possible of faculty and student perspectives, mentors are not permitted to work with more than one SURF fellow per summer.
In lieu of a standard letter of recommendation, mentors are requested to complete a recommendation sheet found on the "Applications" tab. The recommendation includes a series of prompts that reflect on the student’s academic success, research potential, and their proposed project.
Mentors are also asked to describe a mentoring plan for the eight weeks of the project. This plan should include information about such things as the frequency of their proposed contact with the student and the agreed-upon goals to be met at various points during the two-month period. This statement should attest to the mentor's commitment to the SURF ethos of one-on-one direct mentorship and also that the student and mentor have comparable expectations of project goals.
If a mentor will be unavailable for >1 week during the 8-week session, the recommendation must also include a co-mentoring plan such that two faculty share mentoring responsibilities. In this case, both mentors must contribute to the recommendation. The faculty compensation will be split between the two co-mentors.
Please note that the mentor's recommendation is the only recommendation the mentee will have for their SURF application. Therefore, be sure to thoughtfully and thoroughly complete the prompts in the recommendation sheet.
To complete a recommendation for your mentee, please see the "Applications" tab on this website.