Fellows will work full-time (40 hours/week) on their summer project for the full 8 weeks of the SURF program. Fellows 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, fellows 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. Fellows 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, Fellows are expected to live in SURF housing during the program, adhere to 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.
Mentors receive a $1,200 stipend for their work with a SURF Fellow.
Each faculty mentor can only support one SURF Fellow, and is allowed only one application per faculty member.
Mentors are expected to be in regular contact with their SURF Fellow during the eight weeks of the program.
In addition to regular contact with the SURF Fellow, Mentors are also expected to attend each week's Wednesday lunchtime meetings with the entire 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.
Because it is expected that the Mentor will be available for the entirety of the 8-week program and will invest in mentoring the SURF Fellow, co-mentorship is not encouraged. Please take this into consideration when agreeing to mentor a SURF Fellow.
However, 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 Fellow 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 Fellow 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.
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 (but please keep in mind that co-mentorship is not encouraged). 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 student 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 student, please see the "Applications" tab on this website.