No. Phase 2 of this REU site program is a full-time position designed to fully immerse you in a graduate-level research experience. As such, we require all participants to have the REU as their sole summer commitment during those 10 weeks.
Research Experience for Undergraduates Site
REU Site: Animal Language Processing and Understanding
How much time do I need to spend for Phase 1, and what is the expected outcome?
Phase 1 is part-time only. You are expected to spend up to 5 hours a week on the project. We expect you to acquire the necessary knowledge about animal behaviors and communications as well as some necessary computing skills before you come to the full-time summer program in Phase 2. We also expect you to complete a concrete research proposal within a team of 3+ people to study the linguistic properties of a selected animal species.
Can I take summer courses/work while participating in the REU?
I am graduating this Spring. Can I still apply?
REU participants must hold undergraduate status during the summer in which they are applying. You may still apply if you are graduating in the Fall.
Do I have to live on UTA campus?
A very strong element of an REU experience are the many extracurricular activities that you and your REU cohort of 10 students can take part in. We do require all REU participants who are not UTA students to live on UTA campus during the summer. The dorm is available free for the non-UTA REU students during the program. It will be single rooms for each of the participants.
What are you looking for in an REU applicant?
We are looking for undergraduate researchers who are academically strong, very curious about research and fully committed to the 16-week research endeavor with us. Hopefully they develop a goal of pursuing a research career after this program.
The REU is designed to be interdisciplinary. We will be recruiting a balance of skills within your cohort of 10 students so that you can mutually benefit from interacting with others to solve problems that may be outside your personal knowledge base.
What should I write in a Personal Statement?
A SOP for applying this project should consist of three parts. The first part should be the motivation, which describes why you participate in this program and what you want to achieve in this program
The second part should explain why you are an ideal candidate for this program. Due to the competitiveness of the application, you should highlight your academic competency and how your background and experience help the whole team achieve its final goal, which is the successful discovery of some meaningful linguistic property in a selected animal species and put together a research paper about this result.
The third part should discuss your plan to achieve the final goals of your project.
How many spots does this project have available?
The project will host up to 10 students in total. But in Phase 1, we may admit a couple of extra students and place them on the waiting list in case someone can't make it to Phase 2.
Do I get the stipend in Phase 1?
Phase 1 is on a part-time basis and you will not get stipend for it. There will be stipend for full-time Phase 2 Summer Research.
How can I get the merit-based stipend in Phase 2?
You will be evaluated weekly during Phase 2. Your evaluation will come in three parts: peer-review from your team members, peer-review from other teams, assessment from the mentors. Your weekly scores will be aggregated and the amount of merit-based stipends will be determined by the final score and the quality of the research paper submission.
Is there any specific project I would do in this project?
The students admitted to this REU Site project will join a team of 3+ people, to focus on the study of one selected animal species.