Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Orientation Materials

January 6, 2023 Update:

SURP continues for Summer 2023.

The application is available now, see the main SURP page.

Regarding a checklist for students who have received a SURP award, the below information from the Summer 2022 cycle remains here as a placeholder for reference.

2023 SURP information will be posted here shortly before SURP awards are made.

Thank you for your interest and your patience.

Andy Schuster, Grants Administrator (grants@pomona.edu)

SURP Orientation Materials

Summer Meal Plan

2022 Summer Meal Plan information coming soon.

Wages, Payment and Taxes

2022 SURP wages are coming soon. Payments for both Research Assistants and Summer Projects will be made by direct deposit when possible. The direct deposit form can be completed and submitted to Accounts Payable. Students who do not wish to utilize direct deposit need to complete a form in the mailroom at Smith Campus Center that will allow Accounts Payable to mail checks directly to your campus mailbox. If this form is not completed, checks will be mailed to the student’s home address.

Information on student taxable income.

Work Authorization for International Students

For more information about this process, please visit the International Students and the Social Security Card website.

Contact Kathy Quispe, International Student Advisor, Oldenborg Center.

Travel and Accommodation Costs

Students are responsible for travel and accommodation expenses associated with their SURP project. SURP wages and stipends can be used to cover these costs, but additional funds are not available beyond the original award amount.

Safety Training

Students doing research that involves chemical, biological, or radiation hazards will need to complete safety training. Safety training needs to be renewed each year, resetting in May. If you have not been contacted to complete safety training, and you believe your work will require it, please contact kyle.soliz@pomona.edu. Safety training options include:

  • Safety Training Lecture offered on reading days and additional summer offerings.
    OR
  • Advanced Lab Safety Training – fun, problem-solving session involving group work.
    AND
  • Fire Extinguisher Training

You can sign up for all options on the Sakai site. If you are unable to make any of the scheduled offerings, special arrangements can be made or there will be a video training offered for those who are abroad.

Summer Housing

*The 2022 Summer Housing information is still being updated. Stay tuned for important dates.

All students intending to live on campus over the summer are required to attend one of the following Summer Housing Orientation meetings:

  • coming soon!

Working with Humans and Animals

To remain in compliance with the Department of Health and Human Services, students doing research with humans are required to be reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB.) Students must complete the IRB proposal form and submit to Prof. David Tanenbaum or Prof. Elizabeth Glater. The IRB board will review and make a recommendation (approve, deny or modify protocol.) As part of the application, the student must complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training modules. On the CITI website, you will need to log in by your institution, which uses your Pomona single sign on, to avoid fees. Once logged in, you will need to select human subjects research and complete the social, behavioral, and educational modules.  

Once your complete IRB application is approved, you may begin your research. Please allow a minimum of 2 weeks for IRB approval. 

If your research involves vertebrate animals, your mentor will complete and submit an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) proposal form. The student is responsible for completing the Animal Use Risk Assessment (AURA) form that they can get from their faculty mentor. The form should be submitted to Prof. Cynthia Selassie. Once approved you may begin your research.

Summer Experience Symposium

​All students completing a SURP must plan to design a final report or product that best encapsulates what they learned, achieved, or created this summer, to be shared with the Pomona College community during the Summer Experience Symposium in September 2022. Some examples of final products include papers, posters, designs, models, programs, multimedia presentations, images of objects, recordings of performances, video essays, blogs, etc.