The Summer Research Scholars (SRS) program supports undergraduate students participating in collaborative research supervised by Duke Kunshan University faculty. Aligned with DKU’s mission to “involve students in innovative scholarship and research programs,” student-faculty collaborative research is particularly well suited to the development of the following four animating principles:
This program is not meant to be a source of funding solely for students to do their Signature Work projects; instead, the program is intended to aid faculty in their research activities by providing undergraduate student researchers for whom the projects must be meaningful as well as educationally valuable.
The application process is competitive for both students and faculty, and funds may not be adequate to fund all proposals. Faculty are encouraged to request funding for as many positions as they think they can support. The initial target for this year is to provide funding for up to two SRS students for each faculty applicant; allocations for student research positions greater than this are encouraged, but may be waitlisted pending availability of funding. The supported work must be carried out during the summer months and is open to any DKU UG student, although students are not eligible for SRS funding if they have significant academic or other commitments during the summer, or if it is the summer after they graduate. Faculty of all disciplines are eligible to apply, including UG, LCC, and graduate faculty. DKU visiting faculty who teach for one or more sessions in the 2024-25 academic year are also eligible to apply.
Faculty are responsible for identifying student researchers and for covering any necessary research expenses. (See section on Funding below.) Approved projects will be advertised to students, who will be encouraged to directly contact faculty with whom they might be interested in working. While it is recognized that many faculty are already working with research students, those faculty who do not already have research students working with them are expected to consult the Duke Kunshan University Student Worker Hiring and Payment Guideline for information on how to recruit student workers.
It is our expectation that most SRS students and mentors will do their research on the DKU campus in summer 2025, although some projects might be able to accommodate students working remotely with their mentors. On the application, faculty mentors should note whether the mentor and the student(s) will be on the DKU campus or if either will be working remotely. For any case in which either party will be working remotely, please indicate plans for adequate supervision of the student, including ensuring the student’s health and safety if applicable (i.e., experimental sciences). Preference for SRS grants will be given to students and mentors working in person, mentors who have not previously participated in SRS, and mentors whose previous SRS projects have produced a tangible scholarly outcome. Newer tenure track faculty are particularly encouraged to apply.
Important notes on student eligibility
Participating SRS students must indicate that they are not involved in any activities during the summer that will prevent completing the equivalent of 8 weeks of full-time work for their SRS. This means that students who are in military training or are taking CHSC classes are not eligible. Students should not attempt to do an internship, or engage in on-campus employment, or engage in off-campus employment that is more than half-time. Students who have completed eight semesters of study are not eligible for SRS. Students who have failed a capstone for SW, and students who are on academic integrity probation are also not eligible.
The program provides summer stipends for UG students; it is expected that the amounts will be similar to last year: a 5,600 RMB (taxable) stipend and a 6,200 RMB (non-taxable) meal card credit. The students will engage in full time research for a period of 8 weeks, or an equivalent amount spread out over summer, but the stipend is not to be used for research done while classes are in session. The stipend does not cover work begun before the end of Spring Term nor continuing beyond the first day of Fall Term classes. Students may not receive funding while doing military training or taking the summer Chinese Society and Culture courses. Students also may not receive funding while doing full-time summer coursework at Duke or elsewhere.
It is the responsibility of the faculty member to adequately supervise the student, to ensure that they are working the expected amount of time, to be present during the summer seminar in order to introduce their student and provide feedback on their presentation, and to notify the Office of Academic Services if a student is no longer participating in their research.
As the SRS program funds students doing collaborative research related to the faculty’s own research projects, no funding for research supplies or expenses is available through the SRS program. Faculty should plan to cover these expenses through their own funding sources. However, some students may be eligible for Signature Work Research Grants, which are covered under a separate application. Faculty whose research project requires students to travel or do field work will need to cover these costs out of their own research funding, have the student apply for an SWRG towards these costs, or have their students apply to the SELF program instead of applying for an SRS. Students cannot hold both an SRS and a SELF in the same summer.
Students do not receive academic credit for research conducted over the summer.
Synear/Wang-Cai Grants
It is expected that thanks to generous donations from the Synear Food Molecular Biology Lab and the Wang-Cai Biochemistry Lab, additional funding will be available in summer 2025 to support a limited number of SRS projects in biology and chemistry-related subjects. Selected SRS projects will receive an additional grant, which can be used for reagents and consumables. Projects will be selected for this additional award based on scientific merit and availability of funds. Indicate on the online application whether you wish to be considered for one of these grants.
Please contact Prof. Linfeng Huang (linfeng.huang@dukekunshan.edu.cn) with any questions about Wang-Cai grants, and Prof. Jianbo Yue (jianbo.yue@duke.edu) with any questions about Synear grants.
On-campus rooms will be available in DKU residence halls for all SRS students. The room assignment will likely be different from the student’s assignment in both the preceding and following school year. It is expected that on-campus rooms for this summer will be available from the end of the spring semester in May to July 18 when they must move out. Students who are resident in the Spring should expect to stay in their Spring room assignments until May 23 when they must move into their summer room assignments. Students should anticipate that housing will not be available between July 19 and the start of the fall semester, and students will need to arrange for storage of their personal belongings during this time. For students who only need to stay on campus for a portion of the summer, their room will only be provided during the time of need and participation in SRS. Students who request a single room may or may not be assigned a single, depending on the supply and demand. The Office of Academic Services will cover the cost of a double room and students assigned to a single will be required to pay the difference themselves. Students are responsible for their own meal costs, though they can use the 6,200 RMB meal card credit to pay for meals More information about requesting an on-campus room during summer will be provided in the spring semester.
Some specific instructions for non-SRS students
This year the Office of Academic Services might be able to fund on-campus housing for nonSRS students engaged in on-campus research projects or participating in other organized training with in-person faculty supervision. Faculty interested in such arrangements for their independent undergraduate research assistants should communicate this to Academic Services by late March, via a Qualtrics form to be circulated in March. Faculty will need to justify the need for the student to be present on campus, and students will be required to report on their activities at the end of summer. It is expected that summer housing space will be limited again this summer, requesting housing is not a guarantee of housing availability, nor is it a guarantee that funding for housing will be provided.
All summer research students must complete the CITI RCR training prior to beginning research. Details will be sent to accepted students.
The application process involves two stages, both of which are submitted by the faculty mentor. In the first stage, faculty mentors submit project proposals. If a faculty mentor wishes to divide students up over more than one research project, they should submit a separate application for each project, although the total number of research scholars per faculty will be initially limited to two. Faculty wanting more than two SRS students may indicate that on the application, but allocations greater than this number per faculty may be waitlisted pending availability of funding.
A listing of all summer research scholar positions will be made available to students. Once a project is approved for funding, the faculty mentor will then select their own undergraduate student research scholars and submit the second stage of the application.
Stage 1: Project Application (to be submitted by the faculty mentor by January 15):
Applications are submitted by the faculty mentor using the online form, and consist of:
1. Faculty name
2. Project title
3. Number of students requested (initially a maximum of 2 per faculty mentor will be awarded. Numbers beyond this may be requested but may be waitlisted pending funding.)
4. A one paragraph summary (maximum of 150 words) of the project, to be used in advertising the research position(s) to students. Any eligibility requirements (such as major, course pre-requisites, skills) should also be listed.
5. Research proposal of no more than 2 pages of text, written to be understandable to nonexperts in the field. The proposal should include the following:
6. Indicate whether the mentor and the student(s) will be expected to be on the DKU campus or if either will be working remotely. For any case in which either party will be working remotely, please indicate plans for adequate supervision of the student(s), including ensuring the student(s)’s health and safety if applicable (i.e., experimental sciences).
7. Provide a ranking of when you would like to serve as moderator for an SRS student seminar.
8. Indicate if you will be willing to do some special seminars (such as Grad School apps, appropriate use of ChatGPT, how to do a seminar presentation, etc.).
9. Indicate if you will be interested in having your SRS students participate in a first week orientation to research workshop.
10. IRB materials, if applicable. If an IRB review is required for the project, a copy of the materials that will be submitted by the faculty to the IRB must be included with the application.
The following considerations should be addressed in the application:
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Stage 2: Application for Student Research Scholars (to be submitted by the faculty mentor by March 31):
Note: Faculty who do not already have research students working with them are expected to advertise research positions in accordance with the Duke Kunshan University Student Worker Hiring and Payment Guideline. The SRS program will also advertise all approved positions to students, who will be encouraged to directly contact faculty with whom they might be interested in working.
Once a faculty member has accepted a student, they must submit the following on behalf of each student using another online form that will be distributed at this stage to those faculty who were awarded SRS funding:
The following considerations should be addressed in the application:
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Research Report and Abstract: Summer Research Scholars must write a brief final research report (no more than two pages), due the day before the first day of Fall Term 2025 classes. If there is more than one student working on the same research project, the team may submit one report. The student researchers, not the supervising faculty member, should write the report. The report will provide an accurate and complete account of all work done on the project, including figures, diagrams, and references if appropriate, and information on publication or presentation plans. Students must also prepare an abstract suitable for sharing with the DKU community, as well as prospective students or donors. The report and abstract should be submitted to the faculty mentor, who will review it and submit it to DKU Academic Services at srs-dku@dukekunshan.edu.cn. Faculty may set their own internal due dates for the report and abstract, but both must be approved by the faculty and submitted to Academic Services no later than 11:59 pm China time on the day before the fall term classes begin. Mentors should note that by submitting the abstract, they are granting approval for the abstract to be shared.
Poster Session: All UG Summer Research Scholars will be expected to present their research at a UG Student Summer Research Scholars Poster Session in the Fall, tentatively scheduled for the Family Weekend. Mentors should note that by submitting the poster, they are granting approval for the poster to be presented publicly. The faculty research mentor is expected to be present during the poster session, and provide feedback to their research students.
Summer Seminar Series: Summer Research Scholars will be invited to present progress reports to their peers, other SRS faculty, and the general DKU community during the twice-weekly summer seminar series. The faculty research mentor must be present to introduce their SRS student(s) during these seminars.
Note that mentors whose SRS students fail to submit their research report, abstract and/or poster by the stated deadlines might be ineligible to receive SRS funding in the future.
January 1: Stage 1 Application Qualtrics Opens.
January 15: Stage 1 Application deadline for full consideration, application received after this will be waitlisted pending available funding.
February 9: Announcement of projects funded, student recruitment period begins
February 20: Stage 2 Application opens on a rolling basis and remains open until all SRS positions are filled, or April 20, whichever happens first.
March 31: Deadline for faculty to submit student nominees for SRS positions.
April 15: Deadline for students to accept funding.
Mid to Late April: Deadline for student to apply for DKU housing (TBD).
May 19: Earliest date funded research can begin.
May 23: All SRS students who were in their Spring room assignments MUST be on campus to move to summer room assignments.
Students who are NOT in spring residence halls can move into summer SRS housing.
July 18: Residence Halls close for SRS program, students must move out by this date.
August 15: Last date funded work can be carried out.
August 17: Final SRS Report and Abstract Due to Academic Services.
Fall 2025 (date TBD): UG Student Summer Research Scholars Poster Session
Applications will be reviewed by a committee consisting of one faculty member each from AH, NS, SS, and LCC, designated by the appropriate division chair or director of the LCC.
Find your answers in SRS SWRG SELF SF FAQs 2024.
Or contact Office of Academic Services-SRS Program srs-dku@dukekunshan.edu.cn.
Please note that the Summer Research Scholars (SRS) program is distinct from the Summer Experiential Learning Fellowship (SELF) and the Signature Work Research Grant (SWRG).
Calls for SWRG and SELF proposals will come out in the Spring Semester.
SRS: Funds summer research stipends for UG students working as research assistants on a collaborative research project with a DKU faculty mentor. SRS provides the funding for the student’s labor, and the SW mentor generally covers the costs of research materials and supplies. These projects are intended to be mutually beneficial for the student and the mentor.
SELF: Covers costs associated with doing an off-campus Experiential Learning (EL) activity related to a student’s SW. Most funding will be used to cover the cost of travel and accommodation, as well as visa/work permit expenses. Students whose research requires travel or field work might opt for SELF rather than an SRS if the travel expenses cannot be covered by the faculty mentor’s funding or an SWRG, even if the project is collaborative. Students may not hold both an SRS and SELF in the same summer.
SWRG: Provides funding to help defray research expenses for DKU student signature work projects. The research may be the student’s independent research idea, or it may be related to a DKU faculty member’s research. For the latter, the grant application should explain why the additional funds from the SWRG program are needed. In most cases, for collaborative research, faculty are expected to cover the student’s research costs.