The EnSURE (Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Experience) program at Michigan State University offers summer research opportunities for high achieving undergraduates who are studying at institutions in the United States, including Puerto Rico.
Applications for the program open in October. Application review begins in December, and the program takes place the following May through July. Students who apply to the program should expect to be working in-person on the MSU East Lansing campus. EnSURE participants are MSU employees and must agree to comply with all employment requirements.
EnSURE is an "internship in graduate school" and provides participants with an early opportunity to become involved in research by working with faculty mentors in one of eight college departments:
Curious about what the undergraduate research experience is all about? Check out Student Spotlights and other resources on MSU Undergraduate Research.
During summer 2024, the EnSURE program will take place from May 20 through July 26, 2024.
Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
Students participating in the summer research experience are paid a minimum of $16.00 per hour and typically work 40 hours per week for 10 weeks (up to $6,400 in total compensation). Participants are considered student employees of MSU and are responsible for applicable taxes. Students are responsible for their own meals, housing, transportation and personal expenses; a variety of housing options are available both on-campus (liveon.msu.edu) and in the surrounding area (elmanac.msu.edu).
Applications for EnSURE are reviewed starting in December and selections are made on a rolling basis until the program is filled. Students will be notified if they are selected by a faculty mentor, and will have approximately 2 weeks to accept or reject the offer to participate in EnSURE. Based on previous years, we expect that the majority of the EnSURE selections will be made by March 15. Please note that priority is given to students who have not previously completed EnSURE.
The EnSURE program application requires basic contact and demographic information, a resume (.pdf format) and an unofficial transcript (a .pdf printout of your University's grade reporting system is sufficient). Applicants must also submit brief statements (about 500 words each) explaining why you want to participate in EnSURE (What do you hope to learn? Do you have any specific skills or prior research experience to contribute?) and why you think it is valuable to foster inclusion and diversity in engineering. You should use these statements as an opportunity to expand briefly on the skills and experiences you have to contribute and/or what you hope to learn from participating in this summer program.
For 2024, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, but for full consideration, applications must be submitted by January 31, 2024. Selected students will be notified by email.
We typically receive far more applications from outstanding students than we are able to accommodate in the program; in previous years, we were only able to offer summer positions to 20-30% of applicants. In addition to applying to our summer research program, you may be interested in on-campus opportunities found through https://urca.msu.edu/, in nationwide undergraduate research programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and in the SROP (Summer Research Opportunities Program) sponsored by the CIC. Students with experience in composites and materials may also wish to consider the IACMI Internship Program. MSU students can also identify a variety of on- and off-campus positions on MySpartanCareer.com.
No, we do not have a list. Faculty propose projects for EnSURE on a rolling basis, at the same time students submit applications.