Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF)

Evergreen's SURF program offers undergraduates the opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors on research projects.

What is SURF?

Fellows engage as junior research partners on faculty-led projects across the disciplinary spectrum. Students working as fellows gain valuable real-world experience while assisting faculty with their research.

Students and faculty together present their research in a fall symposium. In addition to college funding, support from The Evergreen State College Foundation helps make the SURF program possible.

Since its successful pilot in 2013, faculty and students have teamed up on dozens of SURF projects in a variety of fields including anthropology, archaeology, literary arts, film, human rights, cybersecurity, indigenous studies, organic chemistry, plant biology, marine biology, philosophy, microbiology, ornithology, biogeochemistry, urban planning, 18th century literature, and mathematics education. Find out more about past projects at the SURF Highlights page.

Information for Students

Information for Faculty

Program features

Faculty design summer projects and students apply for available fellowships. Each fellow spends half-time or more on a twelve-week project and receives a $3,700 stipend for participation.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship is a multidisciplinary opportunity. Selection of students and faculty-designed projects represents different research arenas at the college.