SURGE FAQ for Faculty Mentors

Any full-time WashU faculty member in any discipline (tenure track or TRaP), including WashU School of Medicine faculty/physicians, may nominate a student for SURGE. Importantly, SURGE faculty mentors are expected to regularly and meaningfully engage with both the student and the project throughout the summer research period, even when a bench mentor takes responsibility for day-to-day training. Thus, a faculty member’s eligibility to nominate a student for SURGE depends most on their availability and bandwidth during the student’s desired research period (exact dates set by the student and mentor). 

Students request their faculty mentor’s SURGE nomination through the submission portal. You should receive an email with a unique link to upload your nomination; no account set-up or log-in is required. If you do not receive the link, please check with your mentee to make sure they sent the request, check your junk mail, and then contact the OUR (undergradresearch@wustl.edu), if necessary. 

To simplify the process, faculty are asked to complete this nomination form, consisting of five brief short answer questions. Traditional letters of recommendation are not necessary (and will not fulfill the nomination requirement). Faculty nominations are due March 1 by 11:59 PM, which is also the student submission deadline for SURGE. 

The OUR has limited funding for summer researchers; we consistently receive more applications than can be funded. As a result, we rely upon faculty contributions to maximize the number of students that we can support. If you have funding that covers your mentee’s project and allows undergraduate support, we ask that you cover 50% of the award (max award amount: $5,400). We recognize funding may be unavailable, restricted, or allocated for other priorities.  

SURGE award selection is based on the strength of the faculty nomination and the student’s project proposal and timeline. Strong submissions are those that clearly address all required components of the requested materials. A mentor’s ability to cost share is not a factor in award selection; however, cost-sharing helps the OUR fund more students, which may increase the overall chances of receiving an award.   

Yes, provided that the student is ready to develop and submit their own project proposal and timeline with your support. SURGE participants commonly investigate research questions and implement methodological approaches established by their faculty mentors, but are still expected to have some degree of ownership over their project activities and demonstrate an understanding of key concepts and the project's rationale. Thus, new mentees seeking a SURGE award will be challenged to get abreast of their faculty mentor’s research and effectively describe their research responsibilities in the proposal. 

Faculty have discretion in deciding whether they have the capacity and interest to mentor such student-driven projects. One consideration is whether it feels feasible for you to advise the student on the development of their project proposal, given the divergence in your respective research areas and/or methodologies. Another issue is whether you feel well-positioned to write a meaningful nomination for the student, given the mentor nomination form questions. Finally, you might consider whether you have sufficient bandwidth to regularly and meaningfully engage with the student during their summer research period (exact dates set by the student and mentor). 

Students are expected to write their own submission materials in collaboration with their faculty mentors. The details of this collaboration process will naturally vary depending on a student’s research experience, the preferred mentor-mentee communication style, etc., but it is crucial that your student drafts their own proposal. Mentors should provide feedback for students to implement, perhaps iteratively.

While faculty grant applications and research papers can provide helpful context and references, students must avoid copying these resources. Faculty mentors should review and approve the final version of the project proposal, ensuring the student has effectively described the project in their own words using accessible language.  

SURGE acceptance rates will depend on the number and quality of student submissions, the OUR’s budget, and the availability of faculty mentor cost-sharing. Because summer 2025 is the inaugural year of the SURGE program, the OUR cannot provide a precise estimate, but we anticipate funding about half of submissions. 

Students will receive SURGE award decisions on April 1. A small number of competitive students may be waitlisted, pending the availability of funds. Initial awardees are expected to accept or decline their SURGE awards by April 11, at which point the OUR will provide final decisions to any waitlisted students. 

As per the SURGE webpage, SURGE participants are expected to: 

• Actively engage in the OUR’s summer programming, e.g., attending a required ethics workshop, giving a lightning talk, and submitting mid- and end-of-award reports 
• Present their summer inquiry at the Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium 
• Refrain from taking more than 3 academic credits or pursuing other full-time activities (e.g., full-time employment, fellowships) during their SURGE research period 
• Disclose any other summer research funding for the proposed project, because total funding for the SURGE project cannot exceed the SURGE award amount 
• Treat their SURGE award payment as taxable income 

SURGE mentors are expected to: 

• Provide guidance and supervision to the student throughout the research period, including regular meetings, feedback, and help navigating emergent challenges 
  • In cases where the student or faculty mentor are remote during the research period, the project timeline should include explicit plans for how mentor-mentee communication will be maintained and what other contacts, e.g., grad students or post docs, are available if the student needs support 
• Ensure the student adheres to safety protocols and procedures, follows ethical guidelines for research conduct, and completes applicable compliance trainings 
• Review and approve the student’s OUR award progress reports and communicate with the OUR if any concerns about the student arise 
• Support the student’s presentation at the Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium, including review and approval of their presentation materials 

In subsequent years, previous SURGE mentors will be asked to serve as SURGE proposal reviewers (a 1-1.5 hour commitment). 

Funds will be paid directly to the student as one or two award payments, depending on whether the award is cost shared. If the award is not cost shared, the OUR will disburse the full award amount as a single payment. If the award is cost shared, the OUR will disburse 50% of the total award amount and the faculty mentor’s academic department or program will disburse the remaining 50%. Funds are typically paid via direct deposit in late May to early June, and mentors are asked to coordinate with their payroll contact to ensure cost share payment.

General questions can be sent to the OUR’s shared inbox (undergradresearch@wustl.edu). If you have urgent or confidential questions or concerns, you can reach out directly to the OUR’s Assistant Director, Dr. Diana José-Edwards (diana.jose-edwards@wustl.edu), or the OUR Program Manager, Dr. Angela Fink (amfink@wustl.edu; available after May 12, 2025). We appreciate your partnership.