Programs: Undergraduate Complexity Research

Before You Apply

We ask all applicants to read all of the UCR info pages carefully before applying or emailing us with questions. Thank you.

SFI’s UCR program is designed for curious, motivated students who can work both independently and collaboratively. Strong applicants are people who can:

teach themselves new material and follow through on ideas,
communicate and work well in teams,
think logically and creatively about research questions.

We especially encourage students from institutions with limited research opportunities to apply.

All participants must be able to arrive on the official first day of the program. The first two weeks are critical for orientation, meeting potential mentors, and defining a summer project. Because of that, late arrivals are not allowed. (If an admitted student needs to sit an exam or turn in a final paper during those first days, we can often coordinate with their home institution to proctor an exam or provide private workspace at SFI.)


Photo Credit : Carla Shedivy	Photo Credit : Doug Merriam	Photo Credit : Carla Shedivy

Eligibility

This program is for current undergraduate students. Prior research experience is not required.

To the UCR program, an “undergraduate student” is considered someone who is actively enrolled — part-time or full-time — in a degree program leading to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, and who intends to continue that undergraduate enrollment for at least one additional academic term after the program ends in August.

Students from two-year and four-year institutions are eligible. Transfer students are eligible, including during the summer between schools.

Because this is an undergraduate program, applicants must still be undergraduates after the program. In practice, that means applicants should expect to return to at least one more semester/quarter/etc. of undergraduate study following the summer at SFI. Students who will fully complete their undergraduate degree before the program ends, and who will not return to any further undergraduate enrollment after August, are not eligible.

Students in integrated or dual-degree programs (for example, combined B.S./M.S. programs) may be eligible if they will still be in the undergraduate portion of that program and will return to that undergraduate enrollment for at least one more term after the summer. Students who have effectively completed the bachelor’s portion and will not return to it are not eligible.

High school graduates who have not yet started college-level coursework are not eligible. Individuals who have already completed their undergraduate degree and are no longer enrolled as undergraduates are not eligible for UCR and may wish to explore other Santa Fe Institute educational programs designed for post-baccalaureate or graduate-stage researchers.

Although students at all stages may apply, priority is typically given to students entering their junior or senior year of a four-year program.

Only students who are authorized to work in the US are eligible for the UCR program.

International Applicants

UCR welcomes applicants from any country. International students at U.S. institutions typically participate under F-1 status through CPT, arranged with their home university. International students enrolled outside the U.S. are also eligible. Admitted international participants may receive limited visa assistance as relevant to their situation.

Application Requirements

When the application period is open, you can access the application portal using the “Apply now!” button at the top right of this page. We only accept applications through SurveyMonkey Apply; to see a list of supported web browsers, please visit https://help.surveymonkey.com/en/apply/faqs/supported-browsers/.

A complete application includes:

Biographical information (completed directly in the application portal).
A current academic CV or résumé.
Research statements: written responses to three prompts, including a short project proposal.
One letter of recommendation from a professor, mentor, or advisor who knows your work.
An unofficial transcript from each college or university you have attended.

Requirements Explained

Transcript

Unofficial transcripts are sufficient. A transcript should list all completed and in-progress courses and associated grades/marks. If your transcript is not in English, please include a cover page translation in English for reviewers. If you do not have grades/marks available for the fall term/semester, please provide a list from your institution of the courses you enrolled in and will complete. Official transcripts are not required, and updated grades or additional documents cannot be added, and will not be reviewed, after the deadline.

Fields of Study

The “fields of study” portion of the application should reflect the discipline(s) in which you are actually pursuing coursework — for example, your major and minor areas — rather than aspirational interests.

Math Background

Similarly, in the math background section, you should indicate topics for which you have completed college-level coursework with a passing grade. If you completed a not-for-credit course but fully did the work and would have passed it, you may include it. If you only partially sampled material or did not complete assignments, you should not list that topic.

Your Research Statement / Project Proposal

As part of the application, you’ll submit a one-page research statement outlining three example research ideas that interest you. After acceptance, the first phase of the program is spent meeting researchers, exploring possibilities, and developing a project with a mentor that fits your skills and can be accomplished in 10 weeks. The ideas you propose in your application are for us to get a sense of your interests and approach — they are not commitments.

As stated, the research statement serves two purposes. First, it gives us a sense of what you’re excited about — the kinds of questions you care about, the systems or phenomena you want to understand, and/or the tools or methods you’d like to develop or try. Second, it shows us how you think: How do you frame a question? How might you begin to approach it? Does your proposed method make sense for the thing you want to study?

We do not expect prior research experience, formal project design experience, or deep technical detail. You are not expected to know which dataset you would use, which statistical test is best, or the exact algorithm name. What matters is that you describe:

a clear question or target (“I want to understand how X influences Y,” “I want to build a way to detect Z,” etc.),
a plausible path forward (“I would compare variables A, B, and C and look for correlations with D,” or “I would build an algorithm that can recognize pattern X so that we can measure Y”),
and why that path fits the question.

Specificity in your reasoning is good. You don’t have to say “I will use model M with technique T,” but you should show that you can connect an approach to a question in a logical way.

Both content-driven ideas (“I want to study how people’s media feeds affect what shows they choose, probably using a data/behavioral comparison across a few variables”) and methods-driven ideas (“I want to develop and apply machine learning classifiers to real-world data like I saw in [example], because I want to learn how those models distinguish meaningful patterns”) are welcome. The point is not polish — it’s clarity, coherence, and intellectual curiosity within a one-page limit.

Application Process & Timeline

Applications must be completed and submitted through the application portal before the posted deadline. Late or incomplete applications are not reviewed.

After the initial review, selected finalists will be invited to participate in short individual interviews via Zoom. All applicants — including those not selected as finalists — will receive an email update on their status in March.

Because a missing recommendation letter can hold up an otherwise strong application, you should contact your recommender as soon as you begin your application. Materials submitted after the deadline (updated transcripts, revised grades, etc.) cannot be added and will not be considered.

All inquiries about the application should be directed to education@santafe.edu.

FAQs on Applying

When is the application typically open, and when will I hear back?
The application window typically runs from late October to mid January. All applicants are notified of their status by email in March.

Will I work on a project idea from my application?
Not necessarily. Accepted students spend the first part of the program meeting potential mentors, discussing project ideas, and shaping a research plan that can realistically make progress over the 10-week program. The ideas you submit are a window into your interests and your thinking process — it’s a starting point, not a contract

May I contact SFI researchers or program directors in association with my application?
No. Please remember:

All admissions decisions are based on the materials in your application; the review committee conducts a holistic evaluation using this information alone to ensure a fair and consistent process for all applicants.
Opportunities to connect with SFI researchers in-person are built into the program. In particular, students define their projects in collaboration with SFI researchers during the first weeks of the program.

If you cannot find an answer to your question on the UCR program information pages, inquiries should be directed only to SFI’s Education team at education@santafe.edu. Please allow several days for a response.