With approximately 100 students participating in summer research each year, Holy Cross is a national leader in providing undergraduate summer research opportunities.
Although this is an ideal experience for students interested in pursuing graduate studies, it also provides valuable experience in planning and executing an extensive project, budgeting project expenses, teamwork and written and oral skills — all experiences valued by employers in a variety of fields. Students develop real substantive expertise in ways that cannot be matched in the classroom.
Students apply for admission to the Weiss Summer Research Program in the spring, then spend eight weeks in residency on campus (usually June through July). Students receive a stipend to enable them to focus full time on their research. With one-on-one faculty mentorship, a weekly workshop and the small but intense community of fellow student researchers, summer research at Holy Cross is a distinctive experience. Each fall, students report on the results of their work at the annual Weiss Summer Research Symposium.
In most cases, students in the natural sciences work on faculty research projects, designed by faculty who are leading researchers in their fields. This frequently leads to both important discoveries in a variety of fields, as well as co-authored papers and conference presentations
Students can either sign on to an existing faculty research project or design a project to suit their own intellectual interests.
Students work on faculty-designed projects and participate in a close-knit team of researchers. Their work has resulted in an extensive range of co-authored papers and conference presentations.
The program and symposium are named after Charles “Chick” Weiss, who joined the psychology faculty in 1975 with a Ph.D. in neurobiology and physiology from Ohio University. An esteemed professor, mentor and scholar, Weiss served as the chair of the psychology department from 1984 to 1989. He also served the College as coordinator of Grants and Research (1989-95), the director of the Office of Grants and Corporate and Foundation Giving (1995-2003), and the director of Strategic Initiatives and Corporate and Foundation Relations from 2003 until his retirement in 2016. Weiss was integral to bringing major projects to life, most notably the College’s integrated science complex, Brooks Concert Hall and the Summer Research Program.
Admission to the program is competitive but is open to all students, including first-year students.
The Summer Research Fellowship includes on-campus housing throughout the eight-week period of the program. Students also receive a partial meal plan (~1 meal swipe per weekday).
That depends on your interest; although there are no prerequisites to the program, most summer researchers are working in fields in which they have some classroom experience. And although it is not required that students work within their majors, it is generally the case that summer research projects delve deep enough into a subject to require some familiarity with the field. If you are unsure, the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World can provide guidance.
The best first step is to talk to a faculty member. If you are unsure of a good faculty match, the J.D. Power Center for Liberal Arts in the World can provide guidance.
There is no cost to participate; Summer Research Fellows are paid a weekly stipend, and all are paid a housing stipend to cover their housing on campus. A partial on-campus meal plan is provided to help cover food expenses.
It is not possible to earn a full course credit through the Weiss Summer Research Program, though students can have their experience noted on their transcript through the Experiential Learning Partial Credit.
Summer Research Fellows are expected to put in 40 hours a week on their project. Summer Research Fellows are not permitted to hold an outside job during regular work hours, and the terms of the stipend prohibit work on campus during their fellowship period. If you need to work a job at night and/or on the weekends, that is up to you, but you do not want that employment to interfere with your research.
Weiss fellows are permitted to take a summer school class in the evening hours. The course should not interfere with regular work hours.
