Application Requirements and FAQs
- Do I need to travel to attend this program?
- The program will be conducted purely online. So no travel is needed.
- We plan to support some participants to travel to related conferences to present their work.
- What are the eligibility requirements of applying this program?
- Still be an undergraduate student at an accredited institution in the fall semester following the program as required by the NSF REU program for all REU grants
- Completed at least 15 college credits prior to the start of the program
- Completed a minimum of one course in programming, one course in calculus and one course in statistics
- GPA of at least 3.0 in a scale of 4.0
- Be a citizen, national or permanent resident of United States as required by the NSF REU program for all REU grants
- Has access to a desktop/laptop computer
- Be prepared to commit full-time to the summer research experience program
- What information is required by the application form?
- Basic information
- Course information
- Research experience
- CV
- Personal statement: It should contain approximately two to three pages about 1) your background in computing, data science, mathematics and statistics; 2) your interest in big data applications in science and engineering; 3) your previous research experiences (if any); and 4) your experience with or interest in team work
- Transcript
- Information of two recommenders. Please ask your letter writers to send emails to bigdatareu@umbc.edu. Recommendation Letter should be named as StudentFirstName_StudentLastName_RecommenderLastName.pdf
- What is the structure of the program?
- This REU Site proposes to deliver the program in three overlapping phases, which are illustrated in the figure below: 1) formal instruction by the faculty mentors with help from graduate assistants (GAs), 2) team-based research projects, 3) wrappup and dissemination.
- How long am I supposed to work for this program each week?
- Each student is expected to work for 40 hours per week on average.
- What if I do not have good Internet connection?
- If you need support on Internet connection, we will explore different ways, including satellite internet service, to support it.
- I’m not eligible for this REU program for some reason. But I’m interested in interdisciplinary big data research. How could I get involved?