*This award has been discontinued and absorbed into the new awards structure, the PEAK Experiences awards as the Trailblazer Award.
Summer Scholars Independent Research Fellowships (SSIRFs) are designed to help students explore and discover. The awards support original, student-initiated independent research, creative performance, and project-making in close collaboration with a faculty mentor. Northeastern’s most generous undergraduate research awards, SSIRFs require students -- as individuals or in groups -- to demonstrate a high degree of independence in project development and execution and provide up to $5,000 to fund at least ten weeks of full-time work during the summer. This year, building on the outstanding success of SIRFs within the University Scholars Program (where the SIRF Program originated), the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships will assume administration of the award and, in addition to awards for University Scholars, will offer 5-10 SSIRFs to students regardless of their affiliation within the university. Provided they meet the other requirements, all Northeastern students are eligible to apply for this SSIRF award.
More than just a financial award, as part of the SSIRF application process, students receive training in how to craft and carry out research proposals. This is a competitive grant process and funding is not guaranteed. For full details of the SSIRF and to apply, visit the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.