How Pasadena Students Can Apply for Caltech’s Paid Summer Research Fellowship

Undergraduates in and around Pasadena have a path to a funded, 10-week research position at a major Pasadena research institution, and the window to apply for next summer opens soon. 

Caltech’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships program, known as SURF, will begin accepting applications for the 2027 cycle on Nov. 1, according to Caltech’s Student-Faculty Programs office, which administers the fellowship. The program, based at the Caltech campus at 1200 East California Boulevard, has run since 1979 and places undergraduates in mentored research projects over a 10-week summer period. 

The program is open to Caltech students and, in many cases, to visiting undergraduates from other colleges — meaning a Pasadena or Altadena student attending school elsewhere can, with the right mentor, spend a summer doing research close to home. Caltech’s materials state that while SURF is primarily for its own undergraduates, visiting students may apply if they secure a supportive Caltech faculty mentor. 

How the fellowship works 

Caltech describes SURF as modeled on the grant-seeking process. Students first identify and contact a potential faculty mentor, then work with that mentor to define a project and write a research proposal. Faculty review the proposals and recommend awards. Selected students carry out the work full time over 10 weeks in the summer, then submit a technical paper and give an oral presentation at a SURF Seminar Day, according to the program’s website. 

The office lists several conditions: participants must conduct research in person, cannot take courses or hold another job during the 10 weeks, and must submit two interim reports, an abstract and a final paper approved by their mentor. 

Eligibility and stipend 

According to information published by Caltech and by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which co-hosts a version of the program, the minimum GPA varies by applicant category — 2.5 on a 4.0 scale for visiting students, with a lower threshold for Caltech’s own undergraduates. Applicants must also have completed their second semester or third quarter of college, be eligible for fall-term registration before beginning the project and no later than July 1, and not be under any disciplinary sanction. Under the program’s process, a faculty mentor must agree to support the application, help define the project and assist with the proposal before it is submitted.

The fellowship carries a stipend. Caltech’s Student-Faculty Programs office listed the award for the 2026 cycle at $8,110 for the 10-week period. The office sets the amount annually and notes that award amounts are subject to change; a figure for the 2027 cycle had not been posted as of Sept. 17. Caltech’s JPL-track and visiting-student materials note that housing and travel are not included, though participants may rent campus dormitory space at the summer guest rate. 

Timeline and how to apply 

Caltech’s application page states that the 2027 application opens Nov. 1, that completed applications are due March 1, and that awards will be announced April 1. Because these dates can shift between cycles, students should confirm the exact 2027 deadline on the Student-Faculty Programs site. 

Prospective applicants can review posted research projects, called Announcements of Opportunity, on Caltech’s SURF site during the application window, and can consult the office’s guides on finding a mentor and writing a proposal. Two letters of recommendation, at least one from a faculty member, are part of the application; non-Caltech students also submit an unofficial transcript. 

The program spans disciplines across science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and includes several tracks: the main campus SURF, an off-campus option, a program at JPL, and LIGO SURF in gravitational-wave astronomy. Applicants for JPL projects must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and complete a separate SURF@JPL application.

More information, including eligibility details and application materials, is available on Caltech’s Student-Faculty Programs pages at sfp.caltech.edu. 

By its own count, Caltech’s Student-Faculty Programs office reports more than 7,000 SURF alumni who have carried out over 8,300 research projects. The 2027 application opens Nov. 1.