REU Site Program: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Field Research at Mountain Lake Biological Station Application Deadline: February 20 Three components of this application require advanced preparation: Four Essay Sections (150 word limit in each section) written by the applicant, and pasted into the application form. The essay must consist of these four seperate sections: 1. Discuss past experiences that qualify you for this research internship and what you gained from them. 2. What are your career interests and professional goals? 3. What do you hope to achieve by spending the summer at Mountain Lake? 4. Talk about characteristics of you as a person that make you especially suitable for this program and a desirable recruiting candidate for both the University of Virginia and the National Science Foundation. If any mentor options or project areas appeal to you, feel free to let us know, and why. Courses, Grades, and GPAs. A list of college-level STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) courses and grades is required in the application. Please do list AP or transfer credits even if no grade was awarded. Full transcripts will be requested during final consideration. One Recommendation from a research mentor, academic advisor, or science instructor who knows you and your potential for research well. Nonacademic or "community" referees (e.g. coaches, religious leaders) are much less valuable. Referees are contacted automatically, provided with your name and email, and a link to the Reference Letter Form when you submit your application. We recommend you arrange for a reference, and tell your referee to expect an automatic request, before submitting this application. SUMMER 2025 PROGRAM Personal Information First Name * Middle Name Last Name * Age when you would arrive at MLBS (end of May) 17 or younger 18 - 20 years old 21 or older AddressesCurrent Contact Information Address Line 1 Address Line 2 City State or Province Zip or Postal Code Cellphone number & Provider * This information can help us locate you in case of emergency. Email * IMPORTANT: Your reference letter writer will receive this email address automatically when you submit this form, and use it to link their reference to your application. Make sure it is correct. Optional Permanent or Alternate Contact Information Address Line 1 Address Line 2 City State or Province Zip or Postal Code Phone Other Email Emergency Contact Emergency Contact Name Emergency Contact Phone OPTIONAL: Health, Safety, Comfort, Personal, and Dietary Needs. MLBS is a remote field station with limited facilities, access, and communications. Many activities at MLBS occur out of doors in unpredictable and demanding weather and physical conditions. Some modern conveniences are unavailable. Emergency medical response time is 30 minutes or more. Please indicate here (or contact us at 540-626-7196 or mlbs@virginia.edu) any medical, dietary, or personal needs that may require special consideration or accommodation (e.g. disability, medication storage, life threatening allergy, personal comfort needs). Please also feel free to tell us anything else about yourself we might find useful in providing for your safety, wellbeing, and comfort at the Station. Here are some SAMPLE things you might want to tell us. We are not asking you to answer these specific questions: Are you colorblind, hearing impaired, or have other constraints that might make work in the field risky or difficult, or make it difficult to identify animals at a distance, or to perform fine scale operations under field conditions? Do you have any constraints or limitations that would prevent you from participating in long hours of field work in remote and rugged locations? Are you willing to handle and manipulate (safely of course) live or dead animals (e.g. small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, adult and nestling birds)? Please limit to a few words. This field has a 255 character limit. Housing requests or concerns Program Application Material Eligibility and Expectations: Undergraduate student participants supported with NSF funds in an REU Site program must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. An undergraduate student is a student who is enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree. Students who are transferring from one college or university to another and are enrolled at neither institution during the intervening summer may participate. High school graduates who have been accepted at an undergraduate institution but who have not yet started their undergraduate study are also eligible to participate. Students who have received their bachelor's degrees and are no longer enrolled as undergraduates are generally not eligible to participate. Students graduating in the May before the program are not eligible. Put simply, only applicants who are returning to an undergraduate program after the summer REU program are eligible. In addition, as a REU researcher you are expected to be in residence at the Station for the full ten weeks of the program. Special scheduling needs (eg. short trips away) can often be accommodated if raised in advance and agreed to by the research mentor and program coordinator. Field biologists often work long and irregular hours six or seven days a week. REU program participants must agree to the same. Commuting is not permitted. It is also important to consider that field work is often physically strenuous and demanding. Program participants need to be physically fit and willing to embrace physical labor, demanding hiking, and long hours in the field in all weather conditions. Please agree to these criteria by checking the box below. Agreeing is a requirement of program participation, and for submission of this application form. Agree * Yes, I understand and agree to these criteria and expectations. Courses and Grades * Please list college-level STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) courses along with grades. Do include AP or transfer credits even if no grade was awarded. And also please include courses you are taking now that will be completed before the summer. Full transcripts will be requested during final consideration. Overall GPA Major GPA Essay Sections: Please paste in a short paragraph (150 word limit) for each of the four essay sections below. If any mentor options or project areas appeal to you, please feel free to let us know here, and why. 1. Discuss past experiences that qualify you for this research internship and what you gained from them. * 2. What are your career interests and professional goals? * 3. What do you hope to achieve by spending the summer at Mountain Lake? * 4. Talk about characteristics of you as a person that make you especially suitable for this program and a desirable recruiting candidate for both the University of Virginia and the National Science Foundation. * Recommendation: A reference letter from one research mentor, academic advisor, or science instructor who knows you and your potential for research well is required. Nonacademic or "community" referees (e.g. coaches, religious leaders) are much less valuable. Referees are contacted automatically, provided with your name and email, and a link to the Reference Letter Form when you submit your application. We recommend you arrange for a reference, and tell your referee to expect an automatic request, before submitting this application. Please make sure YOUR and THEIR email addresses are correct on this form. Remember to check with your referee near the deadline to make sure the recommendation gets submitted. Recommendations are due by February 25, five days after this application form is due. Missing letters will prevent consideration of the application. Referee Name * Referee Email * Agreement Respecting Confidentiality: Please check the box below if you agree to waive access to the recommendation submitted by your referee under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy act of 1974. Referee Waiver I waive access to information submitted by my referee. Most letter writers expect their letters to be confidential, but waiving access is not required. Other Information Useful in Project Placement and Mentor Assignment Your Current College or University Highest Degree Level Offered by your College or University in any Field of Science Doctoral Degree Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree Associate's Degree Expected date of graduation with a bachelor's degree * Month MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Day Day12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 Year Year2022202320242025202620272028202920302031203220332034 Community college students - just make a guess about when this might be in the future, if you plan to seek a bachelor's degree. Your Major Your Current Career Goals Have you participated in any NSF-funded "REU" program in the past? No Yes Conceptual Areas of Interest: Please list your top three areas of interest, in order, from the pull-down lists. 1 - None -EvolutionEcological GeneticsBehavior (inc. mating, predation, foraging)Pollination BiologyMating SystemsPopulation BiologyGeneral EcologyCommunity EcologyDiseaseMolecular BiologyPhysiology 2 - None -EvolutionEcological GeneticsBehavior (inc. mating, predation, foraging)Pollination BiologyMating SystemsPopulation BiologyGeneral EcologyCommunity EcologyDiseaseMolecular BiologyPhysiology 3 - None -EvolutionEcological GeneticsBehavior (inc. mating, predation, foraging)Pollination BiologyMating SystemsPopulation BiologyGeneral EcologyCommunity EcologyDiseaseMolecular BiologyPhysiology Taxonomic Areas of Interest: Please list your top three areas of interest, in order, from the pull-down lists. 1 - None -FishAmphibiansHerbaceous PlantsTrees & ForestBirdsMammalsReptilesFerns & AlliesFungiMicroorganismsInsectsOther Invertebrates 2 - None -FishAmphibiansHerbaceous PlantsTreesBirdsMammalsReptilesFerns & AlliesFungiMicroorganismsInsectsOther Invertebrates 3 - None -FishAmphibiansHerbaceous PlantsTreesBirdsMammalsReptilesFerns & AlliesFungiMicroorganismsInsectsOther Invertebrates Travel and Availability: Sometimes the dates of particular research projects do not exactly match the standard dates of the program. Please indicate the earliest date you could arrive at Mountain Lake if an early start was required. Earliest Date Available Month MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Day Day12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 Year Year202420252026 Check here if you would be bringing a car that could be used to help conduct your research Check this box if you would be bringing a car that could be used to help conduct your research (i.e. getting to and from off-station field sites). Demographic Information Required by the NSFThe National Science Foundation requires that we report these demographic data on each program applicant. Ethnic and racial definitions are defined by the NSF. However, providing these data is not a requirement for application to this program (except for Citizenship, which IS a requirement of the application). Confusing enough? In other words, you are free to skip demography items under Citizenship if you prefer. It will not impact your application. Citizenship * U.S. Citizen U.S. Permanent Resident U.S. National Other... Citizenship Other... Gender Female Male Other / Preferred Pronouns ... Gender Other / Preferred Pronouns ... Ethnicity Hispanic or Latino - A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Not Hispanic or Latino Race (select all that apply) American Indian or Alaskan Native - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. Asian - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Black or African American - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. Disability Status (select all that apply; wearing glasses is not a Visual Impairment unless your vision limits normal activities) Hearing Impairment Visual Impairment Mobility/Orthopedic Impairment Other... Disability Status (select all that apply; wearing glasses is not a Visual Impairment unless your vision limits normal activities) Other... Your Mountain Lake exposure so far... How did you learn about Mountain Lake? Check all that apply Social media Email announcement to me, or forwarded to me Brochure, Poster or Display made available through my school MLBS web site or direct search Current or former Mountain Lake student Current or former Mountain Lake faculty Instructor or Adviser On-line internship database or student opportunities clearing house NSF REU web page Other... How did you learn about Mountain Lake? Check all that apply Other... Have you ever been to Mountain Lake Biological Station before? If so, in what capacity? Thank you very much! Remember to follow up with your letter writer to ensure your application is complete. Recommendations are due by February 25, five days after this application form is due. Incomplete applications (without at least essays, course experience, or reference letters) will not be reviewed. Application review takes several weeks. During that time you may be contacted by potential mentors wishing to learn more about you. Offers are made by the REU Coordinator in March. For questions about the program or your application please call 434-982-5486 or email mlbs-reu@virginia.edu. Mountain Lake Biological Station values diversity and is committed to non-discrimination and equal opportunity in all its programs. Submission Confirmation * CHECK THIS BOX as a digital signature: "I certify my identity is accurate, and that information provided here is complete, accurate, and ready to submit." Click the submit button below. A confirmation page and automatic email will follow. If you do not get both, your application has not been submitted. CAPTCHAThis question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
