BURST (Beginning Undergraduate Research Summer Training)
Student Information and Guidelines
The BURST (Beginning Undergraduate Research Summer Training) program provides opportunities for USD undergraduates with minimal prior research experience to participate in full-time research or creative works training under the guidance of a USD faculty mentor for 10 weeks (2027 dates TBD) during the summer.
BURST scholars will be awarded
- $6000 stipend
- $500 for necessary research supplies
- 50% reduced USD summer housing rate (shared room)
- Professional development and community-building activities with other summer research scholars and faculty
The application deadline for BURST is on February 19, 2027 at 11:59 pm PST. Student and faculty components of the application must be submitted by the deadline to be considered for funding. See below for details on Eligibility and How to Apply.
We recommend that you also view the BURST Faculty Mentors page to know what is expected of them.
Update 8/13/2026
The 2027 BURST/STAR application will be available on January 4, 2027 and will close on February 19, 2027 at 11:59 PM PST.
Eligibility
Students graduating in May 2026 are not eligible to apply for this application cycle.
Substantial is *defined as more than 200 hours of research (for course credit, volunteered or paid), participation in a previous summer research program at USD (such as Keck, McNair, Beckman, STAR, BURST, REU) or another institution. Students who have done extensive research but are applying for a research experience in a new discipline may be eligible for BURST. Please consult your faculty mentor and/or OUR to determine if you are eligible for BURST.
See the How to Apply section for help on how to identify a faculty mentor - the Office of Undergraduate Research has resources to help you!
No remote projects will be considered at this time, though short excursions for research purposes are allowed.
OUR typically hosts a variety of professional development workshops and community-building events over the course of 10 weeks in the summer. BURST scholars are required to attend some of these events. Failure to participate in required programming may affect future funding.
How to Apply
Identify a faculty mentor.
You need to identify a faculty mentor well ahead of the deadline — ideally in the Fall semester — so they have enough time to craft the project description and mentoring statement required for your application.
Not sure how to find a faculty mentor? Here are some tips:
- Start by reaching out to the faculty you know. Talk with current and past professors from courses you have enjoyed. Even if the professor is not currently seeking an undergraduate researcher, they may know of colleagues that may be available to take you in.
- Consult with your academic advisor. They are a great resource to help you make connections to potential faculty mentors.
- Join the OUR-SEARCH network and email faculty whose projects sound interesting to you.
Discuss potential projects with your faculty mentor.
Once you have identified a faculty mentor, you will need to meet with them and discuss potential research/creative projects. As a BURST applicant, you do not need to know all the details of your project before applying. However, you do need to have an idea of the goals of the project and the methods you will be using to achieve the goals. This is also a great opportunity to ask your faculty mentor any general questions you have about research or the BURST program.
Submit the student portion of the BURST application by the deadline.
We are currently accepting application submissions until February 19, 2027 at 11:59 pm. Only complete applications (both student and faculty portions) submitted by the deadline will be considered for funding. No incomplete or late applications will be accepted.
The BURST Student Application includes:
- General information about yourself
- General information about your faculty mentor
- A one-page statement, single-spaced, PDF file (Arial, 11-point font, 1” margins) that addresses the following:
- Why BURST?:
- Why are you interested in gaining experience and training in research or creative works?
- How will participation in BURST help you achieve your potential educational and/or career goals?
- Learning About Your Project From Your Mentor:
- What was something that surprised you about the way your mentor described your project?
- What day-to-day activity or activities of your research experience are you excited about?
- What is something you don’t understand about your project and/or that you want to learn more about?
- Personal Connection:
- Explain how this specific project connects to your own interests, academic background, and goals.
- What about this particular research area excites or motivates you?
- How does working on this project align with what you hope to learn or accomplish for your own professional development?
- Include the three categories above as subheaders in your statement to ensure each prompt is clearly addressed. Click here to use our pre-made BURST statement template. You are not required to take up the whole page; this is the maximum limit offered. Your statement should demonstrate both your general motivation for participating in undergraduate research and your enthusiasm for the proposed project you'll be working on.
- Why BURST?:
- Disclosure of AI Use
- A project timeline is no longer required for BURST.
Remind your faculty mentor to submit their BURST application by the deadline.
Your faculty mentor is responsible for submitting the BURST Mentor Application by February 19, 2027 at 11:59 pm. Within this form, faculty mentors should upload their two-page mentoring statement.
Evaluation and Awards
As shown in the BURST rubric, much of the application evaluation will focus on the components submitted by the faculty mentor. BURST funding is limited; even excellent applications may not be funded in a given year. Do not get discouraged if you are not awarded a BURST fellowship in your first attempt — you can apply the following year if you are a continuing student, and you may be able to work with your mentor or our office to find other summer research opportunities.
- January 4 - February 19
- February 23 - March 17
- March 19 - March 26
- April 5
Accepting application submissions
Interdisciplinary and Group Projects
If your project involves multiple faculty mentors (interdisciplinary) or requires a group of students to be funded (Group Projects), your faculty mentor(s) will have additional required application materials. You may view these additional guidelines, but they are directed to faculty mentors.
Program Contacts
Discipline Contacts
FAQs
If you have no prior faculty-mentored training in research or creative works as an undergraduate, BURST is mostly likely the best fit for you. However, you are eligible for both BURST and STAR. The best approach is to first identify a faculty mentor for your summer project, then discuss with them the program that is most aligned with your project. In some cases, even if you have never participated in independent research/creative works, a faculty member may advise you to apply to STAR based on completion of advanced coursework that may include research/creative works, or the nature of your project.
If you have previously participated in faculty-mentored undergraduate research or creative works, you are not eligible for BURST and you should apply to STAR. The exception to this rule is if your total research/creative works experience as an undergraduate has been less than 200 hours, your prior experience was before you were enrolled as an undergraduate (e.g., if you participated in a high school experience or PURE), or if you are starting research in a different discipline area. Consult your faculty mentor and/or OUR (ugresearch@sandiego.edu) to determine if you are still eligible for BURST.
The student stipend for BURST is $6,000, which is comparable to other summer research programs across the country. In addition, BURST scholars are eligible for a 50% discount on summer housing at USD. Because BURST is a full-time program for 10-weeks of summer, students are not able to hold an outside summer job or internship or take summer courses during their research commitment.
Yes! You do not need to have declared a major to apply for BURST and you can work with a faculty mentor from any discipline. However, certain projects require background or training in a particular discipline, so some faculty mentors outside of your major may not have projects that are suitable for you.
No, all BURST scholars are awarded $500 in supplies funds, as needed for the project. There are no additional forms to fill out. Information on how to properly use these funds will be provided to the student/faculty team upon receiving an award.
Yes! You are encouraged to apply for other opportunities because the funding for BURST is limited. If you choose to accept another opportunity, please let us know so that we can remove you from consideration for BURST.