STEM

Ohio Wesleyan’s unique 10-week Summer Science Research Program (SSRP) offers students the opportunity to carry out cutting-edge research side by side with faculty mentors. Students and faculty are fully engaged partners in research projects that ignite students’ passion for learning and give them the confidence to explore areas that fire their imaginations.

The OH5SURE program is unique opportunity made possible through the collaborative efforts of The Ohio State University with the Five Ohio Colleges (OWU, College of Wooster, Denison University, Kenyon College and Oberlin College) to help undergraduates gain research experience in Biochemistry, Chemistry, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, Public Health, Statistics, Semiconductors/Materials Research, and Tobacco Regulatory Research at the nationally recognized laboratories at The Ohio State University.

The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories through supporting academic institutions and organizations with the intent to promote the growth of scientific communities and projects. These projects often utilize undergraduates to perform research alongside highly qualified faculty and mentors!

• There is a wide variety of opportunities for students to pursue and apply for and are competitive but many OWU students apply and are accepted each year! Reach out to the STEM & Pre-Health Career Catalyst to learn more about the application process in early December-January.

A personal statement is an essay used as one major component of the application process by many colleges and universities, especially highly selective schools. It can vary in length, but most personal statements (written for the Common App or Coalition) will tend to be close to 650 words, and will help a reader get a sense, among other things, of who you are and what you value.

A letter of academic intent, sometimes called a statement of purpose, is typically a one-page letter stating your goals in pursuing graduate school or a research program. A letter of intent is an opportunity for a committee to hear directly from you and learn more about your interest in their program. It’s also a chance for them to get a sense of your voice, research interests, and ability to communicate.

Both of these are essential tools to help graduate schools and undergraduate research programs really get to know you in ways that can’t be illustrated on a simple application form and transcript.

Letters of Recommendation provide admissions and selection committees with valuable information that’s not necessarily obvious from your college application alone. Letters of recommendation stand as a testament to your unique qualities, character, tenacity, academic successes, and personal achievements. These, ideally, will be from faculty members within the department related to the experience or graduate program you wish to pursue – there are a couple of things to ensure that your letter is submitted on time and to the correct place to ensure your success!

• You should ask in person first, just to make sure they will have time and will be able to write an effective letter for you.
• Provide them with a link/flyer/short description of the opportunity so they know what skills might be good for them to highlight or touch on in a letter. 
• Provide them with a DEADLINE – this is important. OWU has a lot of students who wish to pursue opportunities that will requires these contributions to their application and relatively few members of faculty who are requested to write them, this is a helpful tool for them to make sure your letter is compete and submitted on time.
• Provide them with HOW TO SUBMIT their letter – this is also important! Idealistically you will never see this letter. You want to make sure they know what email, portal, or whatever they need to do to ensure that there is no question of you altering this letter in any way previous to the organization/person receiving it.

Most research opportunities and nearly 100% of graduate schools will require an official copy of your transcript – you can request an official transcript to be sent to the organization or school through the Office of the Registrar for a small fee.