Independent Research and Course
This program is an excellent way to decide if a career in field biology is right for you. Independent Research offers intensive mountain field work and emphasizes individual research projects. You will interact with a variety of scientists and their research projects at RMBL. Students may earn up to $500 working in various jobs during the summer session. This program runs for 10 weeks, June 7- Aug.15. Some students may be asked to arrive earlier or stay later if necessary for their particular research project. Students are expected to stay at RMBL for a full 10 weeks, regardless of starting date. Twenty students will be selected to participate in the independent research program. Class size is limited to 10 students/course. There are a substantial number of full and partial scholarships, so financial need should not stop students from applying. Students will receive various levels of support, depending upon the strength of the application and financial need.
Students should have a sincere interest in field biology research. Fieldwork is difficult, and often tedious. We are looking for students with the mental and intellectual maturity to commit to hard work. In some circumstances, students have the option of turning their research into a Senior Thesis at their home institution. Contact the Science Director (sd at rmbl.org) at RMBL for more information. To learn a little more about the Lab, check out our homepage and take a virtual tour, or click here to view our RMBL videos.
Program Description:
Students will work with a mentor to develop a testable hypothesis, gather field data, analyze it and produce metadata, as well as produce a written and oral report. Each student’s experience will be unique, depending on their mentor’s research questions, system(s), and approach to doing science. For example, a few students will spend a lot of field time with their mentors. Other students, however, will work largely alone or as part of a lab group, having periodic meetings with their mentors along the way. Applicants should peruse the list of mentors and consider the topics that interest them. Please do not email the mentors, there are 10 times as many applicants as mentors and only a few students will be selected. To learn more about PI's and mentors at the Lab and their projects, you can search our researcher database by PI last name, project title, organism or year.
* Information on the 2010 Mentors and Project Descriptions.
* Education Program Schedule and Student Expectations for 2010.
* Here's a list of metadata from students in a previous year.
Students also choose from one of the following three courses. Courses will have flexible schedules to accommodate and complement fieldwork. Courses will meet the equivalent of 8 full days (64 contact hours) over the course of the summer. An additional 4 full days, or their equivalent, are allocated to out-of-class course activities.
Course 1: Methods in Field Ecology
Dr. Emily Mooney, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Course 2: Research training in Wildlife Biology
Dr. Chris Floyd, Univ. of WI-Eau Clairie
Course 3: Research training in Field Botany
Dr. Beth Lynch, Luther College
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Cost: The cost of this program is $4,500 for research assistance, room, and board. Some students will pay the $4,500 fee and some will receive partial or full scholarships from the RMBL or their home institution. We will judge the application and make awards based in part on financial need and on student motivation. We encourage participation by minorities currently underrepresented in biology.
Eligibility: Most courses require at least one year of college biology. See course descriptions for specific requirements. Any student interested in field biology is eligible to apply to this program. US citizens and permanent residents are eligible to receive RMBL full and partial scholarships.
Credits: Independent Research is worth 8 credits and the accompanying course is worth 2 credits, for a total of 10 credits. The RMBL will send you a transcript at the conclusion of the summer. Please note that the RMBL is not an accredited institution. Click here to learn more about receiving college credit.
APPLICATION Deadline Extended: March 5, 2010 for RMBL financial support and scholarships.
APPLICATION Deadline: June 1, 2010 or until programs are filled, for students not receiving financial support.
Application Fee: There is a $25 application fee for applications received after February 15th.
Deadline Notes: All application materials should be received by the deadline date. Transcripts post-marked by the deadline will be accepted, but all other material should be submitted via the online application including your recommendations by 11:59 pm on the deadline day. Your listed recommenders will receive an email prompt once your application is complete with instructions on how to complete the online form. Make sure you give your references enough time (about 2 weeks) to submit their recommendations by the deadline. Emails are sometimes blocked by university servers, and it is your responsibility to confirm that your references receive an email from us and have completed their recommendation letters. You can expect to receive confirmation of your application via email by mid-March or two weeks after your completed application (including two recommendations, application fee, and supporting documents) is received, whichever date is later. It is advantageous to apply early, as classes are often full before April 1.
To Apply: click here to access the online application.
Questions: Email admin at rmbl.org with any application or program questions.