Schedule, Programs, and Seminars

The 12-week fellowship begins each May and runs through August.

Important Dates (2025 Tentative On-Site Schedule)

Overview of Summer Schedule

Orientation

• Visit Horn Point Laboratory and Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
• Meet with mentor
• Kayak trip
• Interactive discussions and trainings
  • Living and working in a safe and welcoming environment
  • Science ethics
  • Preparing a proposal
  • Chesapeake Bay ecology

June

• Research proposals due (projects will be developed with mentors)
• REU fellows mid-summer project presentation
• Science communication training

July

• Science ethics workshop
• Resume workshop
• Seminar: Applying to Graduate School
• Panel: Alternate careers in environmental and marine science

August

• REU Research Symposium presentations
• Final papers due

Workshops and Seminars

Seminar Series

We organize a summer seminar series (four to five speakers) at each laboratory. Speakers are from within and outside the labs. These seminars discuss a variety of marine research topics and offer an informal structure for networking with members of the lab community outside a fellow’s research group. Lunch with the speakers, REUs, and graduate students follows the seminars and provides time for in-depth discussions.

Science and Ethics

During the research ethics portion of our REU program, we explore the issues of scientific responsibility and provide students with the necessary tools to confront ethical dilemmas they might experience as their careers evolve.

Summer research ethics activities include:

• Discussion on the responsible conduct of research
• Virtual case studies and reflections
• Ethics workshop with faculty

Ethics Resources:

• On Being A Scientist: Responsible Conduct In Research, Third Edition. (2009) National Academy of Sciences. National Academy Press, Washington D. C. 
• Online Ethics Center
• The ten most important things to know about research ethics, by Kenneth D. Pimple.

Applying to Graduate School

Faculty and graduate students provide a relaxed, interactive seminar on how to apply to graduate school. 

Panel: Alternate Careers in Environmental and Marine Science

REU students have the unique opportunity to talk with employers from environmental and marine science organizations about career opportunities in non-academic arenas. Panelists offer great tips on how to successfully interview and land your first job or graduate school position. Students will be able to ask the panelists plenty of questions and share a lunch with them afterward.

How to Apply to the Maryland Sea Grant REU program