Positions

Each year, approximately 180 undergraduate students from around the U.S. come to Mayo Clinic's campuses to work beside both young and established scientists on a broad range of biomedical research questions.

Fellowships are available at the Mayo Clinic campuses in Jacksonville, Florida; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Rochester, Minnesota. Applicants can select the campus they prefer.

Admission requirements

Prerequisites

You can apply for the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) if you:

• Are currently an undergraduate student and have completed two or three years (a rising junior or senior) at a U.S. college or university at the time the SURF program begins
• Have a grade point average of at least 3.0 (4.0 scale)
• Are seriously considering a biomedical research career as a Ph.D. or M.D.-Ph.D.

Non-U.S. citizen applicants

International students who are attending a U.S. college or university as full-time students are eligible to apply.

How to apply

Application timeline

Your application and all supporting documentation must be received by Feb. 1, 2023. The 2023 program is scheduled to run from Tuesday, May 30, 2023 through Friday, Aug. 4, 2023.

You can only submit one application per application season.

Application instructions

Complete the following steps to apply:

1. Create an account to begin the online Application for Admission
• Select - Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
• Select – Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
2. Complete each section of the application and submit
3. After submission, view the required Supplemental Items and Documents
• Upload each required item in the Supplemental Items section 
• Complete the Recommendation Request section 

Additional required items

• Personal statement to include a one to two page description of your career goals, and the steps you have already taken to achieve those goals.
• Unofficial transcripts of courses from all colleges or universities attended may be uploaded in the Supplemental Items area for application purposes. An official transcript is preferred.
• Two letters of recommendation (including letters from research mentors) are required. Within the Recommendation Request section, you will provide contact information for each letter writer. Each recommender will receive an email with a link to complete a rating form and upload a letter.

Application review

If you are selected as a SURF fellow, you will be matched with a mentor in the research area you have selected.

Acceptance

Offers of acceptance will go out by email on a rolling basis from mid-February through mid-March. After the acceptance process is complete, the remaining applicants will be notified by email.