Frequently Asked Questions about the DREU
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Can a student be paired with a mentor at the same university?
Most of the DREU participants are NOT from the same institution, but we do
have some.
If there is a particular reason the student would like to stay at that
institution and work with a particular faculty member, then both student
and faculty should make that clear in the application.
They should also make it clear if that is a requirement or a preference.
Also, an option exists for the research to take place remotely, using collaborative
technologies such that the student can remain at his or her home institution
with local and remote mentors.
This option includes at least two visits by the student to the remote
mentor's institution during the summer.
If the student is interested in this option, then he or she must
indicate that in the application.
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Do students have to find their own housing?
It is the responsiblity of the student to find lodging for the summer.
In many cases, the mentor will provide information about staying
in a dorm on campus or about low-cost summer housing options in the area.
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What kind of commitment (in hours/week, or even total hours) is required
to participate in the DREU?
The DREU program is meant to be a full-time intensive 10 week
research experience for undergraduates.
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Are there set dates for DREU internships? Do students have to be matched
with mentors from universities that have the same academic calendar?
The program is very flexible and the mentorship dates are
scheduled at the mutual convenience of the student and the
mentor. We have students and mentors applying from schools
that are on the semester system (summer break typically from mid
May to mid August) and from schools that are on the quarter
system (summer break typically from mid June to mid September).
Usually, it is easiest to arrange housing during the mentor's
summer break, but some DREU students have started their mentorship
before the end of their mentor's spring term or have completed
their internship after their mentor's fall term has started.
These details are worked out during the matching process and
should not prevent anyone from applying for the DREU program.
Student Application and Selection
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The objective of DREU is to increase the number of students
from underrepresented groups entering graduate studies in CS&E.
What groups are considered to be underrepresented in computing?
We follow the official definitions as to who qualifies as being a member
of an underrepresented group.
Groups that are underrepresented in computing include women, Hispanics,
African Americans, and American Indians.
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Are international students eligible for the DREU?
Yes, as long as they are pursuing an undergraduate degree at
a U.S. or Canadian college or University.
However, most of the funds for the DREU program are restricted to
US citizens and permanent residents, so the number of non-US
student participants will be limited.
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I am an international student studying in the United States, and I do not have permission to work. Can I still participate in the DREU?
Probably. Most international students can participate in the DREU via curricular
practical training (CPT). This training needs to be approved by your home
institution. You should see your international advisor (or someone
at your office for international students) to determine if you are
eligible and to determine what you need to do to participate in DREU
via CPT.
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Are there any special programs that Canadians may apply to?
Yes. There is a Canadian DMP for undergraduate women that is
managed by the CRA-W. You can find more information about
it here.
In fact, since most DREU funds are restricted to US citizens and
permanent residents, Canadians and international students studying
at Canadian institutions are strongly encouraged to consider the
Canadian DMP program. Please note that the deadlines and
program details of the Canadian DMP and of the DREU are different.
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Can current graduate students apply for the DREU as mentees?
That is really not the purpose of this program. There are a number of other
internship programs which graduate students can apply for. For example,
the National Laboratories and many companies have summer internship
programs. You can find more information about them
here.
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Can current seniors, or students who have already graduated with
a bachelors degree, apply for the DREU?
Yes, students can participate after they have graduated.
It is true, however, that in most cases we would prefer for students to
participate earlier - so that the experience can help them decide if they
want to go to graduate school and to help them be more competitive
applicants for admission and fellowships if they do apply.
Also, since the goals of the program are to encourage more
students from underrepresented groups to go to graduate school
in computer science and computer engineering, graduating students
that are already admitted to graduate school are less
likely to be funded than less advanced students who have still not decided
if graduate school is for them.
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What is the best time in their academic program for students to
participate in DREU? Can freshman apply?
The majority of DREU participants are rising seniors or juniors,
i.e., they participate in DREU after they have completed their
sophomore or junior year. This is a good time for students to
participate. However, freshman have successfully participated
in the DREU. Hence, all interested students are encouraged to
apply.
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Can male students apply for the DREU?
Yes.
In fact, men from groups underrepresented in computing are strongly
encouraged to apply for the DREU.
In general, during the selection process, all applicants will
be evaluated using the selection criteria described
on the
DREU Application homepage .
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Is the DREU open to students in majors outside of CS&CE?
Yes.
During the selection process, all applicants will
be evaluated using the DREU selection criteria described
on the
DREU Application homepage .
Thus, since in most cases, CS&CE students are more likely
to be better prepared for graduate studies in CS&CE,
they would have have an increased chance of being matched
with a mentor.
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What constitutes an unofficial transcript?
A list of courses, grades and GPA (by semester) would be sufficient. Some
universities actually provide their students an electronic unofficial
transcript. If yours does not, just create your own listing.
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Where do I send my official transcript?
You should send your official transcript to:
Prof. Nancy Amato,
Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Texas A&M University, TAMU 3112,
College Station, TX 77843-3112.
Note: sometimes it takes awhile for your transcript to be processed. In order for your application to be evaluated in a timely manner, you should enter your unofficial transcript into your DREU application.
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Where do I send my letters of recomendation?
After you input the contact information, including email addresses,
for your letter writers into the application, we will send them
email with a special url and directions as to how they can
submit their letter into the DREU website.
Acceptable formats are plain asci, pdf, or postscript.
If they cannot submit their letter to the website (stongly
preferred), then they should contact us at dreu@cs.tamu.edu
or send hard copy (discouraged) to
Prof. Nancy Amato,
Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Texas A&M University, TAMU 3112,
College Station, TX 77843-3112.
- If I applied for the DREU Program last year, do I need to
resubmit all my information again to apply this year?
Yes, you will still need to fill out a complete application.
The application often undergoes small changes from year to year, and
while you may not realize it, there there are probably many changes
in your information (e.g., the courses you have
taken, possibly your interests, etc).
Mentor Application and Selection
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Can two (or more) faculty mentors apply together to jointly
mentor one or more students? Is there anything special
required to submit a joint application?
Yes, the DREU accepts joint applications for mentors.
Each mentor applicant should provide the personal
application materials (e.g., address, url, CV, etc.),
but only one of the applicants needs to provide the
information related to the reseach project and the
environment at their institution.
The application site provides a way to link applications.
The applicant that completes the full application should
apply first and they will be given an Application Key,
which they should then provide to the other applicant(s)
who will need to provide it during the application creation process.
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My college is not a PhD granting institution.
Can I apply to be a mentor?
One objective of the DREU is to immerse the students in an
environment similar to the one they would experience in graduate
school. Hence, it is important that the mentor's institution have an
active summer graduate student population including PhD students
and that the mentor's group have graduate students (preferably PhD
students) with whom the DREU student could interact.
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I'm a professor at a PhD granting institution outside the US or Canada.
Can I apply to be a mentor?
No, we're sorry but currently eligible mentors for DREU students should be
faculty at PhD granting institutions in the US or Canada.
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I'm a professor at a PhD granting institution in Canada.
Can I apply to be a mentor?
Yes. But please note that while we do have some unrestricted funds, most
of our funding comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation and
the intention is to fund students attending US institutions.
Also, please note that there is also a Canadian version of the DREU program, the
C-DMP,
and faculty at Canadian Universities are encouraged to consider
applying to it.
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Why are you asking DREU mentors to provide funds?
The number of students interested in the DREU program has increased
substantially over the last several years and many qualified
students have not been selected due to lack of funding. To enable
more students to participate, faculty are now encouraged to provide
funds to support (partially or fully) students.
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Does it increase my chances of being selected as a DREU mentor if
I can contribute funds to the support my DREU student?
No. The selection and matching process will be performed in
a ``blind'' fashion which does not consider a mentor's financial
contribution until after they have been matched with a student.
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I have some funds that could be used to support a DREU student,
but there are some restrictions (e.g., they are REU funds and
so the student must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident).
This is not a problem.
The DREU mentor application provides a way for you to
indicate any restrictions there are on your funds, and these
restrictions will be taken into account when matching you with
a DREU student.
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Does the DREU allow male mentors?
Yes. All interested faculty are encouraged to apply as mentors, and
in fact, male faculty from groups underrepresented in computing are
strongly encouraged to apply for the DREU.
Moreover, male faculty have been serving as mentors in the DREU
(which focused on women) since summer 2004.
Nonethess, based on the documented benefits of role models with
similar gender or from similar demographic groups, it is anticipated
that DREU funds will be used to support students matched with mentors
from groups underrepresented in computing. Hence, it is anticipated
that other mentors will provide full funding for their students'
stipends (the program will provide travel support).
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Can a PhD student apply to be a mentor?
We really want to have faculty mentors. In many cases, however, a faculty
mentor is assisted by graduate students who act as mentors as well.
So one way for a PhD to participate would be to get a faculty member
to apply as a mentor and then assist with mentoring the student(s).
- If I applied to be a DREU Mentor last year, do I need to
resubmit all my information again to apply this year?
No, you don't! New this year, mentors can choose to import their
application from the previous year or start a new one.
Application Problems
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Where can I find an overview of the program requirements, payment schedule,
information about how to request travel grants, etc?
On the
DREU Procedures and Requirements Summary webpage.
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How are DREU stipends treated for US income tax purposes?
Because these awards are not for qualified tuition and
related expenses but instead represent compensation for research services
rendered as a condition of receiving the grant, they are reportable as
gross income, but not as wages.
The CRA is not required to withhold any taxes on these stipends
and no such withholding shall be done.
The CRA is required to issue 1099's or W-2's to award recipients;
these are mailed to participants in the spring, typically February.
It is the responsibility of each recipient to properly report
the award as taxable income on his or her tax return in the year received.
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Can DREU stipends be paid via direct deposit?
Yes.
In fact, CRA encourages participants to take advantage of
direct deposit since it can be difficult to keep mailing addresses
for checks up to date with students relocating for the summer.
The CRA will send participants information on how to sign up for
direct deposit after the participants for the summer are
confirmed.
However, the first stipend payment is typically not paid
by direct deposit because it would delay this payment and many
students need it, e.g., to pay a deposit on housing for the summer.
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I am an international student studying in the United States, and I do
not have permission to work. What do I need to do to participate in DREU?
International students typically participate in DREU via curricular
practical training (CPT). This training needs to be approved by your home
institution. We suggest you see your international advisor (or someone
at your office for international students) to complete the appropriate
paperwork.
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Does the DREU program have any funding to help DREU students attend
technical conferences with their DREU mentor? What about to make a return
visit to their mentor's institution after the program is over?
Yes.
The DREU program has limited funding that DREU students can apply for to
assist them to attend a technical conference with their mentor and their research
group during or after their DREU internship.
If it is after the DREU internship, then the travel must be in direct relation
to the student's
internship, e.g., a conference where a paper the student co-authored as
a result of their
DREU experience will be presented.
Students can also apply for funding to make a short duration (a week or so)
return visit to work with their mentor to continue work begun during the
DREU experience, e.g., for a week or so over winter or spring break.
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Does the DREU program have any advice for mentors to help them be more
effective mentors for their DREU students?
Yes, some
mentoring tips
have been developed specifically for the DREU based on findings of the
Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination (LEAD) Center which
performed an evaluation of the CRA-W DMP from 1994-2005.
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