Application for Summer 2026 is now open!

Spend your summer immersed within the Tyson research community

In this 10-week summer program, undergraduate students work for a faculty or staff principal investigator, post-doctoral scientist, or graduate student mentor on current Tyson-based research projects.

A weekly colloquium provides professional preparation activities including scientific communication practice, journal article discussion, research poster development, and discussion of inclusivity in STEM. Fellows also attend weekly community events with visiting environmental professionals and presentations from visiting scientists.

Tyson provides daily shuttle transportation from the Washington University Danforth Campus and each fellow receives a $6,000 stipend to assist with personal living expenses during the 10 weeks. Federal Pell grant eligible fellows are awarded $500 scholarships to supplement the stipend.

Tyson does not have housing on site and fellows may choose to secure housing on their own or through WashU summer intern housing ($2,800 flat rate plus $30 application fee). Tyson can help with reservation of WashU housing to avoid having to pay the full housing amount before receiving the fellowship stipend.

At the end of the summer field season, all fellows present scientific posters during the Tyson Summer Research Symposium. Fellows are also encouraged to present these posters again at either the Washington University Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium or another similar symposium at their own undergraduate institution. Support for this is provided by mentors and Tyson staff.

Former fellows have presented their research at regional and national conferences and several projects have resulted in peer-reviewed publications. Many of our former fellows have entered graduate programs or careers in the environmental sciences.

At Tyson we take you beyond data collection

“I learned how to operate in the field and all of the work behind creating, setting up, and working on a project.”

“My mentor allowed us the independence to take responsibility over certain parts of the project but was also there to answer questions. I never felt like I would be looked down upon for asking questions or clarifying protocols.”

“My mentor was very passionate about his research and that really showed. He made an effort to connect with us and talk about the research project in detail and how it fit into the ecology as a whole. His excitement and passion was contagious and the summer was incredible!”

“I learned more about team dynamics in a work setting. Also I learned about the methods behind many ecological research projects; both those being done at Tyson, and the others through reading papers and listening to seminars.”

“It encouraged me to think outside of the box as far as possibilities involving ecology/environmental science careers. I realize that while academia is still an option for me, I could also consider going the route of some of the lecturers and working for botanical gardens or a number of other places, or going into education as I really enjoyed the tiered mentorship.”

“The community at Tyson was my favorite part. All of the researchers and other students were really friendly, compassionate, and interesting. I really enjoyed talking with them about their research and passions.”

“The best part was getting to work outside with awesome people. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire summer and I am so glad that I was able to make it a part of my undergraduate experience.”

“I think one of Tyson's strongest assets is the sense of community and how well they do community building. I felt like the cohort of interns this summer really meshed well within themselves but also with the adults working at Tyson.”

“I loved working with the whole spectrum of experience - from high school to professors.”

“I felt like I was being treated like a graduate student and it was exciting and made me more excited about the research.”

Application information for Summer 2026

Washington University students and outstanding students from other universities are eligible to apply. We welcome people of all racial, cultural, ethnic, and gender identities.

Please consult the summer research descriptions for the Tyson Mentors below as you will be asked to indicate your preferences for placement. There are limited spaces available in the program as a whole and with each research team. Fellows are selected based on relevant experience, interests, personal and professional goals, and also with consideration of how they might fit within a collaborative team. Your answers to the application questions and essays will help us in the selection process as we build our summer research teams.

You will be asked to provide contact information for three references (employment supervisors, course professors, academic advisors, and previous mentors would be appropriate) and to upload a pdf of your current resume. (No reference letters will be accepted. Resume writing advice may be found here.)

Timeline

Application will become available in December.
Application due date is February 15, 2026.
You may be contacted by a research team for an interview in February/March.
Notification of selection or wait list status will be emailed by March 20, 2026.
Mandatory start date is May 26, 2026.
10-week program runs Tuesday, May 26 through Friday, July 31, 2026.

Application is available through the button below

Apply

Application Due Date is February 15, 2026

Questions may be directed to Susan Flowers.

Tyson mentors for 2026

Endowed Fellowships

We thank our generous donors for helping us to mentor the next generation of environmental scientists.

Former undergraduate fellows

Support for Tyson Undergraduate Fellows is provided by NSF grants, Taylor Geospatial Institute grants, internal WashU fellowship and internship funds, Arts & Sciences, and Tyson Research Center.

Application for Summer 2026 is now open!

Spend your summer immersed within the Tyson research community

At Tyson we take you beyond data collection

Application information for Summer 2026

Application Due Date is February 15, 2026

Tyson mentors for 2026

Jonathan Myers: Forest Dynamics and Biodiversity

ANDreas Kautt: Evolution of animal behavior

SUSAN FLOWERS, Kelly Schmidt, Meredith Kelling: Humans at Tyson, past and present

Cristy Portales-Reyes: Grasslands biodiversity

KATIE WESTBY, KIM MEDLEY: MOSQUITO ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION

SOLNY ADALSTEINSSON: TICK AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY

Former undergraduate fellows