The College of Veterinary Medicine Summer Veterinary Student Research Fellowship (SVSRF) Program provides stipends to first- and second-year professional veterinary students for a 12-week summer research experience.

Purpose. To introduce veterinary students to research in the hope that some will find this an attractive career option.

SVSRF Program. The student fellows conduct full-time research during a 12-week period in the summer, with the advice and direction of a Faculty Mentor. An orientation to veterinary and biomedical research and the SVSRF program is provided at the beginning of the summer. Weekly lunch seminars and field trips to other research sites broaden and enrich the student's exposure to veterinary research. The program concludes with a Summer Veterinary Student Research Conference, during which the students make oral presentations of their research activities, and a closing banquet. Student fellows are also strongly encouraged to participate in the Merck-Merial Veterinary Scholars Symposium with students from over 20 other colleges of veterinary medicine.

Eligibility. First- and second-year professional veterinary student in good academic standing at any college of veterinary medicine are eligible. Prior Fellowship recipients, students with advanced graduate degrees in sciences, and students currently enrolled in a graduate program are ineligible.

Application Process. There is a two-step application process: (1) apply for the summer program and, if accepted, (2) identify a faculty mentor and submit a "student-mentor" agreement. In the fall semester, the College will sponsor an informational lunch with former Fellows to answer questoins and provide more information. In the spring, students selected for the 2008 Program will be invited to a lunch meeting to discuss mentor selection.

Funding. The SVSRF program is funded by the College of Veterinary Medicine and by awards from the Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation, the Merck-Merial Veterinary Scholars Program, the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Bill Klemm.