Caltech SURF Fellowship 2027 in USA for Undergraduates | How to Apply
Caltech’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) 2027 opens for applications on November 1, 2026, with a deadline of March 1, 2027. It funds a 10-week, full-time research project at Caltech or JPL, open to undergraduates from any university worldwide, not just Caltech students. Before you can even apply, though, you need to secure a Caltech faculty mentor who agrees to support your project and contribute funding toward your award — this single requirement disqualifies more applicants than any eligibility rule on the page, so it’s the first thing to sort out.
SURF has run at Caltech since 1979, and it’s built to work like a real grant application rather than a standard internship. You don’t get assigned a project — you find a Caltech faculty member whose research interests you, convince them to mentor you, and then write a formal research proposal together that gets reviewed by faculty in that field. Caltech explicitly says this isn’t “just a summer job”: the benchmark for an acceptable project is that it could plausibly lead to a publication in a refereed journal. That framing matters for how you approach every part of this application, from your first email to a potential mentor through to your final proposal.
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Fellowship Summary
| Scholarship Name ⇒ | Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) |
| Host Country ⇒ | United States of America (USA) |
| Study Level ⇒ | Internships | Fellowships |
| Benefits ⇒ | A monetary award for the 10-week fellowship period — the exact 2027 amount hasn’t been published yet; the most recently confirmed figure (SURF 2026) was in the region of $8,000 for the period |
| Funded By ⇒ | California Institute of Technology, with your faculty mentor contributing financially to your award |
| Eligible Countries ⇒ | Open to undergraduates worldwide. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for JPL placements; international students can participate at the Caltech campus. |
| Application Deadline ⇒ | Applications open November 1, 2026. Deadline is March 1, 2027. |
Caltech SURF Fellowship Eligibility Requirements
If you’re a Caltech student, you must:
- Be a continuing undergraduate
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
- Have completed your third term at Caltech, or an equivalent approved by a Dean
- Be eligible for fall term registration before starting your SURF project, and no later than July 1
- Not be under academic or disciplinary sanctions
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If you’re a visiting (non-Caltech) student, you must:
- Be a continuing undergraduate, matriculated in a degree-granting programme, and eligible for fall term registration — high school students co-enrolled in college courses don’t qualify
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 out of 4.0
- Have completed your second semester or third quarter at your home institution
- Not be under academic or disciplinary sanctions
Students from the University of Iceland or from St. John’s, St. Catherine’s, Corpus Christi, or Pembroke colleges at Cambridge apply only through their schools’ established exchange programmes with Caltech, not through the general SURF process.
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If You’re an International Student
International students can take part in SURF on Caltech’s campus, though not at JPL, which is restricted to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. If you’re awarded a SURF, Caltech gives you instructions for applying for an F-1 or J-1 visa from abroad. If you’re already studying at a U.S. institution, you need special off-campus work authorisation before you can start: F-1 students apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT), and J-1 students apply for Academic Training. This is the detail most likely to catch international applicants off guard — OPT approval alone can take more than three months, so if this applies to you, start that conversation with your international student advisor the moment you apply for SURF, not after you’re accepted.
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Documents Needed to Apply for the Caltech SURF Fellowship
- Completed online application, submitted through the SFP Online system
- A research proposal, written by you (with your mentor’s input) and uploaded directly to the application — technical, specific, and outlining what you plan to do, why it matters, and your 10-week work plan
- An unofficial transcript — required only for visiting (non-Caltech) applicants at the time of application. If you’re awarded a SURF, you’ll then be asked to have an official transcript sent directly by your college or university.
- Two confidential letters of recommendation, at least one from a faculty member. You don’t upload these yourself — you enter your recommenders’ contact details into your SFP Online account, and Caltech emails them directly to submit online.
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How to Apply for the Caltech SURF Fellowship – Step by Step
- Find and secure a Caltech faculty mentor before you do anything else. They must agree to help you develop a research project, support your proposal, and financially contribute to your award. Do not submit an application without this in place.
- If you’re not a Caltech student, expect this step to take real effort. Use your academic network — ask your professors or graduate students at your home school if they know Caltech faculty, and have them introduce you. Avoid generic, mass-sent emails; tailor each message to the specific faculty member’s research.
- Write your research proposal with your mentor’s input. It should be technical and specific: what you plan to do, why it matters, the theoretical background and methods, how it connects to existing work in the field, and a realistic work plan for 10 weeks.
- Secure two confidential letters of recommendation, at least one from a faculty member. Your mentor completes a separate confidential evaluation and should not also write you a recommendation letter.
- Submit everything through the SFP Online system by March 1, 2027, including your online application, proposal, unofficial transcript (if you’re a visiting student), and recommender contact information — recommenders are contacted directly and asked to submit online.
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What Happens If You’re Awarded
Accepting a Caltech SURF Fellowship means signing an agreement to:
- Devote full effort to the project — you cannot take courses or hold another job during your SURF
- Conduct the research in person; remote projects aren’t allowed
- Complete the full 10-week period
- Submit two mentor-approved interim reports, a mentor-approved abstract, and a mentor-approved final technical report
- Give a final oral presentation
- Follow Caltech’s Honor Code
Award decisions are expected around April 1, 2027, following Caltech’s established pattern for this fellowship, though this specific date for the 2027 cycle hasn’t been separately confirmed.
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Application Deadline
Applications open November 1, 2026 and close March 1, 2027 — there’s no rolling review here, so a late application isn’t considered regardless of how strong it is. Given that securing a mentor has to happen before you even submit, and that non-Caltech students in particular may need weeks to build that relationship, start reaching out to potential mentors well before November rather than waiting for the portal to open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for SURF if I’m not a Caltech student?
Yes. Visiting students from any university worldwide can apply, with a slightly higher minimum GPA requirement (2.5 rather than 2.0) than Caltech’s own students. The harder part isn’t eligibility — it’s finding a Caltech faculty mentor willing to support you, since visiting students don’t have the same easy access to Caltech faculty that enrolled students do.
Do I need my mentor to personally fund my entire award?
Not necessarily. SURF awards are based on the strength of your application and proposal, not solely on a mentor’s ability to pay. The strongest applications are considered for full funding even when a mentor has limited funds.
Can I apply to more than one SURF project?
Yes, but carefully. Your enthusiasm for the specific project is part of what’s being evaluated, and applying to multiple projects can raise questions about how committed you are to any single one. If you do apply to more than one, tell each prospective mentor you’re doing so.
As a Nigerian or other international student, what should I plan for beyond the application itself?
Beyond meeting the GPA and academic eligibility requirements, factor in visa timing. If you’re applying from outside the U.S., you’ll go through F-1 or J-1 visa steps only after being awarded a SURF. If you’re already studying in the U.S., start your CPT, OPT, or Academic Training authorisation process as soon as you apply, since OPT processing alone can take over three months and you cannot begin your SURF placement without it.
What happens if I need to take time off during my 10-week SURF?
You’d need to negotiate this directly with your mentor and extend your end date to still complete the full 10 weeks. Your SURF period must conclude by the third Friday in September regardless.
Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, award values, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official Caltech Student-Faculty Programs website before submitting your application. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the California Institute of Technology.
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