STEER Program // Short Term Educational Experiences for Research in Environmental Health Sciences for Undergraduate Students

Application Procedure

You are applying for a summer internship in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences within the School of Public Health. This program is available to undergraduate students at all universities. During this 8-week summer program, you will work alongside a research faculty mentor to learn about environmental health and how this may affect human health. The internship is a 40-hour per week commitment for the length of the program, taking place between Monday June 18th through Friday August 17th.

During the course of this internship, you will also do the following:

Participate in seminars with your peers to learn about the research process
Participate in field trips to see occupational and environmental health in action
Tour laboratory facilities to experience research environments
Complete confidential evaluation forms that tell us about your internship and your mentor

Your internship will be created based on your goal statement, assessment of which research projects would be most interesting to you, letters of reference, and the admission committee's assessment of the best match for you, if accepted. Please see the list of faculty research projects that will be available during the summer of 2012, and craft your goal statement based on what you would most like to experience this summer. Each student will be placed with one mentor, but will have the opportunity to learn about other aspects of research through seminars, tours, and group discussions.

The following are things that you must do in order to complete the application process:

Read the faculty profiles and determine which research opportunities are most interesting to you at this time. Please do not contact faculty before you are accepted into the STEER program. If you have questions that require an answer from faculty, please first contact Dr. Amanda Northcross, Project Co-Director. She will discuss your questions with the appropriate faculty members and get back to you (see next page for contact information).
Complete the 2-page application form.
Submit two letters of reference from an academic advisor or course instructor, or others who may know of your interest and capability in completing a summer internship in environmental health. You may also submit an OPTIONAL third letter from a personal reference.
Write a 2-4 page goal statement that is based on the instructions on Page 4 of the application form. Please make sure that you address all of the points that are listed in the instructions for writing your goal statement. You may answer the questions point by point or more globally depending on your writing style.
Please attach a copy of an official transcript including course work that you have taken and your grades, and a list of courses in which you are currently enrolled, if they are not reflected on your current transcript. If you have a resume, please feel free to include that document as well.
Obtain the signature of your advisor or teacher/mentor on the application form.
Take part in a brief interview, either by phone or in-person, with the Project Director prior to the final selection of applicants.

If you have any questions about the program or application procedures, please contact Gayle Cepparo at 510-642-0571 (gcepparo@berkeley.edu).

Please send your application, goal statement, letters, and other documents either electronically or by mail to Gayle Cepparo, Project Coordinator, no later than March 23, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. You may also hand deliver your application to University Hall, 7th Floor, Room 745. If Gayle is not available, please leave the application in her mailbox by the kitchen. Listed below is the mailing information:

Gayle Cepparo, Project Coorindator
Center for Occupational and Environmental Health
School of Public Health, #7360
University of California
50 University Hall, Room 745
2199 Addison St, 7th Floor
Berkeley, CA 94720-7360
Tel: 510-642-0571
Fax: 510-642-5815
Email: gcepparo@berkeley.edu

Admission decisions will be made by Friday, April 20, 2012. Call us if you have questions or concerns about the program, schedule, faculty mentors, or anything else that comes to mind.