Reed College
Reed College

Summer Opportunity Fellowship Award (SOFA)

Managed by the Undergraduate Research Committee

The Summer Opportunity Fellowship Award (SOFA) provides funding for a student to pursue academic work with a mentor at another institution/organization for up to 10 weeks over the summer. The purpose of this program is to expose Reed students to new environments and opportunities not available on campus. This program is intended as a learning experience for the student and mentorship should be at the forefront of the project. Students must provide documentation of being accepted to work with a mentor and/or team of researchers at a distant institution/lab by the application deadline. 

Examples of funded projects:

  • Mentored with New York City visual artist Miya Ando
  • Studied and classified a large variety of meteorites. 
  • Conducted ethnographic research in Michoacán
  • Tested experimental compounds looking for a cure for ALS.
  • Worked with a choreographer to create an AIDS survivor archive. 
  • Attendance at a field school
  • Conducted atmospheric chemistry research at Colorado State University.  
  • Mentored with Portland performance artist Anthony Hudson.

Fellowship award amount: 
The fellowship stipend for summer 2026 is $6,600. 

Eligibility 

  • Only proposals from students in good academic standing at the College will be considered.
  •  Preference will be given to students returning to Reed the following fall, however, applications involving graduating seniors may also be considered.
  • All majors are eligible and encouraged to apply. 

International students should note that the Summer Experience Award (SEA) funding has been folded into the Summer Opportunity Fellowship so it is no longer necessary to apply separately to the two programs. There are two dedicated fellowships for international students within the Summer Opportunity Fellowship. International students should apply to Summer Opportunity Fellowship for consideration for SEA funding from the International Student Services office. 

Deadline

Applications are due Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. noon. The applicant will submit their Summer Opportunity Fellowship Award application online in SurveyMonkey Apply. After the Undergraduate Research Committee has made award decisions, applicants will be notified by email.

IRB Approval

The Institutional Review Board must approve of any project involving the use of human subjects. An award will not be administered without this approval. If your project will require IRB approval, you MUST submit your application to the IRB before applying to this fellowship. 

How to Apply

 By 12:00 p.m. noon on March 4, 2026 all applicants should submit their application online through Survey Monkey apply. The application portal will be available by the end of January, 2026. Sample proposals can be found on the URC home page.

In addition to filling out the application form, you will need the following documents:


  1. A 1–2 page (maximum) resume describing your relevant work, volunteer, and course experience.
    • The URC asks for resumes to help learn more about each applicant, and to encourage students to develop their application materials. The URC does not make evaluative decisions based on the content of the resume.
  2. Narrative description of the project proposal, single-spaced, two-page maximum, and includes:
    • Steps taken to find and secure the opportunity
    • Specifics of the project
    • Anticipated benefits of this project to you
    • Note: The URC would like to be able to use successful proposals as examples for future applicants to use. Student names will be redacted from proposals before use. If you are comfortable with this possibility, then please include this statement at the bottom of your project proposal: I give permission to have my proposal used as an example to help future fellowship applicants.

  3. Sponsor letter from the proposed mentor. This letter should state the level of mentorship the student can expect to receive. The student will request this from their mentor through the application portal. The URC must receive the sponsor letter by March 4th, 2026 at noon. 

  4. Evaluative letter from a faculty sponsor at Reed. The student will request this from their Reed faculty sponsor through the application portal. The URC must receive the sponsor letter by March 4th, 2026 at noon. Please make sure you contact your letter writers with adequate advance of the deadline.

The Reed faculty sponsor must review the entire grant application before they provide their evaluative letter of support.

Available Guidance

Review the best practices for applying to any URC grant. For questions about the application process, applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Meg Andrews (urc@reed.edu). Members of the Undergraduate Research Committee offer office hours to answer proposal development questions. The CLBR advising team can also help you with your application and offers drop-in advising as well as 1:1 appointments. Please see the CLBR website for drop-in hours and for how to make an appointment. We encourage you to take advantage of this.

Inclusivity

The Undergraduate Research Committee seeks to offer students opportunities to support their studies and interests in the form of grants and awards. The URC views the opportunity to apply for grants and awards as a pedagogical one in which students have the chance to learn about how the application process works. The URC grants and awards are open to all students regardless of discipline. The URC is aware of systemic bias in the application process, and seeks in particular to support students from historically underrepresented communities in academia, and we take into consideration bias, oppression, and opportunity as we evaluate applications.

Travel

Reed College prohibits College-funded international travel to countries that are classified with a State Department travel advisory risk of Level 4.