Deadline: Friday, February 17, 2012
For full consideration, please ensure that all application materials are received by this deadline, including the letters of recommendation.
Please do not submit applications earlier than January 01, 2012.
- Complete and submit the online application form.
- Send the following additional information to hpcreu@umbc.edu as e-mail attachments in PDF format:
- A current resume.
- A personal statement that describes in approximately two to three pages (1) your background in mathematics, statistics, and programming (please be clear and specific about programming language/packages and say what you did with them); (2) your interest in applications of mathematics and/or statistics; (3) your previous research experiences (if any); and (4) your experience with or interest in team work (this can be in an academic or in an extracurricular setting, e.g., a campus club).
To help us save these attachments accurately, please have your last name together with “resume” or “statement”, respectively, in the filename.
- Letters of recommendation: Arrange for two letters of recommendation to be e-mailed directly from the letter writer tohpcreu@umbc.edu. Please ask each letter writer to discuss (1) your background in mathematics, statistics, and programming; (2) your written and oral communication skills; (3) your experience with and/or potential for research; and (4) your experience in team work, if any. Ideally, we ask that the attachment from letter writers include both the student’s and the letter writer’s name in the filename of the attachment.
What will happen in the application process?
We will read the application material for each applicant as it arrives. The first step is to form a short list of candidates with the best fit to the program.
If you are selected for the short list, we will contact you by e-mail and ask for a transcript (inofficial is sufficient) and a proof of U.S. citizenship (passport, birth certificate, or similar) or permanent residency (“green card”). The best is to scan these documents and e-mail them as attachments; please choose sensible names for the attachments that include your name and indicate the type of document. Please do not send any transcript or proof of citizenship/residency initially, as it overflows our system unnecessarily. Also please understand that U.S. citizenship / permanent residency is a requirement for NSF-funding; we cannot change or waive it.
We try to have a phone conversation with all candidates on the short list. Then offers are made to the candidates selected. We try to wrap up this process as soon as possible after the deadline, so as to give all applicants information as soon as possible about their status.
Selected candidates will have to return a formal acceptance. We will ask for this with a very short timeline, so that we are able to tell other candidates their status as timely as possible.
NOTE: If you have questions about the requirements and/or the process, do not hesitate to contact us by sending e-mail tohpcreu@umbc.edu.