Applications Open for 2025–2026 Undergraduate Research Fellowships in Neuroscience

Header image for 2025 SURFiN announcement.

The Simons Foundation is now accepting applications from undergraduate students to participate in its Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN) program for the 2025–2026 academic year. The SURFiN program aims to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students who have not had access to research opportunities. The paid fellowships will run from September 2025 through May 2026.

SURFiN is an initiative of the Simons Foundation’s Autism & Neuroscience Division, which includes the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB), the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB) and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI). The program is named in honor of neuroscientist Krishna Shenoy.

SURFiN fellows will gain hands-on, in-person research experience in labs supported by the Simons Foundation. SURFiN mentors are typically early-career scientists, such as graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Fellows receive direct mentorship in the lab and participate in career development and community-building activities, including a virtual coding boot camp and a scientific symposium in New York City in Spring 2026. Prior laboratory experience is not required. This year’s opportunities are located in cities across the United States, Canada and Europe.

Funding will be provided to pay each fellow $25 per hour for 10 hours a week over 30 weeks during the academic year. Labs will receive a $2,000 resource stipend to further support the fellow.

The application deadline, including recommendation letter submission, is 12 p.m. (noon) ET on May 1, 2025. For additional information about the program, including eligibility requirements, see the SURFiN RFA.