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VT EPSCoR SOCKS 2025 Summer Research Internships
Vermont EPSCoR is offering 2025 summer research internship opportunities for our cutting-edge NSF-funded project, Harnessing the Data Revolution for Vermont: The Science of Online Corpora, Knowledge, and Stories (SOCKS). This five-year, interdisciplinary initiative aims to better understand and harness the power of stories which are essential tools for how people comprehend, explain, predict, and navigate the world. SOCKS advances the Digital Humanities by creating innovative methods to quantify individual stories and their ecosystems using data collection, natural language processing, and large language models.
Meet the 2024 SOCKS Undergraduate Interns!
The VT ESPCoR SOCKS Summer Research Internship program allows students to engage in research associated with the NSF EPSCoR award. The interns are paired with research teams working within the transdisciplinary SOCKS program. At the end of the internship, the teams come together for a symposium to share their findings through oral presentations and written reports. Students can expect a full-time, high-impact, hands-on research experience for 10 weeks in one of the following areas:
Primary Faculty Mentors:
Dr. Richard Watts, Director of the Center for Research on Vermont
Dr. Kemi Fuentes-George, Associate Professor of Political Science, Middlebury College
Dr. Juniper Lovato, Research Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Vermont, [website]
Dr. Alice Patania, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Vermont
Dr. Pablo Bose, Professor of Geography and Geosciences, University of Vermont
Dr. Matthew Price, Professor of Psychological Science, University of Vermont
Dr. Bob Gramling, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, University of Vermont
The range of research areas in which students may participate is quite extensive. SOCKS interns delve into research projects - an opportunity not often available during the academic year. Projects are markedly different from most course-based work in that they are open-ended and part of a much larger research program.
About SOCKS:
SOCKS is a transdisciplinary research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that aims to advance initiatives grounded in principled methods through the quantitative measurement of sentiment and stories across a diverse portfolio of corpora. We hope to provide new insights into the power and use of stories and narratives across a broad array of social, economic, and health domains through integrated data and teams.
The internships will start on May 26, 2025 and end on August 1, 2025. On-campus housing/food are provided for the 10 week period. At the end of the 10-week internship period, interns are required to attend and present their research at the Vermont EPSCoR Student Research Symposium.
The internship takes place at the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vermont USA
Internship Stipend:
Interns earn a stipend of $5,000 for the 10 week period. Travel (up to $1500) to and from VT is provided in addition to stipend.
Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents enrolled in a college or university with a strong interest in a career in a STEM or social science field. Students graduating prior to the start of the internship are not eligible to apply. Individuals with disabilities, veterans, students from underrepresented minority groups, and students from two-year colleges are strongly encouraged to apply.
Application Procedure:
The application requires a letter of recommendation from a faculty member, an unofficial transcript, a current resume or C.V., and a short essay stating your research interests. Applications are due January 15th at 5pm EST. Letters of Recommendation are due on January 17, 2025. Selection and placement of students will take place in January and February. Applicants who were not placed will be notified in February.
To apply, please visit our application portal.
Meet the 2024 SOCKS Undergraduate Interns!
The VT ESPCoR SOCKS Summer Research Internship program allows students to engage in research associated with the NSF EPSCoR award. The interns are paired with research teams working within the transdisciplinary SOCKS program. At the end of the internship, the teams come together for a symposium to share their findings through oral presentations and written reports. Students can expect a full-time, high-impact, hands-on research experience for 10 weeks in one of the following areas:
- (1) Indigenous Narratives and Storytelling in Global Environmental Governance (mentored by Fuentes-George)
- (2) Data Ethics, Privacy and Belief Propagation (mentored by Lovato and Patania)
- (3) Migration Narratives and Social Media Discourse - how they shape our understanding of climate change-driven migration. (mentored by Bose)
- (4) Analysis of Local News Stories and Programs (mentored by Watts)
- (5) Understanding and Promoting Human Connection in Serious Illness (mentored by Gramling)
- (6) Language Analysis of Trauma Survivors’ Narratives (mentored by Price)
Primary Faculty Mentors:
Dr. Richard Watts, Director of the Center for Research on Vermont
Dr. Kemi Fuentes-George, Associate Professor of Political Science, Middlebury College
Dr. Juniper Lovato, Research Assistant Professor, Computer Science, University of Vermont, [website]
Dr. Alice Patania, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Vermont
Dr. Pablo Bose, Professor of Geography and Geosciences, University of Vermont
Dr. Matthew Price, Professor of Psychological Science, University of Vermont
Dr. Bob Gramling, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, University of Vermont
The range of research areas in which students may participate is quite extensive. SOCKS interns delve into research projects - an opportunity not often available during the academic year. Projects are markedly different from most course-based work in that they are open-ended and part of a much larger research program.
About SOCKS:
SOCKS is a transdisciplinary research project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that aims to advance initiatives grounded in principled methods through the quantitative measurement of sentiment and stories across a diverse portfolio of corpora. We hope to provide new insights into the power and use of stories and narratives across a broad array of social, economic, and health domains through integrated data and teams.
The internships will start on May 26, 2025 and end on August 1, 2025. On-campus housing/food are provided for the 10 week period. At the end of the 10-week internship period, interns are required to attend and present their research at the Vermont EPSCoR Student Research Symposium.
The internship takes place at the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vermont USA
Internship Stipend:
Interns earn a stipend of $5,000 for the 10 week period. Travel (up to $1500) to and from VT is provided in addition to stipend.
Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents enrolled in a college or university with a strong interest in a career in a STEM or social science field. Students graduating prior to the start of the internship are not eligible to apply. Individuals with disabilities, veterans, students from underrepresented minority groups, and students from two-year colleges are strongly encouraged to apply.
Application Procedure:
The application requires a letter of recommendation from a faculty member, an unofficial transcript, a current resume or C.V., and a short essay stating your research interests. Applications are due January 15th at 5pm EST. Letters of Recommendation are due on January 17, 2025. Selection and placement of students will take place in January and February. Applicants who were not placed will be notified in February.
To apply, please visit our application portal.